Okay i come from the world of DSM 'Insert broken DSM joke here' recently i have spotted a couple of these cars... and to be honest i have always hated the style of Volvos until now.

Knowing absolutly nothing about Volvos i thought i would get it from the horses mouth, and not a stealership.

My questions:

1) How well built is this specific model?
2) Is there any recalls?
3) Any known little quirks or anything?
4) Anything notorious? (like DSMs motor and trannys)
5) Is maintanance expensive?
6) What kind of realistic MPG do they get?

Anyone have anything else they want to add, feel free : )

Thanks,

Seb

 

^From what I heard today, the biggest knock on this car is that the resale value is junk This year 25k gets you 25k miles. Next year, these cars may very well be worth 20k. But I guess, as a DSM owner, junk resale value shouldn't matter to you.

Otherwise, look a few posts down to Steel Knight, and he's saying this car is absolutely amazing (keep in mind one of his other cars is a Mr2).

Maintenance on luxury cars is very expensive if you take your car to the dealer/shop everytime. If you do everything yourself, the parts will maybe be a couple bucks more expensive, but it is no more expensive to maintain one of these yourself than your average Honda Civic.

Edit: I think the S60R might have the Me7 system, which I hear is a pain in the *** for people who want to tune their car. From what I hear, even if you turn the boost up, the car will somehow compensate so you still run at stock power. I don't follow this, so unfortunetely, I'm not completely sure how to bypass the system. Perhaps a standalone will work, but like I said, I'm not sure.

 

Thats EXACTLY what i wanted to know. Thank you.

I also love the 'no resale value'... just makes things easier for me : ) Why should i pay sticker?

I have already seen them for under 20k too lol

If i was to aquire one it wouldnt be with the intention of modding it... but im sure the temptation of adding a MBC would be too great.. so thanks for that heads up.

Dont hate on DSMs... they have awesome potential.

 

^Well, 300hp stock is very nice. And the Turbo is always fun.

 

Amen to that

 

1) How well built is this specific model? Its a volvo, not a DSM(i used to own a 99 OZ Rally eclipse)
2) Is there any recalls? 2 from what i have seen, one not so big, one kinda eeehhhh, but hell the evo has 2 and 14 technical service bulletins
3) Any known little quirks or anything? Brakes squeak, are good though, heal toe is kinda difficult i think, turning raidius is ripped on but not much.
4) Anything notorious? (like DSMs motor and trannys) Volvos are kinda known for flying under the radar imo, but the R doesnt have anything i think
5) Is maintanance expensive? Its a 300 hp luxury car from europe, its gonna be kinda pricey but less then most BMW or Mercedes i think.
6) What kind of realistic MPG do they get? when i got my R, it was showing 16.5 miles per gallon, since ive been driving it, its gone up to 18.1. i think the original owner had no clue how to drive it or put regular gas in. caue my mpg is still going up and i do get on it sometimes.

 

Thanks man.

You put regular in it? [&:]

 

nooooooo not me, the previous owner. i put in mid grade but next fill up and from now on more then likely premium.

 

Regular isn't that bad...I know on my car, it only pulls back the timing so you have less power.

Other than that, the car runs ok. But yes, premium is recommended. Now I don't use anything less than midgrade...We only have 92 octane though (93 if I'm lucky). When I was in China, I'm pretty sure they sold 97 is rediculous!

 

Technically no any car can run on regular, the higher the octane the better fuel milage you get and performance. however this isnt so with some cars. If the manual says use regular, your not doing anything by putting in premium except give the oil companies money in which they are not in need of.

 

another good question i have is this

If not the Volvo, then what would you consider.

 

You're right. And honestly, as gas prices go up. The 20 cents becomes less of a percentage, so as gas is getting more expensive, it actually might be more economical to get premium. The cost savings isn't that significant either (over a year).

 

Ok so right now in my Volvo I run Regular.

$2.63 a gallon x 18 gallons. Since I have an 18 gallon tank.

$47.34 per fill up. So $47.34 x 2 = $94.68 Since I fill up about every two-three weeks. Basically twice a month.

$94.68 x 12 = $1136.16 for a full years worth of gas. Give or take some.

-----------------------------------

If I used Premium right now.

$2.83 x 18 = $50.94

$50.94 x 2 = $101.88

$101.88 x 12 = $1222.56

So for a total year I would save $86.40 overall by using Regular over Premium at the current rates here in town.

At least to me saving near $90 is worth it. When my car runs fine on Regular. Runs better on Premium but until the Premium prices come down to what the regular prices are now I wont use it.

 

^Of course it depends on your economic situation, but according to your math, midgrade would be half that, $43.20.

It's really just a matter of not doing one cheapie mod for a little extra performance.

 

I'm pretty much done modding my car. I'd like to do more, but if I get a new job soon I am going to sell this car and get something that is an SUV like a Unlimited Jeep Wrangler.

 

In case if you want to know all recalls on S60:

https://volvoforums.com/m_66630/tm.htm

Scroll down and you'll see a list for many Volvos.


JPN

 

yes but your not factoring in, its not just the cost, but its which octane is giving you one two more miles per gallon. so lets just say for each gallon you get 2 more mpg. soooooooo thats 180 miles. in the end it probably evens out or comes somewhat close.

lets not also forget that better fuel burns cleaner= less engine issuess(sometimes)

this is alll my estimation, i could be very very wrong.

 

The reason for higher octane is that it burns slower and cooler. Lower octane causes knock (google search knock - pre detionation). Basically its like taking a jackhammer to your motor... silently. You may think that its no big deal but your seriously mistaken.

 

?

 

My main idea is an Eclipse GSX with forged pistons, rods etc, small turbo, race TRE transmission and some other basic mods. Basically im looking for a fully built GSX. They are bulletproof. These things dont fail offen.