I'm your average Brickboard idiot. As I look out my window, my stately 1992 740 wagon stands proudly in my driveway with 180K on it, and it runs just fine and I get around 27mpg with the old gal. Previously, I had 240s and one 960.

Hang in there.

Now, a close friend wants to buy a 2000 S40 for her daughter. The car has 58K on it, and is as clean as a whistle. Being the Brick Idiot that I am, I went along to view the vehicle from the current owner, a 20-something college student who wants out of the car payments. We drove it and it's fine, though the dealer she bought it from is replacing one window switch.

Now, I'm an old timer with the old 240's, 740's, etc. This new car had me bolloxed. The owner, though sincere and quite sweet said she had no problems, and she had the brakes replaced. I've visited other sites and there are some common themes with the 2000 S40:
Brakes-they seem to go quick
Motor Mounts - replaces at 50K (give me a break!)
Engine Light-on and off due to bad O2 sensors.
Paint.

Now.....I trust the Brickboard folks. I don't think paint's a problem with the car we saw. I drove the car hard and braked hard and she came to a nice straight stop. It ran smooth with no shaking.....

I think that most posts to the Internet are from folks who are pissed about their cars, and they think that somehow the Volvo badge equals no problems. In the final analysis, Bricks are metal and steel and break down like other cars. But in general, any thoughts on the overall reliability and potential problems with the 2000 S40 would be appeciated. Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance.

Tim
86 240 wagon, 177K, 94 960, 150K, 89 240 112K, 92 740 185K

Mr. Tim,
You get what you pay for. The chassis/frame the S40 is built on may be the same as a Japanese car, but the motor/electronics are not as good. Most of us on the Brickboard who have 1994+ cars, bought top of the line European luxury cars. The S40 is not one of them.
The Brickboard came about because of the love of 240/544 cars and the want to save them. If there were no problems with these cars and parts were easy to get, there would be no Brickboard. All we see from the current Volvo lineup are headaches and heart breaks. You probably won't find a good opinion about S/V40 cars on this site.
Tell your buddy to look at a 1993 240 and all of its safety features, and then tell him you would help him maintain it. That would make all of us Brickboarders proud :)

Klaus
--
98 V70Rawd(108Kmi), 95 854T(88K mi), 75 164E(173K mi)

Klaus -
Well spoken pal. She asked me what kind of car would I buy for my kid, and my response was EXACTLY what you wrote. Well, no more speculatin', the car's done been bought, so here we go!!!! It will be interesting for me to track this car since the driver is a very mild-mannered and responsible young 17 year-old. I suspect she will be a little heavy on the brake pedal, so we'll keep our eyes on those rear pads.

TC

16, 17, and 18 year olds kill cars. I know I was that age once and there are hoosiers here in St. Louis who whould string me up for what I did to a clean, maintained 72 Monte Carlo.

My S40 will go to my daughter when she is ready to drive 14 years and six months from now. The old man is counting down till his little girl gets behind the wheel. Gonna prop the waste gate open so it drives like a normally aspirated 1.9L.

mormit
--
85 245DL 260,000mi V15cam It takes a licking and keeps on ticking, 02 S40 Mmmmmm,

There are no paint or major motor mount issues. The brake problem is mostly due to the poorly designed electronic power assist system used because the engine lacks enough vacuum and although it's problems are now solved by a recall, initial cold power braking is less than ideal for some. Rear bk pads can rust in place thus wear prematurely but otherwise brake parts wear normally.

All that said, it's more like a small cheap Japanese car than ANY earlier Volvo that you're familiar with, NO comparison.

They aren't all bad cars but to me, it's no Volvo and if I was to even consider a car like that, I'd just buy a Toyota instead. That's my opinion.

We bought a new V40 in 2000 and it has less durable paint than on any Volvo I've owned or seen. A motor mount had to be replaced at 70K miles. The brakes are strong, but pads go away extremely quickly up front (about every 20K for us). So I guess we're part of the crowd that have paint, motor mount & brake issues. The CEL was a real PITA too.
All that said, we are actually happy with this wagon, it's quieter and looks better than what the Japanese and Asians offer. Only the VW & Audi wagons were other contenders for us. After running the numbers on personal upgrades, the V40 came out ahead.

My advice: shop around for an extended warranty.

Don
00 V40
94 855T

Thanks Don. I think the paint on this little number is okay. The brakes will need regular attention no doubt. To wit: I thought my 92 740 wagon needed new brakes. Long story short, the pads were fine. My trusted Volvo mechanic showed me they were fine, but put on poorly. We chatted about the "quick fix" Midas-type deals, and he just shook his head. From now on, I'll get the "good" Volvo pads and pay the little extra for peace of mind.
TIm

The "old" SV40 was built on the platform on the same Dutch assembly line as something called the Mitsubishi Carisma. It has a 4-cylender version of the Volvo 4-5-6 cylinder engine family.

I was left unimpressed by the SV40 service loaners I've driven.

Volvo S40:




Mitsubishi Carisma:

The passenger compartment is intact.

S40 and the Misubishi were built on the same line...blah, de blah. So are Toyotas and Chevys in the California plant. I think it's named the NUMMI plant. One maker is known for quality, the other has been dropped to junk bonds status. The workers are given better parts and a better design on S40s and Toyotas at those co-owned plants.

I've never needed to drive a service loaner. From your post it sounds like you have.


mormit
--
85 245DL 260,000mi V15cam It takes a licking and keeps on ticking, 02 S40 Mmmmmm,

Thanks. I'm fairly certain the typical Volvo frame is in this car; I think it's before the Detroit guys started building the s40 on the Ford Focus frame. THe car is safe, but are we looking at a host of repairs here?
tim