I'm looking at a 1998 T-5 for $2800. It appears to be in good shape with 127K. Reportedly has no problems. However after reading the forum blog on Edmunds for that year I'm a bit concerned. A lot of unhappy people with the 1998 S70. Primarily electrical problems. My other concerns are the need for premium gas with the T-5 and the fact that Consumers Reports listed it as a car to avoid. There were a few T-5 owners who were quite happy and reported few problems. Is it likely that the S70 was produced at several different factories some which turned out good cars and other that turned out not so good cars. I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Heck, it's a 12 year old car. Of course there will be problems, but the price sounds good if there are service records that come with it. If you DIY, buy it, otherwise the dealer or indie will reward you with nice fat repair bills.

Compared to other European cars, Volvos are easy to work on. And they do need to be maintained. But the T5 can be a very fun car with good mpg, plus it is reasonably safe.

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Proud owner of a 220S. If I had more room, I would have more Volvos.

d,

The '98 was the first year for the essentially updated 850. So, the usual bugs to work out.

The only electrical problems I've experienced were all fixed under warranty. Specifically, the turn-signal sockets, headlamps and headlamp switch.

Have it inspected by a trustworthy mechanic familiar with Volvos.

One annoying issue with the '98's can be broken dash mounts. Does the dash rattle or "click" over rough roads? There are several ways to address this--check the archives.

No car is problem free and, once the common problems are addressed--delaminated door panels, some interior plastics less durable than spun sugar, etc.--it will be normal maintenance.

Like most Volvos, 100K miles is the break-in period. After 120K+ miles, my '98 S70 GLT is a very satisfying ride.

Good luck,
Bryan

I have a '98 S70T5. It has 56,000 miles on it. It hasn't exhibited any electrical problems to my knowledge, though I have only owned it two years.

Funny, my car's biggest disappointments are the two things another reply states. The door panels tend to delaminate where the indentation is. The driver's door is the only one that didn't, probably because there is an elbow in there occasionally. Also, you can't reset the service engine light without a special tool.

The service engine light ticked me off too, so I spent a half hour pulling the dash pad and yanking the light out of the dash. "Problem" solved. Everyone with a brain knows when to service their engine.

The '98 has a better transmission than my '95 has - shifts more smoothly and doesn't trigger the flashing arrow. The seats are very similar to the ones in the '95 - they killed a couple of head to make these things. Very comfortable. I miss them when I get into my '05 V70.

My guess is the mechanicals are as reliable as the later 850's (most are the same). The ABS electrical failure I believe carried into this year, but you can get that fixed by Vic Rocca for a reasonable price if need be.

The button finish in the '98 vs '95 (windows controls, A/C, etc) are a rubber that nicks easily and softens a bit in the sun. Just something I noticed. I believe they used a lower grade plastic in the dash as well, and there is a tendency for the mounts to the firewall to crack and cause a squeaky dash. Mine doesn't exhibit this.

I would say buy it, if the 850/S70 interests you. I sold my '95 Turbo for that price with 180K miles, but it was Ebay. If I had a local seller I could have gotten more. Good luck.

according to wikipedia this car was manufactured in two locations : Torslanda Sweeden and Halifax NS Canada.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_S70

I have a 1998 V70 made in Ghent Belgium - many V70s were made here.

All three factories have fairly good reputations as I understand it. Some more research might turn up something else?

Your car will certainly require some maintenance and if you want to keep it a while I suggest you do some research on this site about what types of things will likely be required.

Overall this is a pretty reliable year because it still has the traditional throttle cable setup and traditional distributor, and no variable valve timing. This is a pretty standard configuration for a car which Volvo and other makers have become very good at building. Things started getting a lot more complicated mechanically starting in 1999.

I've found nothing but bad reviews on most cars at Edmunds. Do some thinking about what kinds of people will go out of their way to post on sites like this - a certain demographic to be sure, of which dissatisfied owners probably make up the majority.

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1998 V70 AWD->FWD Turbo 200k+

A friend of mine had a 98 S70 with the low pressure turbo. He had a couple of problems with it but drove it for about 175K miles. He had door panels that delaminated and he replaced the air pump twice. I also remember that he was pissed off that there was no way to reset the "service engine" light without buying a special tool.