My only experience with Volvo's so far has been with the vintage PV's but I am going to be in the market for another car soon and will be looking at Volvos. In a recent post, the 99 S80 was taged as the car/year to avoid.
Are the later S80's any better?
How about S70's, anythging to look out for here?
Appreciate any feedback
Dennis

The 1999's did have problems but maybe it's also just poor knowledge on the dealers part.

I'm pasting a post I had on volvospy below. It's a followup to my taking the car to the dealer before vacation and them calling me and saying that I should junk the car because the estimate was almost 10K.

follow-up below ....
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Well I'm a little relieved and upset as well...

The estimate had a few things that were not even wrong with the car...

Headlight assembly and fog light cracked - $650
150K service (I'm now at 144K) - $675

Then there were a few things that are just poorly trained mechanics. I had reported that the sunroof opens to rear but will not open up and when you close it it's not flush with the roofline.

They quoted $360 for a new sun roof control module. Then out of curiosity I check VADIS last night and see that after replacing the module it needs to be recalibrated. Mine has never been replaced but I figured maybe it lost the calibration. Today I go to the car and hold the open button down for 5 seconds and BOOM it opens up and closes just fine now.

Now shouldn't the dealer have tried that????

They also quoted $1600 for front struts, rear shocks, link rods and sway bar.

Now I figure its' time for the rear shocks but the front have been replaced twice already. I asked the dealer why the front keep breaking down and why it's not covered under warranty as they were replaced 6K miles ago. The answer ... well last time they were replaced under warranty for the first replacement which lasted a whooping 20K miles. Apparently, they will only replace them once under warranty!!!!!

Then there's the ABS wheel sensor.... they listed on the estimate $225 for replacement. Again, looking at VADIS I see it connects near the firewall of the engine compartment. I open the hood today and see that one of the two wires is broken. Now shouldn't the mechanic have seen this? Maybe... maybe not but since I was getting a constant ABS service message and given that wheel sensors don't generally fail ... I would expect them to look a little further then just read off a code and automatically assume that the part needs to be replaced!!!!

The rest of the items do look legit but I certainly will not be going to the dealer for them.

I will end up doing most if it myself but will be turning to you guys for help. I'm a pretty good weekend mechanic but want to make sure I do things the easiest way!

Well I think I've let off my steam for tonight!

My experience with Volvo was Great before I bought the 1999 S80. Lots of trouble, most notably the ongoing suspension parts replacement, and more expensive the electrical problems - primarily various computer modules - ABS, Airbag (SRS), etc....recently the vehicle has been decent (although lots of nuiscance problems - broken gas cap cover). The best feature is the leather seats, great comfort for long trips.

http://brickboard.com/AWD/index.htm?id=947302

One BIG problem to check out with the S70 (need to check model years but 99-00 for sure) is that there is no mechanical linkage between the accelerator and the throttle body but a device called an ETS which has a high failure rate.

It's a ~$1200. repair that volvo ducks footing the bill for by stalling with half a__ fixes until the car is out of warrenty. If it fails (not if but when) you're screwed as the dealer must reprogram the unit after replacing it.

Anything before 1999 ('98 and earlier) doesn't have this ETS or ETM issue. C/S/V/XC70's and 80's all share this issue. With earlier 850's the A/C Evap was also an almost "for sure" repair at also $1grand+. Other than these issues the Trans. needs to be flushed at 60K or less on every Volvo (even though the dealer will tell you differently). I personally like the S80 design...would buy one that's '01 or later though...after the kinks have been worked out from earlier models.

I bought a '98 S70 to avoid the above issues. It isn't as large as the S80 but still stylish and has plenty of power.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon

I agree with you on the S80 design, I like it too.
Dispite the bullet proof reputation of Volvos from the 70's and 80's, I just couldn't get over the box design and avoided them. I know design is very personal and what I drive has been called the "toad" of all Volvo's but I love it.

Are you saying the problems with the ETS / ETM are gone with the 2001 models?

Dennis

No...I think that all P2 Volvo also have the same design flaw, but we don't hear about them much yet...give it a few more years (and miles) and we should. However, even with the poor design, the internal parts, from what I've gathered are heartier and better and will last longer.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon