Seasons Greetings!
I just purchased a 2005 s-40 a couple days ago. I have never owned a Volvo till now. In fact I haven't owned a car in over a decade. My newest truck is a 3/4 ton diesel 4 door. It has low mileage, and is in great condition so though I'd get a small car to preserve my truck. The s-40 will also save a ton of cash on fuel.

Anyways, the Volvo only came with one key. Knowing my history with keys, I would feel more comfy having a spare. Is it possible to buy a used key on Ebay and have it programmed to my car? If anyone knows from experience or just knows about this, please let me know. Also, if anyone has this same model and would like to share their knowledge or experiences (good or bad) please don't hesitate to share them with me.

I hate to admit it, but I think I like the Volvo better than my truck..........

 

i bought my first european car, 2001 volvo s40, in july 2009. It is a great car but when it breaks, it is rather costly to repair.

Regarding the key, i just went to dealer, paid $30 per key + $90 programming. total cost $150 for 2 keys. I was thinking going to ebay but for max saving $10-20 and potential dealer will not be able to program it - it is not worth the risk. i think.

i used www.fcpgroton.com for all my parts. if you a member of www.matthewsvolvosite.com, you get 10% off and free shipping for order above $150.

after a year, the car hesitated and it turned out that one of the ignition coils went bad. $30-40 per coil ( needs 2 per car) from autozone.

when i bought it, it was already using synthetic oil. so i continue to do so wit VIX oil filter. i changed at 5-6000 miles. it turns out that cost wise it is same as changing oil 2x with conventional oil. check your manual on what best oil to use.

almost change the brake pads, it turns out i still had a good ones. if i changed i would check with www.fcpgroton.com and compare with autozone. i would use the imports ones ( vs cheap ones).

are you changing oil yourself? if you do, get the oil filter wrench from fcpgroton and a bunch of oil filter ( 12 oem filters for $50-60). it will make jobs a lot easier and fun.

i love my volvo and have learned a lot about cars in last 1.5 years. it drives good and now i understand why people go for european cars vs japanese cars.

Good luck and hope i answer some of the questions.