Consumer Reports is no friend of Volvo, but they like the S60.

I have a '95 940 and '01 S60.
At the moment, the S60 is at 57K and the 940 is at 237K and is with my son a college. We do all our own maintenance.

I agree and doubt that the S60 will equal the 940 but I suspect that it'll last into the 150K- 200K range. Mine is the "non-turbo" 5 speed. It's fun to drive, comfortable and not bad on gas mileage. But as others have stated - more complex hense more to repair or go wrong.

If you're not keeping the 940 - what do you want for it? I have a second son in High School!

Generally, in these forums you hear from people with problems, not from the ones like me that don't. So here goes...

It's probably a toss up. 200,000 may be middle aged for a Volvo, but then you are the one living with it. The S60 will be more fun to drive and has more advanced safety features. The seats are wonderful on long trips. Trunk and back seat are a little tight.

My 2003 S60 (2.4 with Manual Trans) has about 40,000 miles after 2.5 years. No repairs or problems whatsoever. I have done all the maintenance myself(except brake fluid change). I drove a Honda for nine years before the Volvo, so I've been pleasantly surprised.

My '01 S60 2.4T has been reliable enough for 30-some thousand miles.
A recall for something, IIRC, front sway bar links, and A/C was freezing up.
All corrected under warranty.
I doubt that S60 will equal the 940, if for no other reason than the iffy throttle control motor.

S'V'

i have a 2002 s60. the following are the repairs that have been done (all under warranty):
automatic door locks, wouldnt unlock from the inside master button
rattle in the rear turned out to be a ball joint and it was replaced
car phone wouldnt recognize the sim card, problem went away after about 2 months (no repair needed).
front brake pads and front tires replaced due to wear

Consumer Reports recommends the S60 as a new car, but not as a used car. However, the only S60 they have on their "Used Cars to Avoid" list is the 2004 S60 AWD.

"Can I expect the same kind of reliabilty with an S60 as I got from my 940?"

Maybe, but probably not.

I have a case of cognitive dissonance about the cars. I love the seats, performance and safety, and I hate the fact that they're so "maintenance intensive". I've been contemplating buying a V70R for the last 2 years, one big reason I haven't made the plunge is that I'm concerned with the long-term reliablility since the 2001-up Volvos are far more complex than mine, add on the AWD and a computer-controlled suspension and computer-aimed headlights, and, well, you get the idea.

So for now I just keep piling the miles on my old one!

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 164k mi, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, e-codes, V-1, Mobil-1 since new

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair." -- Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

My advice, keep the 940. It's good for another 100,000 miles.