We just purchased a 2005 S80 2.5T in real nice (almost new) condition - 72,000 miles. It's the first FWD for us after 30 years of RWD Volvos. If we ever figure out all the gizmos and gadgets it will be a miracle. For instance, I guess it has some sort of rain sensor for the wipers. The faster we drove in the rain, the faster the wipers wiped - pretty cool as long as it keeps working..... Now if we could just figure out all the logic behind the trunk lock!!!

Undoubtedly I'll be checking in here with my stupid questions. Here's one: Where did they hide the transmission fluid dipstick?

Thanks for any help.

Chris, thanks a million for the detailed response, I greatly appreciate it.

Apparently I'm in good company. My considerations next time around are the ES330 (2005+), M-B E350 (2005+), Toyota Avalon (2006+), Volvo S60 (05-06) or the S60 (07 or 08). I have an Avalon already, which is predictably reliable and powerful, but like the Lexus GS and ES, they don't have the solid feel that the Volvos and the M-B have. Nice to drive but not the same. I notice a remarkable difference now between my Avalon and last remaining 940, which live 1500 miles from each other. Consequently, I get to drive each only periodically, getting used to one or the other before switching locations for another extended period of time.

As far as the Volvos, the S60 seems a little on the small side, but I usually don't have passengers so I'm toying with it. But I really prefer the S80 since it's not far away in price. I would love to step up to an 07 or 08 S80 but not sure about the reliability or the 3.2 engine (forget the V8 and AWD... even the basic platform is a little bit of an unknown so far). I'd rather stick with the tried and true.

Furthermore, like you, I've found that there are tons of the ES330 floating around and a lot of them aren't that nice of pieces after a short period of time. My guess is most of them are leased and cared for moderately well, but there are some tacky ones. Plus they don't drive as solidly as the Volvo and MB platforms (this is a big thing for me).

The M-B is going towards the bottom of the list with its pseudo-sealed transmission (not a problem once the tools are procured, but an annoyance). But the prices are so attractive it's hard to pass up. I regularly see low (21-22k) for a low mileage 2005 model with factory nav. That's not far off from a loaded 06 Avalon with similar equipment, so it's like... why not just buy the Benz? But then again, $23k could buy an 07 S80 so I end up back where I started, until I figure that the Avalon would be the best of the whole bunch in terms of longevity, and I'm confused yet again.

As far as the less expensive Japanese models go, they're all out of whack and indeed it's almost just as well to purchase a brand new model, taking advantage of incentives and/or super cheap financing, which would ultimately bring the overall cost of ownership down to the same as the used car, assuming that hard cash isn't being used, rather being invested at a reasonably respectable rate of return.

The whole process of buying a car is so confusing because of the incentives, the bizarre wholesale market for certain models, and the depreciation curves of others. I really was intrigued by this thread because it touched on the important years of the S80, and on some of what I would also consider to be alternatives to the S80. Additionally, due to multiple cross-country relocations, I became distanced from Volvos for a period of time. So thanks again for the information and enjoy the new ride. I'll post back once I get closer to a decision.

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Chris Herbst
Scottsdale, AZ

It was funny to read about your shopping experience - virtually a carbon copy of what we just went through and the logic (or lack of) that was running through my mind the whole time.

For what it's worth - the indy mechanic that looked over the car for us said he loved the car and it was his opinion that the 2005-2006 was a well matured vehicle. He also said that he's not too sure about the 2007-2008's yet (probably because the indies don't really start to see them much until they're out of warranty), but that he was undernieth one the other day and he saw "FoMoCo" stamped on some sort of suspension component, so he's a bit spooked about them at least at the moment. Could it be that the Ford Five Hundred / Volvo S-80 relationship, that a lot of Ford people have been trying to claim the last couple years, is finally happening??? It's funny that claim only seemed to go one way. I never heard any Volvo owners bragging that their cars were "almost identical to a Ford Five Hundred." If it were really so, maybe you should be Ford shopping!!

Outside of a little Hyundai for our daughter, thais is the first car we've purchased in 15 years. There are some little aggravations that make you want to jump back in the 740. Like I was going through the trunk to make sure the jack and lug wrench were there and that the spare had air. The way the jack and trunk floor support, etc. all have to stack up, I see no other way the stow the spare than upside down. So in order to check the pressure you have to take everything apart and lift up the wheel to get to the valve stem. I may explore the possibilty of getting a normal steel wheel and full size tire, then mod everything else to work with it. And if someone could tell me the secrets to unlocking the trunk without having to press the little button on the key fob, I would love it. And where's the hole in the grill to put the crank? (Just kidding of course, but that's about how inorant I feel about the thing.)

Good luck with search.

Congrats on the new purchase.

Given the solid ride/chassis qualities of the RWD Volvos, are you satisfied with the way that the S80 feels on the road? I'm considering making the same purchase shortly. I'm still hanging on to one 940, but want to replace my Toyota Avalon with the S80.

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Chris Herbst
Scottsdale, AZ

Chris, good hearing from you again. It's been a while.

Our 1990 740 has 185,000+ on the odometer and never had any significant front end work done other than cone bushings and sway bar bushings. Still the original struts so hitting the pot holes, etc. is starting to get a bit rough. But amazingly the darn thing still drives down the road nice and straight with no shimmy or steering slop or brake pull. Most of the newer stuff we tested with FAR less miles didn't really feel any better when driving. But anyway, the 740 was our only baseline for comparison's sake.

We needed something with some back seat leg room to haul or tall 14 year old son around and looked at several different cars (Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Volvo, BMW, Mercedes, and so on). We quickly found that the S80 was the only Volvo roomy enough for us. But even it doesn't have the room of the old 740. But having generally received good service from our previous Volvos, we had to give it consideration.

I guess it's due to the gas crunch, but the market is real crazy right now. You can buy a nice 2XX class Mercedes for the same price as a well-equipped Camry with comparable age and mileage because the Toyotas and Hondas just aren't depreciating. I heard some consumer guy saying the other day that if you want a Toyota or Honda, go buy a new one, which goes against the typical preachings of the money minded people.

Anyway (sorry for the long story) we narrowed our search to either the S80 or the Lexus 330. Of course the kids liked the looks of the Lexus better, but it wasn't their money buying the thing. Also, for every one used S80 on the market there are about 50 Lexus's. But it just seemed that most all of the Lexus's were somewhat dinged up or blemished in some way while the S80's all looked to be very well cared for. Plus the three S80's that we tested all seemed to have more of the typical Volvo solid-as-a-rock / built like a tank feel compared to the Lexus. It's like you sit up kind of high compared to the 740 and have plenty of head room - it sort of feels like a good solid 240 more than a 740. And I think the S80 actually had more get-up-and-go than the Lexus, but I can't say for certain.

I talked to a local, well-respected Volvo indy shop and asked them if I were to buy an S80, what should I look for. They said to avoid the anything up to about 2003-2004 as it took Volvo a few years to get the bugs out. They also said to go for the 2.5T 5 cylinder rather than the 2.9 6 cylinder. So I narrowed my Auto Trader searches to those parameters which made the resulting list pretty darn short. I had to search out about 100 miles to get ANY kind of choice and that's in the metro Atlanta area. I figured the people that own these cars are either REALLY happy with them, or they can't afford to replace them. (There seemed to be significantly more S60's out there, but that back seat wouldn't work for us.) Also, I'm wondering if the Lexus people are more "leasors" while the Volvo people are more "buyers"???

All in all, I think it's a pretty nice ride, although we've only had it about a week and a half. So ask me in about 15 years how I'm liking the car. Maybe by then I will have figured out how to control all the bells and whistles.

I was just wondering why they recommended the 2.5T as opposed to the 2.9.

My parents have 2000 fully loaded S80 with the 2.8 T6 they made till they moved it to 2.9 T6 in 2001.

I currently drive 740 with 291.6k miles, but looking at upgrading in 2-3 or so years to one the T6's. Really I just want another good quality, nice looking car that can get me 300K + miles without engine rebuilds or anything major.

Congrats on the purchase

They weren't real specific, but said something about problems with the electronically controlled throttle module. (Appearantly there is no mechanical cable or linkage between the gas pedal and the throttle body, but rather a "fly-by-wire" type of electrical servo.) All I know is that I said "So, it sounds as though you would prefer to own a 5 cylinder turbo over a 6 cylinder NA," and he said "Definitely!" Also, keep in mind the 6 will be a tighter fit in the shoe box, undoubtedly making timing belt/seals/water pump changes a bit less enjoyable. I think I read somewhere that you remove the FR wheel in order to perform some of the maintenance on the (front end??) of the engine. It's likely that the mechanics complaints about the earlier years has more to do with chassis or engine management electricals than with the basic engine itself.

We still have the 90 740, so you might say we've got one foot in each boat. After 15 years with the same car it's tough to make a blind leap of faith into a new one.

The 5 cylinder tranny dipstick is on the driver's side under the plastic air intake duct. It has a yellow plastic handle, but almost impossible to see unless you already know where it is.
The fluid should be redish, not brownish.

Klaus
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I still miss my 164 and my 854T. Just driving a V70R :)

Thanks, Llaus.

We purchased it from a Volvo dealer. They listed tranny flush as one of the items performed during their used car prep. I wanted to see how clean it looked.

the dipstick is only about 6 or 8 inches long, just below the fresh
air intake duct for the air cleaner, burried beneath a wire harnes and also hidden by a hose, roughle 1/3 of the distance from the fron of the bell housing. get a good flashlight.

Thanks, Bob.