[NA]Volvo cars

charheep

charheep

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charheep
Always on the hunt for cars a little different, unique and fun, I have been looking at Volvo's recently. Mainly around the 2003-2007 era. Anyone familiar with Volvos? Online forums dont show anything crazy about them, but I always like to hear first hand experiences. I figured POA would tell me how I am wrong, but then again, I do drive a GM so I guess I am already screwed...
 
I've always felt they were overpriced for what they were. SOME models are tanks and just keep going and going, but not sure how that relates to the 03'-07' years.

Haven't ever had one in the barn or had to deal with one maintenance-wise, though.
 
Oh my. I’ll post my experience with a 2015 1/2 V60 when I’m at a computer. I’m not typing the whole thing on my phone.
 
No experience with or knowledge of the older Volvos. We bought our first one last November. 1 year old XC60, and it's better than I'd hoped for. If I were to get rid of my pickup right now, I'd seriously start looking for another XC60 just like the one we have.

I'd NEVER buy a new one. The first year cost the original owner over $15K in depreciation.
 
Isn't that year range in the middle of the Ford era? If you're happy with a Focus then you'd be happy with an S40.
 
charheep said:
Always on the hunt for cars a little different, unique and fun, I have been looking at Volvo's recently. Mainly around the 2003-2007 era. Anyone familiar with Volvos? Online forums dont show anything crazy about them, but I always like to hear first hand experiences. I figured POA would tell me how I am wrong, but then again, I do drive a GM so I guess I am already screwed...
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I had a 2007 Volvo XC 90... Worst car I've ever owned. The angle drive that controls the AWD broke at 75,000 miles, then because that broke the computer freaked out on every turn and made the car quite dangerous to drive. The seat-move button broke. The muffler rusted through in a dry climate. I somehow bent my lower rear control arm while on a very mild dirt road. The frame was built very weakly. You need a special proprietary tool to change the oil filter. No one ever has the air and oil filter in stock. The wheels were too wide for the wells so the turn radius was crap. The engine is mounted transverse and canted over so sparkplugs are terrible to get to. My main seal developed a leak. The radiator cooling fan died at 60,000 miles and cost $1500 to fix. In any other car it wouldn't cost more than $400.

Overall an absolutely crappily designed car. It wasn't just me. A friend had a 2005 XC90 where the transmission completely came from together at 80,000 miles. They had to send it to a junk yard, wasn't even worth selling.

The XC90 is total junk. I have no experience with their other vehicles and can't comment on them, but I will never be buying Volvo again.
 
So, you are a liberal Democrat or a Socialist?
Statistically, that's who buys Volvos.
I only know this because I have a cousin who used to work for Volvo as an analyst.
 
Shepherd said:
So, you are a liberal Democrat or a Socialist?
Statistically, that's who buys Volvos.
I only know this because I have a cousin who used to work for Volvo as an analyst.
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LOL. I call my Subaru my Lesbaru and my Boulder Camouflaged Assault Vehicle. :)
 
You’re in luck. I happen to drive an ‘04 Volvo S60. Overall, its been a reliable vehicle, but it’s also had a few maintenance issues over the years, most of which were quite minor. Let me just say that it’s not a Honda in that regard.

The 2.5T has fairly good fuel econony, so I can’t complain much about that. I tend to get around 22-24mpg in the city. If you can get a good deal on one, than go for it. I’m not much of a car person, so it really doesn’t do anything for me other than a means of transportation! Not sure what else to say, but if you have any questions, fire away!
 
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We have a 2006 XC90 AWD and love it. It now was 160k miles and going strong. Never had any issues, it rides nice and is quiet. We will always have a Volvo and when the 2018 models are a few years old we will get one of those.

Oh and I'm not a tree hugging hippy, I don't wear Birkenstocks, and I don't sip lattes...I vote republican, I tote a gun, and I drink black coffee..Oh and I also have a 4x4 chevy. Do I skew the statistics?
 
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Mtns2Skies said:
I had a 2007 Volvo XC 90... Worst car I've ever owned. The angle drive that controls the AWD broke at 75,000 miles, then because that broke the computer freaked out on every turn and made the car quite dangerous to drive. The seat-move button broke. The muffler rusted through in a dry climate. I somehow bent my lower rear control arm while on a very mild dirt road. The frame was built very weakly. You need a special proprietary tool to change the oil filter. No one ever has the air and oil filter in stock. The wheels were too wide for the wells so the turn radius was crap. The engine is mounted transverse and canted over so sparkplugs are terrible to get to. My main seal developed a leak. The radiator cooling fan died at 60,000 miles and cost $1500 to fix. In any other car it wouldn't cost more than $400.

Overall an absolutely crappily designed car. It wasn't just me. A friend had a 2005 XC90 where the transmission completely came from together at 80,000 miles. They had to send it to a junk yard, wasn't even worth selling.

The XC90 is total junk. I have no experience with their other vehicles and can't comment on them, but I will never be buying Volvo again.
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Wow sounds like some bad luck. Our 06 XC90 has had no issues at all....160k trouble free miles, we replaced the timing belt at the specified interval and put tires and brakes on otherwise its been a great car.
 
The Volvo era ended in 98...when Ford bought them out. Soon after that China got involved. I've owned several pre-ford Volvos...Icons.
 
I had a 2004 V70 wagon that I loved. Wasn't perfect, but it was a tank. Had a 150k on it when an older gentleman decided I didn't want the car anymore and pulled out in front of me. We then purchased a 2008 S80 with 107k. I love the car, but the maintenance has been a bit of a headache. Cooling fan went out, $700 to replace. Electric trunk lock stopped working, AC vent clogged, and the CV boots split and ruined the joints. Volvo CV joints are $700 each, but I'm installing an aftermarket one for $70 while I rebuild the original.

My wife and I absolutely love the car though. It's fun to drive and very comfortable. She has a bad back and the lumbar support is perfect for her.
 
I had a 2001 Volvo S60 T5. It did have a problem with a fuel pump or something like that related to the fuel system. It ended up becoming a recall shortly after my issue so it must have been more than just me. No other problems and had that car for 8 years.

I also had a 2007 XC90, but unlike Mtns2Skies, I had very few problems with it. I did have the AC compressor seize on me which necessitated replacing most of the air conditioning system. Other than that, no problems in the 4 years I had it. It's of note, however, that I didn't do my own maintenance...but I also didn't have any trouble getting maintenance done at what I would consider normal expense.

I currently have a 2015 XC60 (4 years so far) and a 2016 S60 (2 years so far). I did have an O2 sensor go bad on the XC60 which cost $600 for the dealer to fix (probably could have fixed it cheaper elsewhere). Other than that, no issues with these two vehicles.
 
The older Volvo vehicles seemed to vary greatly in quality. They all had really cheap interiors thanks to Ford in that era. The XC90's all seem to be tanks and don't have many issues other than just wear and tear on the interior. The cars seemed mechanically fine but had lots of electrical gremlins. I had a 96 Volvo that was really nice to drive, didn't have many mechanical issues, but had lots of random warning lights and burnt out bulbs more so than any other vehicle I owned.
 
The pre ford ones were tanks, good road cars, but some of the electrical and other stuff like, I recall water pumps, are a little... fun to work on.

I don't know much about them after ford took over.
 
denverpilot said:
LOL. I call my Subaru my Lesbaru and my Boulder Camouflaged Assault Vehicle. :)
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Ha ha.....yes, very true of Subaru's as well. But they are good cars. I am the last person on the planet who cares about image or what people think, but I gotta be honest, I would never by a subaru because of the liberal/environmentalist stereotype.
 
I drove a 145 wagon around in high school. That thing was built like a tank. Drove like one, too. It was real finicky on maintenance. The dual SU carburetors and the points needed constant adjustment.
 
MtnMarcus said:
Ha ha.....yes, very true of Subaru's as well. But they are good cars. I am the last person on the planet who cares about image or what people think, but I gotta be honest, I would never by a subaru because of the liberal/environmentalist stereotype.
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LOL. Whenever I see their thing where they say they’ll give $500 to a charity of your choice (but it’s really only their chosen charities, you don’t get to actually choose the charity), I always want to go into a dealer, negotiate a price for paying cash for a new one, and then tell them my chosen charity is “NRA, my favorite human rights organization” just to see if their head’s explode.

And tell them the sale hinges on it when they list off their other charities. LOL.

CC268 said:
It’s kind of like buying a Saab.
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Older Saabs before the buyouts were pretty good. They made some nice convertibles once. Not super cars or seriously sporty, but solid. Not anymore.
 
denverpilot said:
LOL. Whenever I see their thing where they say they’ll give $500 to a charity of your choice (but it’s really only their chosen charities, you don’t get to actually choose the charity), I always want to go into a dealer, negotiate a price for paying cash for a new one, and then tell them my chosen charity is “NRA, my favorite human rights organization” just to see if their head’s explode.

And tell them the sale hinges on it when they list off their other charities. LOL.



Older Saabs before the buyouts were pretty good. They made some nice convertibles once. Not super cars or seriously sporty, but solid. Not anymore.
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Someone at work has one...gotta be one of the ugliest cars I've ever seen.
 
CC268 said:
Someone at work has one...gotta be one of the ugliest cars I've ever seen.
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They were unique in styling, that’s for sure. With the stick shift the convertibles were pretty nice. A little sleeper car. Drove well. No bad habits if you decided to wind up the hamsters.
 
And since this is about Volvos...

They’re tanks and they drive like tanks. They’ll just push into a corner and never grip if you wind up their hamsters. You can’t even get the front wheel drive ones to drag their own fat asses around the corner. They’ll just push into the ditch if you don’t get off the throttle. Haha. Heavy.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
I had a 2007 Volvo XC 90... Worst car I've ever owned. The angle drive that controls the AWD broke at 75,000 miles, then because that broke the computer freaked out on every turn and made the car quite dangerous to drive. The seat-move button broke. The muffler rusted through in a dry climate. I somehow bent my lower rear control arm while on a very mild dirt road. The frame was built very weakly. You need a special proprietary tool to change the oil filter. No one ever has the air and oil filter in stock. The wheels were too wide for the wells so the turn radius was crap. The engine is mounted transverse and canted over so sparkplugs are terrible to get to. My main seal developed a leak. The radiator cooling fan died at 60,000 miles and cost $1500 to fix. In any other car it wouldn't cost more than $400.

Overall an absolutely crappily designed car. It wasn't just me. A friend had a 2005 XC90 where the transmission completely came from together at 80,000 miles. They had to send it to a junk yard, wasn't even worth selling.

The XC90 is total junk. I have no experience with their other vehicles and can't comment on them, but I will never be buying Volvo again.
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Sounds like it was the perfect car to prepare you for becoming an airplane owner. :D
 
I just can't get behind the idea of driving a car that's two vowel sounds away from being a female body part.
 
My experience was pre-Ford. Owned a 1982 244 GLT. 4-speed with electric overdrive, gas shocks, Pirelli tires. Great car. Only new vehicle I have ever purchased for myself. All my friends were blowing their brains out buying 320i Bimmers at the time.

Drove it more than 300,000 miles over 18+ years. Sold it for $1.00 to a friend's kid who used it for the next four years to commute daily to college. He sold to his uncle on graduation, who fixed the busted overdrive and ran the damn thing past 600,000 miles. By then the body was getting too rusted to keep it. Over that time it never had the heads off, and the exhaust was still original.

Weak points - electrical connectors under the hood did not seal and moisture would get in. Fixed with black electrical tape. And the overdrive was a pain. The hydraulic seals would fail almost by the clock every 80,000 miles. I fixed it 3 times while I owned it.
 
DanWilkins said:
The Volvo era ended in 98...when Ford bought them out. Soon after that China got involved. I've owned several pre-ford Volvos...Icons.
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I thought China didn't get involved until after the year range the OP mentioned.
 
Wife has a 2012 SC60. Great car. Fun to drive. No issues except some of the maintenance has been expensive.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
I had a 2007 Volvo XC 90... Worst car I've ever owned.
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I started laughing like hell when I first saw this post, waiting for Mtns2Skies response! Having enjoyed many beers with him, I'll say his comments here are muted, gentle understatement compared to what he went through with the car. Funny ending to its story, too.

My parents had not one, not two, but three Volvos when I was growing up. This left scars. Only enjoying true gentleman and master race Randy Pobst wheeling them around has saved me:
scca-pwc-st-pete-2013-randy-pobst-volvo-s60-k-pax-racing.jpg

Photo by Mike Geng
url
 
The only good thing Ford did with Volvo is get the design team to stop making their vehicles so damn ugly, lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Had a 1990 245 that I bought with 80k on it and drove it to 200k. Needed a head gasket once, other than that very little maintenance. Sadly, I didn't keep up on the antifreeze and cracked the block during a -30F night. If not for that stupidity, I would have kept the car much longer.

As for the post 2000 models. My brother in law bought a new 2004 XC90 with the Yamaha engine. Drove it to 160k or so and except for a bit of an oil drip during the later years it was a solid car. Those things are tanks and used lots of hot-formed steel for the cabin.
 
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