I have an itch to get a Wagon. I like the mid to late 90 model R's. Just love that sleeper effect. I have my eye on a '98 V70 R, how do most people feel about that car? I read a lot of reviews about the AWD T5's and R, most were bad when they talked about repairs.

I guess my question is, are repairs repeatitive or one problem after another? Should I proceed with causion or RUN and find a 850 R?

 

Hi - I haven't had one of these particular guys, but the 98-00 70s are basically the same as the 850s, so I don't think the reliability could be much if any worse? Unfortunately they are all too old for the reliability charts to be published in Consumer Reports (cars of last 10 years only).

Styling wise, I like the 98-00 70-series a little more myself, look a little more contemporary, inside and out than the 850-series.

And as far as the R's go, if I wanted a hot-rodded Volvo, I would *much* rather have one that was engineered by the production Volvo engineers, than one that some enthusiast has modified. Professional engineers are bound to do a more thorough and reliable job than a hobbyist, in my humble opinion anyways.

 

The 70 series is suppose to be the 850 with 700 improvements from Volvo so I'm not sure why people are saying they have problems with them. I found a lot of personal reviews on Edmonds that users have posted. A lot of them complain about the AWD cars but not many explain the specific repairs, i.e., the AWD system. I think a lot of them are from people that have mechanics that simply don't fix things properly and replace un-necessary stuff. That can kill you on an older car.

I agree about having a car that is modded by the manufacturer other than having a car that an owner has modded. I always look at modded cars as a car that has been dogged out. So I usually avoid them. But I will say this, companies like iPd usually have awsome improvements with preformance parts and other parts they sell for Volvo's.

Not 100% sure why I feel that a modded car is trashed, just the laws of averages I guess. Some people baby their cars, even after they mod them. I usually drive 63 mph in my 850 T-5R, even when the limit is 70 mph. Just getting better gas milage and in NO hurry. I have installed a few mounts and a K & N filter and I'm not hard on my car.

 

I am not saying that an aftermarket part is necessarily bad, I am saying that a well optimized vehicle requires more than someone deciding to swap a part. I think that there is a difference between the results that you get with an automotive engineering team working on something as a an entire system from the ground up, versus an individual, with less training, sticking individual pieces on after the fact.

I think the factory guys will produce a better optimized and more reliable system. They have the knowledge, they have the financial and engineering resources, the time to experiment and the technology to measure performance and understand what's happening and why. They understand how everything works and must work together. You're not going to get mismatched intake, exhaust, fuel system components for example, or excessive power production for what the engine, transmission and drivetrain components can reliably withstand, or broken suspension components, chassis supports or a bone rattling ride ... that's why the R model Volvos still last like the sedate ones, ride reasonably, and why the engine efficiency and noise levels are still reasonable, etc.

Plus, as you alluded to, if you're buying a used car, the person interested in hot rodding the car is also likely to be interested in running it hard, which doesn't improve the lifetime of components.

 

I agree with you. Another reason for a manufacturer to do an AWSOME job is to get return customers in the future. If I have a good experience with a car, I might get another one in 4 years.