Hey all! Just had a little boy and need to buy a car,so I was looking at mid-2000s S40 and S60. It wont be driven too much, as we have another car and live on an island, but I dont know too much about the different models and the maintenance they require. I've read through some threads but wanted some opinions on this specific deal I found

2006 Volvo S60R AWD 300HP 2.5 Turbo Guaranteed Financing $3500 Down

its an 06 S60R with 85k on the clock and seems to be in pretty good condition. they're askin $13k

assuming it has been maintained minimally, do you think I would have to sink some money into this right away? or are the big services far off? Good price, or should I keep looking around?

Also - Anything in particular I should look at/look for when I go check it out?

Thanks in advance!

 

Man that's a tough question. First off, not knowing what island you live on, we have no idea or way to figure out what car values are like. Another important factor would be the service techs in your area... do you have a dealer nearby? How expensive are they? Where I live the dealer is outrageous.

Service records are always important when looking to purchase a used car, especially a performance model like the R series Volvo's.

 

Ok, I see, Hawaii. Check www.NADAGuides.com for value information in your area.

 

Its 85,000 miles?
Look if timing belt was done lately or youll have to do it soon.
Bushings are alway a pita or change all for polyurethane.
Is it manual or automatic?
Manual clutch and flywheel might be changed soon if not already done.
Brakes, tires..
A good check up of the overall car made at the volvo dealer.
Dont think its something youll never put money in of course youll need to invest money and it cost some good $$ although its expensive but it break less with a good maintenance.
And power handling with comfort is just something really nice!

 

Hey! Thanks for the responses. The NADA value is within range of the asking price, as well as the edmunds value and KBB, which is what has me a little skeptical of the car. Here in HI, most places charge more than the value of the car, because most people dont want to go through the hassle of shipping a car in from the mainland.

I plan on looking at the basics (brakes, tires, asking about records, etc) but I was hoping to get an idea if there were volvo (or s60R) specific things to look for, as this will be my first volvo.

I'll be owning this car until about spring 2015 (military will move us), so I'm also looking at residual value. I just want something that will last the next 2.5 years without needing a ton of money sunk into it, which is why I was looking to find out if there would be a lot of maint coming up since it's upwards of 85k miles.

Otherwise, I can get an 07 s60 2.5T with about 28k mi on the clock for about the same price
(see this Used 2007 Volvo S60 2.5T For Sale | Honolulu HI .

or an 08 with 75k
2008 Volvo S60)

is 85k about when you start doing a lot more than routine maint on these? should I look at the 07 with 28k?
Sorry for the questions, but volvos are new to me, so I came to the pros :-P

Oh, and another worry is because the only dealer on the island here is ridiculously expensive, and has very poor customer service. I suppose you can do that if you have a monopoly on the island :-/

 

Record,
Clutch timing belt bushing brakes tires are the main things to do.
S60 i assume it would cost about the same but you wouldnt have the power and fun youll get with and R

 

Most of those cars don't start needing work till 100 to 110k. You can check reviews on Cars.com to get a better idea. The NADA values should be specific to your area.