I'm currently searching for my daughter's first car under $6000 and would like recommendations for Volvos. I have owned a couple of 240's in the past. Are there any to stay away from. Reliability, repair costs, safety are things I'm looking at in a sedan.

 

I'd probably start by looking at a well maintained, medium mileage S40 2.4i. That's the naturally aspirated version (no turbo to simplify the engine). for $6K you should be able to find a 2006-2008 with 100K miles. Just make sure you get the maintenance records to be sure things like the timing belt has been changed (due 10 years/120K on most S40s) and get a professional inspection done. Repair costs for Volvos are middling. More than a Toyota, less than a VW (lol I own one of each). Reliability is good but does require proper maintenance to keep it that way.

 

Is this a Chinese made Volvo?

 

Ghent, Belgium. I think Volvo opened their assembly plan in China in 2014 or so. To be sure, you can take the car's VIN to figure it out. The first two characters of the VIN tells you where the car was assembled. ie YV says its a Volvo that was built in Belgium or Sweden.