Hey everyone,

As the Thread title states, I am about to enter the world of Volvo owners. The beast is an 03 S60 2.5T AWD. Really excited and nervous. First thing I want to ask is am I crazy to purchase an 03 with 145k miles even with a clean carfax (1 owner, maintenance upkeep?) I am getting a smoking good deal on it and if the carfax is missing something, they have a buy back guarantee on it for a year.

So first things first, I was supposed to drive it home tonight but a couple things arose. The power steering reservoir is leaking it looks like. Also the Tranny looked a little dirty, now i can say it was brown, but a redish brown i think and the last tranny flush was done at 81k miles so it is due for one very shortly. The oil also was a quart low, but i did not see any leaks anywhere. The engine had a slight tick, possibly due to the cold weather and the low oil.

A couple things about the way it drives. How loud is the volvo supposed to be when it is Full throttle or in the higher RPMS? The engine sounded pretty loud and I am pretty sure the car is completely stock still. Anyways, the price seems reasonable, very little body damage (a tiny on the passenger rear quarter. Interior is pristine, the top of the motor had a light yellow residue on it.

Does anything sound a miss at all and if so should I not buy it?

Thanks,

.:F

 

If you tell us how much you're planning to cough out on a 03' S60, then perhaps it'd become easier to comment, whether it's a good deal or not. With 145k miles you can't expect too much, and if you're planning to use it heavily, then perhaps you should think twice. My 05' Audi A4 allroad quattro is giving me hard time @ 120k+ despite excellent maintenance - and I'm not sure how long i'll be able to keep it going!

 

Sorry omthoke.

The total comes to $6800 with tax and dealer fees.

Edmunds has that at $7,400 for TMV and KBB has it at $8400 retail.

 

I wish I could tell you to go ahead, but I wouldn't, unless you are a mechanic. I have a 92 volvo and there is no better machine made, but my 03 is a pain in my ***!!! It is also very expensive to fix and only had 49,000 miles when I bought it...
Tread carefully.....

 

Thanks Megan for responding..

I actually just spoke with the salesman and he straight out said I should not buy this car because I want too much done to it. I asked that they changed the tranny fluid, possibly an oil change, fix the power steering pump and also see if they can locate a fuel leak and fix it if there is one. I swore i smelled fuel when i raised the hood last night and i know I am not crazy. So once i expressed this he said I wanted too much and that I should not buy this car because it is a great car and blah blah blah...well my search continues.

It sucks living in CO because all AWD volvos reasonably priced have fairly high miles because we have the rockies and i am sure most of the owners drove up to the mountains to go skiing in the winter.

Looking at an 02 with 121k asking 5500 for it and willing to negotiate on price.

 

Welcome to the forum. I would keep looking. Be patient and you'll find your car.

 

Thanks jks,

I am and i just drove the 02. Pretty bad shape. Felt like the tranny was popping into first gear after coming from reverse. the body was a ton of scratches and dents. Carfax did not show any type of maintenance tot he vehicle as It could have been done at a ma and pa shop. I checked the wear on the timing belt, the timing belt looked new actually as there were no cracks nor did it looked dried out. No leaks. If i would decide to get this I would take it to get pre inspected and go from there on the price. Got them down to 4500 so far without the pre inspection.

There is an 03 s60 2.5T AWD for 8750 has 81k...probably would need a timing belt and possibly other maintenance tho. Going to loook at that as well.

 

Also i get to go to a dealer auction on Monday and see if there is anything there to pick out. The gentleman that my girlfriend purchased her civic from invited me to the dealer auction said we could go look at the vehicles the day before, test drive them, and then if I like any of them, buy it the next day. Super excited and maybe I will find a deal next week.