Hi Everyone,

About to buy my first Volvo and looking around to see feedback, to make sure I'm making the right decision.

The model I'm looking at is the 2015.5 V60 T5.

I'm highly concerned about it's reliability and build quality, which go hand in hand. I don't want a car that creaks, and makes a tons of noises, and has all sorts of issues and needs to be in the shop all the time. On the other hand, if it's a well built car that has to go into the shop 1 or 2 times per year, thats different and acceptable.

I have owned a range of cars from Toyota, Honda, GMC, BMW, Benz and have had a wide range of experiences. Overall, the Japanese were the most worry free. The GMC had the most issues... the BMW had a lot of issues, and the Benz was the most expensive to service.

Where will Volvo fit on my list?

Is buying a Volvo a bad idea in regards to build quality and reliability?



Thank you in advance for any feedback

 

If only I had a crystal ball to predict how many times any car will be in the shop lol! I would be rich!!!

The reality is the Volvo will probably fall in between the BMW or Benz and the Honda or Toyota for reliability. Naturally the lower volume cars will always be a bit more challenging on the service side because there wont be the same level of parts and service support that exists for high volume makes/models. I am making the assumption that Volvo in general in not a high volume make there much the way it is in the U.S.

 

Agree and thank you for the response, any car from any brand can be a lemon and the more complex a car is, the more that can go wrong... so all we can do is generalize from experience.

Toyota is #1 by a long shot in Thailand as far as volume goes. Honda is second, but much further down. Then Benz and BMW, and Volvo lower than that. Toyota, Honda, Benz, and BMW made and or assembled in Thailand. The imported models of those brands are 3x the price, where locally made are only 2x.

Agree about the spare parts. Toyota is best for spare parts in Thailand.

Don't have the expectation that the V60 will be as worry free as the Accord or Camry, but concerned after reading some threads on various forums and on Volvo's Facebook Fan page. Some people talking about leaks from the windshield, creaking center console, over sensitive sensors, dead engines after 3 years.

Of course, the 1000s of people who are happy don't post as much detail .. the person who got a lemon or unrepairable car posts all the details and wants to scare others.

Have owned 2 BMW and a Benz in the past, so remember the trips to the shop. Have been in a CR-V for the last 5 years and forgot about things breaking in the car. But then again, the CR-V is a simple car compared to the BMW, Benz, or Volvo.

I think my main concern is am I buying into a brand with problematic cars?

I put about 10,000KM a year on my car...so I'm not a heavy driver.

 

Again, in general the reliability will fall in between Toyota/Honda at the top rarely needing service, and BMW/Benz typically requiring more service. At least that is a general rule of thumb in the U.S. It comes down to are you willing to put up with a bit more needed service in order to drive something not everybody and their brother is driving? Obviously a V60, at least compared to models available here in the U.S., strikes a rather unique blend of style, luxury, and versatility in it's compact wagon form. Yes, forums tend to attract those having issues seeking either consolation or a solution, so the impression may be a bit skewed relative to reliability. In any case if you are trading cars every 5 years/50K you aren't that likely to encounter some of the issues brought up here where most of us are well over 100K miles/140K km on our rides.

 

Thank you for clarifying what you were trying to share with me. Hopefully my experience is similar to what I see a majority of Volvo owners have, and thats a positive ownership experience. I do notice that Volvo owners are a bit like Apple fans, just totally in love with the product.

Going to take delivery tomorrow at 2pm, 2015 V60 T5 Silver with Polestar and every option in the book comes standard.

I am confident that Volvo Thailand will make sure I have a great experience.

Thanks again for the feedback and help

 

Welcome to the forum adrezthai

Moved to the S60 section