Volvo AWD Forum

INDEX FOR 10/2025(CURRENT) INDEX FOR 9/2005

[<<]  [>>]


THREADED THREADED EXPANDED FLAT PRINT ALL
MESSAGES IN THIS THREAD




  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE Replies to this message will be emailed.    PRINT   SAVE 

Thinking about purchasing a volvo.

Hey I am a college student wanting to purchase a volvo and I have decided on the 2001 S60 T5 or the 1999 S80 T6. Does anyone have any pros or cons about either of these? I don't want to get something that I will have to drop too much money into.








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE Replies to this message will be emailed.    PRINT   SAVE 

Thinking about purchasing a volvo.

Please stay away from the S80 T6, it was a test mule for electronics that failed miserably.
"older" Volvos, pre-1999, are OK. What is nice about Volvos unlike BMW/AUDI, Volvos can be maintained in the driveway, for the most part. If you have to go to a dealer or mechanic for simple repairs/maintenance, it will be expensive.

Look for a reasonable 850(not 1993) or S70 in your area. Then let us look at the URL for that particular car and we can provide a bunch of questions to ask the seller.

Klaus
--
Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.








  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Thinking about purchasing a volvo.

I would not recommend either of those for a car that you don't want to put some money into.

The early (pre 2003-ish?) S80s seem to have a lot of problems, and the T6 esp.

The 2001 cars all had transmission problems from software problems and poor fluid maintenance practices (Volvo recommended zero maintenance, and that is generally what is done).

Either of these cars /could/ be great, and not have any of the common problems, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

If you're looking for low maintenance costs, it's pretty tough to beat a 1998 NA (non-turbo) S/V70. Manual vs Auto is a toss up - the clutch master and slave cylinders wear out on the manuals (around 150k-200k and it's an expensive repair requiring the trans to be split from the engine), and the autos often have their fluid neglected and suffer more damage than necessary, esp in mountainous regions and on towing cars.

The turbos aren't much harder to take care of, though they do need a bit more discipline with oil changes (can you count on prev owners for this?). Volvo's turbos seem to be pretty durable in general, and the 850+ seems to be tougher than the ones used on -700s IMHO.

After that I'd pick a 2003-2007 V70, or a 1996-1997 850

--
1998 V70 AWD->FWD Turbo 200k+







<< < > >>



©Jarrod Stenberg 1997-2022. All material except where indicated.


All participants agree to these terms.

Brickboard.com is not affiliated with nor sponsored by AB Volvo, Volvo Car Corporation, Volvo Cars of North America, Inc. or Ford Motor Company. Brickboard.com is a Volvo owner/enthusiast site, similar to a club, and does not intend to pose as an official Volvo site. The official Volvo site can be found here.