HI,
A friend called tonite to ask about issues on XC90`s. A close friend of his is selling his `05 that he brought up from TX: the vehicle has 60K on it, dealer maintained religiously & has an extended warranty with 40K left on the warranty.
My friend`s wife is nervous about Volvo`s & potential costly maintenance issues. Can we put her fears to rest here or is this a vehicle to avoid?
Thanks,
Rich

Make sure the warranty works in Canada if that is where the car is going to be based. I would avoid the T6 engine.

For an SUV, the XC90 pales next to a BMW X5 (3.0L) as far as traction goes.

For shear reliability and parts availibility, a Chevy Tahoe would make for a comfortable truck based vehicle with more storage room and 4WD.

Klaus
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Why are Volvos so endearing? Its just a car.

BTW which engine does the car have - KlausC on this board seems to steer people away from the twin turbo 6 cylinder engine because it creates so much engine bay heat it cooks the electrical stuff and causes problems. You'd have to think something like that would be exacerbated in a climate like they have in Texas.

Another of KlausC's suggestions that I agree with wholeheartedly is that the XC70 is probably a better car in most respects. It has more luggage capacity, better fuel mileage, just as much power and safety, and is probably actually better in the snow (same AWD system). I would be interested to know what he (or anyone else) thinks of the comparison now that the newer XC/V70s (2007+) and the XC90s are built on the same platform...


I can't personally speak to the maintenance costs with this model. It will certainly help if you have a Volvo-oriented indie nearby.
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1998 V70 AWD->FWD Turbo 200k+

FWIW for most people on this board "dealer maintained" doesn't mean much because the dealer maintenance schedule is basically the bare minimum required to get the car through the warranty and is more motivated by marketing concerns than the actual proper upkeep of the car.

For instance, witness the completely asinine "never change the transmission fluid" directive. Dealers will never change the trans fluid unless you have a symptom they're trying to correct or you specifically ask for and pay for it.

Someone who says their car was "dealer maintained" has a better car than someone who says they have an "unmaintained" car but who would ever say that.

To me personally "dealer maintined" means "I never took any personal interest in taking care of the car and left all maintenance decisions up to the dealer". This will inevitably lead to the neglect of at least the following things:

(I've also listed a common service interval for each one)

- brake fluid (2 years)
- coolant (2-5 years)
- bevel gear fluid (30k-50k miles)
- rear diff fluid (~100k miles)
- trans fluid (~50k miles)
- rubber coolant hoses (8-10 years)
- rubber brake flex lines (8-10 years)
- rubber PCV lines (8-10 years)
- rubber vac lines (8-10 years)
- carbon build up (remedy with Seafoam + water treatment) (~1 year esp for older cars)
- sludge build up (remedy with AutoRx + only use synthetic oil)


I'd be willing to be none of these items have been done to this car, even the ones that apply (age or mileage).

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1998 V70 AWD->FWD Turbo 200k+

Thanks for all your responses. I did omit that vehicle has the 2.5T.
My friend who is considering this XC90 is not really a Volvo guy but has just accepted a job in which he will be doing much travelling . So, lots of hiway miles & he`s looking for comfort & safety.
This car became available when my friend`s friend was 'low balled" on a tradein at the Volvo dealer here. Decided to sell it privately.
Thanks again!
Rich

Excellent list!! But I recommend coolant change every 2 years at maximum.

Thanks for the compliment. I used to do coolant changes every 2 years as well but I've sold myself on the extended life of the newer fluids. I'd feel comfortable taking the new Zerex G05 (what I'm using right now) to 4 years.

With that said, I often find a reason to open the system up and do the change anyway like a new thermostat or replacing coolant hoses or something like that. Maybe now that I have an OEM Volvo t-stat (~10 months old) and new cooling system rubbers I will be able to go a few years without having to poke around in there...

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1998 V70 AWD->FWD Turbo 200k+