We are looking at buying a 1998 S70. In trying to do our research on that year and model we found that Consumer Reports lists the 98 S70 as a risky buy. Does anyome have any feedback on this? Does this seem to be a year and model with an unusual amount of problems?

Poncho,

My wife's Accord has been more reliable. But, it's a big YAWN.

My S70 GLT had teething pains but they were addressed under warranty. I have not had any problems with the A/C, ABS controller, or bulbs. My biggest out-of-pocket expense has been the delaminating door panels. Volvo wouldn't make it good even though it is a known defect.

Tom & Ray (Click & Clack) say there are two types of Volvo owners. The first type accepts that there will be at least one major engineering glitch based expense and accepts it as par for the course. The second type is outraged and gets rid of the car. I belong to the first group.

At @60K miles the car feels better than ever. But, you will forever be lubricating a latch here, or tightening a fastener there to keep it rattle free. Since I don't expect machines to be either perfect or maintenance free, I don't have any "issues" with tending to my vehicle's needs.

The S60 IS certainly a more stylish car. But, I think the box is attractive. Well, maybe attractive is too generous. It is however comfortingly familiar.

Either do your own maintenance (I do) or find a reasonably priced and skilled mechanic. Otherwise, you'll probably hate your car. Best of luck with your decision.

Bryan

As it was a rollout of a considerably refreshed and rengineered 850, there were some serious teething problems with the car. If you're getting it used, at least most of the nuiscance items should have been fixed by now - headlight cosckets, ABS control module. I've had few problems with the car (just the abhorrent ABS controller replacement.)
--
David \\ (98 S70 T5SE Black, misc mods (mostly lighting), red calipers) (92 940GLE)

I bought my 1998 S70 T5 brand new. I've driven it 104400 miles and only performed regularly scheduled service. The car is beautiful. It was designed with ergonomics, performance, saftey, and luxury in mind and it shows. I've never had any problems with this vehicle other than a broken oil dipstick. With regular maintainence this car will last me another 200000 miles without a doubt. Volvos are the best automobiles in the world (for the money).

Poncho,

I've a 1998 Volvo S70 GLE that my parents brought for my 19th birthday way back in May 1997.

Since then, it has nothing but problems for me, despite regular servicing, etc.. by nobody else than my Volvo dealership. These problems are mainly
the light bulbs, which is driving me insane. Volvo talks so much about safety, yet some of the bulbs for important functions " eat " up like nobody business. A/C is another common problem. I now have a problem with my driver-side visor who is struck halfway down and my stupid service manager said that a lot of S70 have that problem and the only situation is to replace it with a new one. My A/C switch light is OUT and so is the entire right side of my
radio, despite changing those bulbs only 6 months ago. Over the last 2 year, I am guessing that I've spend at least $400 to $600 Cdn alone just on changing light bulbs.

Let not talk about features ! ... It just gets my temperature boiling. Where
is the " Xenon HID Headlight " ? ... The interior ( appearance and quality )sure don't look like any luxury cars. Look at the new S60. They still want
$40 to $50k for the car, but still give people a 5-cylinders. Who in the hell care for a turbo when (s)he has that kind of $$ to spend ? (S)he want at least a 6-cylinder engine, if not a 8-cylinder.

The only reasons why I am keeping my S70 are:

1) My younger 16-yrs sister is learning to drive, so technically it is a safer
vehicle for her to drive at the moment.

2) My Grandma now lives with us, so it is very hard for her to get in and out
of my other brand new vehicle - 2001 Nissan Pathfinder SE SUV.

You are better off getting a 1997 or 1998 Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, or Mercedes-Benz.

One of my friends' took over her Dad's 1997 Lexus LS400 sedan ( brought new in late-1996 ) recently when her Dad ( a lawyer ) brought a new 2003 Lexus LS430 for himself. She told me that despite the fact that her Dad travelled a lot over the last 6 yrs on a daily basis, the Lexus has been so reliable that the only time they went back to the dealership is for oil change, and routine replacement ( brake pads, rotate tires, coolant replacement, ... ). Her Mom previously had a 1997 BMW 540i ( brought new in 1996 too ). The BMW also been doing its job flawlessly, requiring regular oil change, brake pad replacement, etc ... Her Mom just traded it for a 2003 BMW 530i.

Earlier today, I met one of my friends at the mall whom I haven't seen for a few months now. We happened to walk out together and so happen to park next to each other. I said " Hey (his name), you brought a Jetta GLX VR6 4Motion ".
Yep!, he sold his '99 XC AWD last month and brought the Jetta after the Volvo gave him nothing but problems for the last 6 months. His younger brother who has a '97 T-5R is trading his Volvo for either an IS300 or a 325ix anyday now.

Like I told Volvo NA many times over the telephone or e-mail when they contact me that this S70 is my 1st Volvo but also my last. As soon as my sister learn
to drive ok, and I save up enough money, I am trading my '98 S70 for one of the
following vehicles faster than you can say " GOODBYE VOLVO ":

1) BMW 325ix
2) Jaguar X-Type 2.5
3) Mercedes-Benz C240 Elegance 4Matic
4) Audi A4 3.0 Quattro

Good-luck with your new car purchase. Just don't buy a GM, 1996-2001 VW, Ford,
Chrysler, or Volvo !!!! ... Stay with the reliable European brands ( Audi,
BMW or Mercedes ) or go Japanese ( Nissan/Infiniti, Toyota/Lexus, Mazda, and of
course, Honda ). Acura does have a problem with its Tiptronic on its 3.2TL and
3.2CL sedan and coupe. VW does have a problem with its computer chip on its
1996-2000 models.

GOOD LUCK,

---
Kenny
2001 Nissan Pathfinder SE; 1998 Volvo S70 GLE
http://www.geocities.com/suvrules/Volvo.html

you're sure getting pretty worked up over some light bulbs. Like too many people do nowadays, they get way to worked up over the smallest problems. There are hundreds of things that can go wrong with a car, you can't expect everything to be perfect. Especially AC, it's under high pressure so of course it's going to leak out, just a lot faster than the transmission fluid will leak out of your BMW, and don't think that BMW will be cheaper to maintain than the volvo. Check out the price of a new HID light bulb from BMW.

My Mom fell in love with a 98 S70 non turbo that was sitting in the used car lot where I work and she LOVES it. Many options but leather. It drives really smooth, has enough power, but she says more would be a bit more helpful. I turned off the daytime running lights and she only turns her headlights on at night so I haven't had to replace any bulbs for her yet.

In my opinion the 5 cyl FWD volvos where built quite nicely, I'm a RWD 4 cyl volvo fan myself, but they did a good job on these cars. Where I work there is a 94 850 that arrived the other week with 270k on the odo. It would run fine if the broken fuel injector was fixed.

I will someday own one too if I could find a metallic green 855/V70 with a 5 speed and a turbo that's been taken care of.

Andrew Woods


--
My Volvo Page

your reasons, except for the headlight issue, are irrelevant. Visor a common issue? bs. radio? thats not to common either. the headlight issue can be fixed. I speak for a lot of people when i say shut the h*ll up.

Dg
--
1998 S70 T5M

It's the AWD that was plauged with problems. The FWD only has the typical problems that even 850's had.. Light Bulbs and Aircond.

On the flip side, my BMW (which Consumer Reports rated as great) had problem after problem and ended up being in the shop more time in 2 years than in my driveway.

I have a 98 S70T5 with 54K miles and a 95 850 with 63K miles. Both have
done well and the 98 is no worse or better then the 95 (in fact, I
am getting real good at replacing upper motor mounts). My 98 did
have some initial probelms but after year 2 it has done fine and
has not had any additional warranty work.

My neighbor purchased a used 98 S70 and they like it. Their initial
complaint was light bulbs burning out all the time but Volvo
addressed that with a recall campaign. They have had no other problems.

I would also say that my 98 has had fewer problmes then what I see reported
here for other 98s. So, take my experience as just one small data point.

I bought a used but loaded S70 T5SE one year ago. It had 40K miles. I put almost 20K more on it over the past year, with lots of enjoyment and very little problems. My main problem was (and still is) with the 3-CD changer. Great sound, bad design. Changing mechanisms gets stuck often. Replaced it once under warranty. Second unit worse than the first. My next big expense will be to replace the Yokohama fancy rubber, but not one penny spent on mechanical repairs so far, other than oil changes, burnt bulbs and regular maintenance.

My advice to you: get the vehicle inspected by an independent Volvo mechanic that you trust. Your trusted mechanic will list all the repairs that are needed, i.e. tune-up, brakes, muffler, broken doo-dads, etc. You can then get them fixed by the vendor before taking possession.

I love this car. By far the best I have driven. Turbo power is excellent, handling superior, comfort and amenities up there with the best luxury cars. Buy one and enjoy!

I picked up a 98 S70 GLT with 80K on it, and looking at the service records, it look sike they took care of a lot of the problems I've heard about prior to me buying it.

I've put 25K on it now, and I did have to have the AC evaporator (or whatever it is that is located in the dash) replaced. I bought the car in Jan, and never checked the AC (my fault) and come the hot weather it didn't work. After checking everything else they pinpointed the evaporator. Although I didn't buy an extended warranty they did give me a discount on the repair, but, when they put the new evaporator in, it too leaked immediately, so they had to put another one it. I was without my car for 4 days and I moaned & groaned, and the dealer ended up not charging me at all for any of the service.

Other than that I haven't had any problems with it and am happy.

Volvo did a redesign from the '97 850 and the '98 SV70s and they seem to have really cheaped out with their parts vendors.

I have a 2 1/2 inch stack of receipts on my car mostly from the first 50,000 miles. I was spooked into buying the VIP extended warranty, and I've never felt the need to do this before.

Between 50,000 and 100,000 my VIP warrany has been a loser to the tune of about $800 net, and I had an expensive AC repair at 98,000 and the ignition switch at 99,000.

My own ANECDOTAL experience suggests that many of the problems were corrected during the initial warranty period.

There are deals to be had on the '99/'00 SV70s since they're a bazillion coming in off leases and little demand. Volvo dealers include a 100,000 mile warranty with the CPO Volvos, which removes some of the risk.

Also consider also the price diffferetial between a '99 S70 and a '99 323i BMW, and how many repairs this will pay for. (This is NOT an endorsement of the S70 over the 323i!!! Look at both. Make your own decision.)

-Punxsutawney Phil

http://www.groundhog.org

Although it's mechanically the same car as the previous FWD 850s, the '98 X70s were the first year of that body and interior change and like most other "new model year cars", it was the most problematic year of all X70s and most were just minor electrical problems, nothing major.
The good news is that by now, most '98 X70s have probably been fixed under warranty so odd are good that if you bought one, you'ld be spared of all the minor inconviences.