Hey there! I just joined this forum because I'm seriously looking into a used Volvo S60 as my second car; and being 19, my budget is very tight (under 5k for sure). After a little research, so far I'm fairly confident this car is what I'm looking for. I came to ask a few questions regarding things I should know buying one, such as:

• How many miles is a lot for one of these vehicles?
• Any major/prevelant issues or concerns I should look for or pay more mind to?
• Expected maintanance costs?
• Any other tips or concerns I should keep in mind when buying one, and owning it for some time.

Thank you and I hope to one day, if everything is good, to become an owner of one of these lovely machines.

 

First you should follow the best practices for buying any used car. Get a Carfax, ask the seller for any maintenance history, do a scripted visual check list to make sure all is in order. If you see a check engine light - beware unless you know the codes and plan on discounting the price to fix on your own. If a major feature like the AC is not working - beware as the repair may be expensive.

Second - common issues may vary by model year so what's problematic for a newer S60 (like replacing ignition coils ) may not even be on an older model... As to common issues - check when the timing belt was done - needs to be done 70K/7 years as a general rule. My check list includes: Look for oil leaks - leaks under the top covers on the passenger side can be the variable valve timing (ugh) or a turbo oil seal (simple repair). Any leaks or venting from the dipstick or oil filler? Look in the oil filler - any sludge? A good oil change history can keep a PCV clean for 200K miles while lack of oil changes can gum up the intake and blow out seals due to a clogged PCV vent. Does the car suspension make any odd noises going over speed bumps etc? Good to test drive to listen for strut mounts, CV joint and bearing noises (not hard fixes but these are wear items). Any oil leaking from a shock/strut? torn CV boots? Does the engine look clean, are the hoses/vacuum lines firm and all in order? Are the brake pads thin and is there scoring on the rotors?

Generally speaking Volvo engines are good for 300K+ miles but the car does require upkeep, particularly if you are going with an older car. Not sure what year range you have in mind - if you are looking at first gen (2000-2009) the car shares many platform components with S70/V70 so part availability should be good. My final tip is look how clean the interior is - if somebody kept a dirty interior, how likely were they to stay on top of oil changes and routing/scheduled maintenance?

 

All good advice above. In addition you should know that unless you have mid level DIY skills a Volvo can be quite expensive for what would be considered minor repairs. Recently on my S60 I have encountered the DIM (driver information module or instument cluster) failure and the window switch failure. The DIM is a $1500 repair at the dealer, $1200 at the local independent Volvo shop, or ~$300 if you remove & replace it yourself & ship it off for repair. You'll be without the car for a week though in that case, so I had $200 in car rental to add to the bill, but still got done for less than 1/2 of any other scenario. The window switch issue is $700 at the dealer, or $10 to repair your existing switch yourself if you look it up in the forum here.

I'm not saying all this to scare you off. I have 183K on mine and mechanically I fully expect it to go to 300K, but I also expect a number of $500+ repairs along the way. And while that would be true of any car, if I were not DIY capable they would be $1000 or more instead. My recent DIY savings of $1700 makes a huge difference in affordability. My Honda Odyssey (currently 150K) on the other hand just doesn't seem to have these kinds of issues. The problem with your $5000 budget is that buys a lot more car as a Volvo than it does as an Accord or Camry. You would have to spend $8000+ to get the same level of car in Honda or Toyota, and for good reason. The market understands that European cars get expensive to repair and maintain as they get older. If you do decide to go the Volvo route and aren't going to dig in and be DIY, at least seek out a good local independent Volvo shop. Most of them work on Volvo only and can save you a ton of money over the dealer.

 

i was about to start a new thread and saw this...thought I'd just jack it a little bit

I'm looking into getting my first volvo and have been trolling the board for a couple weeks now. Lotsa info here! I was a tech at an independant shop for about 6 years and am not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I dont want to get into replacing a transmission on the ground.

so I've deduced that I'm looking for a post 2002 s60/80 t6, or a 99 - 00 v70..I want a turbo. I've been getting conflicting info on the web...Are all of the 2000 v70xc awd turbocharged?

 

You probably don't want a T6.

All V70XC and XC70s are turbocharged.