I'm planning to buy my wife a campact Volvo for her birthday. My budget is $4,000. I am only looking at s40 and v50 cars. Body style is the 2006....2007 style.

We already have a BMW 3 Series wagon, a Volkswagen Passat wagon. Both cars have AWD transmissions. We live in a mountain community so the 4x4 transmissions are a necessity during the rain and snow seasons.

Looking at these Volvo cars, I see so many of them available with bad motors priced right around a thousand dollars. They look to be in perfect condition, clean paint, clean interiors. Really nice cars, just busted motors.

What's up with the motors? Is there a common problem with these engines? I can replace timing belts, head gaskets, motors, trannys, etc.....doing mechanical work is no problem for me.

Just wondering what to look out for when buying one of these Volvo cars. I'd rather spend (up to) $4,000 to get a car in perfect conditions rather than buy one for a thousand dollars needing thousands of dollars in repairs.......or should I stay away from these cars all together.

I've only owned European cars because they come with the best comfort options. Mercedes, VW, BMW, Saab, Audi, etc.......But I know car companies are known to have notorious problems..........Mercedes=Bad Transmissions........VW & Audi=Electrical problems........BMW=Blown head gaskets........Saab=Bad Turbo's & Major Oil Leaks.

So what are the notorious problems with s40 and s50 Volvos?