I am an owner of 2 240's, but in the near future I am looking to try out an S80.

Overall, how is everyone feeling about them? Any complaints to be had?
Just wanted to check and see if there is anything I REALLY should know about them from current owners. I think they are the nicest looking Volvo to come out since the 240 dissapeared. Enlighten me please!

Thanks,
Chuck
'84 245 221K
'88 244 159K ('lil sick right now... :( )

I bought an '03 S80 recently that came from the "loaner" fleet at the dealership. Due to my job, I've averaged 2,500 miles per month on this car and have been completely happy and impressed with the comfort, handling and responsiveness. I'm pretty certain that any glitches would have at least started to manifest themselves by now, but nothing.

You can count me as a new and very satisfied Volvo owner.

I just signed the lease on my third S80. We love the car. I you read the complains and follow the threads you will see that there were some significant problems with the early 99 models. Most of the mechanical problems have been occuring in the T-6 model. If you stick to the 2.9 you will probably be fine. The car is extremely confortable, easy to drive, adequately powered, handles well in any kind of weather and a great buy for the money. If you want a large sedan that you can drive around and 90 mph and handles like a sports car at that speed, get a 7 series Beemer or a Mercedes.

If you want a great all around large sedan for every day driving, the S80 is the car. We had 2 S80 with no problems.

Bernie G

Keep those 240s!!! Don't go near any Volvo later than 1993. The new cars are crap. I had a '98 S90 that was four years of hell, no support from the local dealer or Volvo North America. I have a '66 1800S which I may or may not keep and am always on the lookout for a clean 240. After owning Volvos since 1968 I'll never buy another new one. Volvo has become a domestic auto company just like its owner, Ford. My daily car is a Toyota, no problems, just get in it and go.
--
Roy Olson

Luckily for me, I have not experienced any of these S80 T-6 horror stories. My car is the most reliable I have ever owned and I own a 1999 S80 T6 model, the worst model to have according to some on this forum.

I have owned Corvettes, Lexus, Acura, Cadillacs...etc. My Cadillac STS was a POS compared to the Volvo in every way. I was always at the dealer with problems. The Acura TL faired no better with the auto tranny always having problems. The Lexus GS300 is good, but the $150 to $350 every time I went to the dealer for scheduled maintenance work killed me.

Every car has problems now and then and while many here have had problems with their S80 which have been catasrophic in scope, I don't think that these problems represent the vast majority of the S80's out there on the road. Volvo would not open themselves up to such liability from consumers if their product line all of the sudden is viewed by the public as being lemons.

If the S80 is maintained properly and certain things updated on the vehicle with better than OEM products when they need to be changed.... like the Air Filter...change to H&K, the headlamp bulbs-Philips instead of those Valeo crap bulbs, Mobil 1 in the crankcase always with some additive like Duralub or zMax, synthetic ATF in the tranny, Denso Iridium spark plugs, better brake pads from IPD, some battery additive to prevent electrical/battery problems available at JC Whitney, etc.... the car is really a pleasure to drive and own. Its performance is sometimes breathtaking and it give me a really good feeling.

Maybe I've just been lucky and that's good for me, but from my perspective as an owner, I would probably recommend the car (S80) to anyone that wants a solid, heavy and safe performance car to drive day in and day out to work or for pleasure. Many of you here may disagree, and that's OK and I respect that....yet most will probably agree.

The S60R is next in line for me come May...HAHAHAHAHA I can't wait. The S80 is staying in the family, though.

Gary, I will 2nd Gary's account of the trouble you could have, matter of fact I will put aside Robertson's Rules of Order and 3rd and 4th his accouting. I too have a 240, purchased new in 1988 and, like you, have had few troubles with it and wanted to stay in the Volve family. I bought the '99 S80 T-6 and it was an absolutely beautiful car. The trouble started the day after I got it home, all electrical and computer trouble. I got to 'pleasure' ride this car a total of 2 days of the 20 I owned it, the rest of the time it was at the dealer, going to the dealer or waiting in the garage until I could get it to the dealer. Man, one thing after another surging idle, dying at stops, dashboard error messages, etc., etc. Luckily, the place from where I bought it was paying for the repairs and when I said I cannot keep this car, they gave me all my money back. This has really soured me on the new Volvo's and I believe they've lost me as a customer. But, I still have my 240 and it's running fine.

You're not alone. Volvo has lost and will continue to lose all of their "old timer" customers who once owned their older, better cars. Todays Volvos are not even close to what they once were. You wouldn't know that it was even built by the same car company. Volvo now seems to build cars trying to compete with all the gadgetry of BMW (also known to be a very problematic car line), MB and Audi and those people are usually leasing those cars now for 4 yrs when new, they don't ever OWN those cars or intend to. Volvos warranty keeps the car useable during that lease BUT that's about it. You don't want one after the lease, warranty expires anymore. Buyer beware bigtime!
I just cringe when I see people with older, mostly "troublefree" Volvos (even older 850s) who think that they're buying a decent 'certified used car' only to discover that they just traded into a nightmare. I seriously feel sorry for those people.

Volvo should advertize realistically with the new cars like the old Oldsmobile comercials from years ago: "It's not your dads Volvo anymore" as that's so true but it's in a bad way to me.

It's to the point where I no longer want to work on the new cars anymore as I'm tired of all the repeat problems with upset customers (created by Volvo, not the dealers btw). Might be "job security" but angry, unhappy customers are not what I enjoy seeing or hearing about everyday, has gotten real old and I think it'll get even worse in a few years, not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as far as new Volvos are concerned.

The 240 was a solid, simple and dependable troublefree car that was easy to maintain and repair when need be. The S80 is the exact opposite: It's very problematic (never buy a '99 or '00), costs big $$$s to repair, maintain, many repairs require going to dealer as the Vadis PC is required for diagnostics, software, etc. The car will never last like the 240s without first emptying your bank account. Those who own them/like them describe it as a love/hate relationship as the car IS nice to drive WHEN everything's working.
I'd keep, buy, maintain older RWD 200s/700s/940s (not 960s) anyday over thinking about buying an S80 unless you don't mind costly, annoying, never-ending, repeat problems that require several trips to your local dealer. Most people don't enjoy that, I wouldn't either.
The '02s on up are better than earlier years so if you really want one, buy a newer S80. Don't expect ANY new Volvo to be like an older "good" RWD car like a 240, 740, 940 (best RWDs IMO).

Thanks for the info Gary...now that you mentioned it, old 240's are getting cheaper and cheaper to pick up and in the long run don't cost that much even after repairs.
I think i'll stick with the 240's, plus I have enough 'special' tools to make it worth while on my budget!

Take care,
Chuck

I have 2 700s now and although I like 850s too, they're a tad more troublesome and costlier to own in the long run. I'd buy an 850T if the price was "right" but it'd have to be less than what I'm typically seeing so far. Sooner or later I'll find one, no doubt.
I plan to keep my 700s alive for as long as possible but I'm always keeping my eyes open for more older RWDs. I really like '93-'95 940Ts as those have been the least problematic Volvo ever IMO and have plenty of power too.
I need a house with a huge multi-car garage too someday.

just turned in my leased S80 T6. Bought a MB and am so happy to be out of Volvo's clutches. This car was a headache and desptie the beautiful design it always felt like a truck - front end problems that never were resolved or re appaeared within a month after fixing. The car is junk - sta away - there's a reason why a car with a residual value of 27,000 is going thru the auctions at 18-19,000.