I would get the T5 because of the price factor and lord knows I would just get a tuned ecu and other upgrades and STILL get more power and come to about the same price of the R with the upgrades or maybe a little cheaper

 

Same thing as the 850Rs, yeah, they have a nicer interior and a front bumper, but they're usually two or three times as much as an 850 Turbo. And all you have to do is spend about 150 bucks on a MBC and boost gauge, and now your quicker than an R.

 

IF you afford ... got for R, doesn't matter which

 

Wait, what?

 

Thanks for all the responses! I ended up purchasing a v70 FWD 2000. It has all service records since it's birth. very well maintianed. I didn't want a 2000 (rather go with a 98' or earlier) but I could'nt find one that was decent.

I posted questions concerning the tranny on the 2000 if anyone cares to reply. It's on a new thread. v70 Transmission Reliability. I hope the tranny will last for years to come, since i didn't realize at the time that it was a 5-speed automatic. Shifts fine right now.

 

I love Volvos and it is hard for me to say this, but at the moment, Subaru owns the small 4wd market.
Ridiculously reliable, well made, cheap to buy and maintain etc. Their drivetrains have been well and truly refined over 25 years.
I also think modern cars have become far too complex and reliant on computers for even turning interior lights on. I think it's a reliability time bomb across all makes, and I don't quite understand why we, as consumers, demand such junk.

Regards, Andrew.

 

I absolutely agree Typhoon. It's discouraging when you try and find a "newer" car (for me, newer is 2000 and up) that is reliable and cheap to maintain. To me, the only cheap way to maintain a vehicle is to do it myself. I don't see that happening with the newer models. I'd love to buy an XC-90, but the reliability scares me! (tranny issues, awd issues etc...)

I love my 96' 850 and hate to see it get older.

 

Mainer.. congrats on your new volvo. We must think alike. AWD is not all it's cracked up to be. Besides FWD, 4WD or AWD they all only have 4 wheel braking, or ABS.

We all have the opportunity to keep the older cars going...It's a matter of how much it means to us to stay liberated from the stealers. I'm tired of the book value thing.. older cars are worth what they are to their owners. Let's say we have to put $2500- $3000 into a 96 850 and you can drive it another 100K maybe more, do the calculation...It's still comfortable, safe and cost effective transportation. This is why I love my volvo.

Typhoon.. I like the outback, the tribeca sucks big time... we owned one. But just after I bought my 96 850 wagon I asked my then girlfriend if she wanted to trade her 98 outback with half the mile for my volvo...She said, seriously, Yes...I said NO. no regrets.

 

Congrats on the new purchase! Post pics. of your new Volvo

 

Agree with keeping older vehicles going. It costs me far less than the cost of dealer servicing, depreciation and interest on a loan to keep my older cars well maintained. yes that's right, all three of my vehicles cost less to maintain and run than buying a brand new car and sucking up depreciation etc. We have a car we bought two years old in 2007 with 28k kms on it, paid cash, was half teh value of a new one. Been perfect and we intend to keep it 10 years.
Plus, I know the vehicles inside out, what issues are coming up, what has been done PROPERLY etc.
I agree with you on the Tribeca, it is not selling well down here either (Australia) it looks gaudy and cheap, unlike anything else in the Subaru lineup. It is a weird car, Subaru must have watched the likes of reskinned Rav4, Mitsu Outlander etc flop as marketing exercises, but they still released the Tribeca?
I really like the new Forester, it is the size the car should've been all along. The new Liberty, well, it looks very plain and slab sided, but it's quite a nice vehicle too.
If I was forced to buy something new for daily use, they'd be on my short list, with a 2.5 turbo Forester a finalist I think.

 

It is not a bad idea at all. Even at that i found it a little surprising that these parts needed to be replaced but i guess they don't make them like they used to..haha but it's not that bad really...
I too had a '95 850 wagon and it was a tank!
The 2006 is a good car i must say...if you're comparing with other cars of today i would say volvo's are still good...
By John,