Hi,

I'm new to the forum and thought I would get some advice. I'm looking at two S60's; one's an '04 2.5 turbo AWD with 83K miles for $9K and the other is an '05 2.4L non turbo 2WD with 75K miles for $12K. The newer one comes with a extra set of mounted snow tires. This is being bought more for reliability than performance. So although I can save quite a bit on the older one with more miles, over time, is the awd and turbo going to cost more in maintenance and potential problems?

 

I’m new to the word of Volvos myself and digging it pretty good so far.
Here are my thoughts and questions for you to ask yourself and some research you should do too…

I own a 06 S60 FWD for about 3 months now; I live in NC and drive 100 miles round trip to work everyday.

You stated you’re not buying the car for performance, but I’ll tell you this I had my car in for an Oil Change/Service the other day and the loner car was a non turbo 09 S40 and it was totally lame. I couldn’t wait to get my car back (only a few hours went by).

Going by mileage – 8000 miles is nothing.

AWD – Turbo – long range cost: I’m no expert but my buddy who is the service manager at the local Volvo dealership tells me there are no issues.
Volvo has the Turbo charge deal down pat. And the AWD’s are strong too.

Questions:
Do you need AWD?
Do you live in the north with lots of snow? (My S60 FWD kicks *** in the rainy weather so far (not much snow down south)).

Why is the 04 turbo with only 8K less on the clock $3K less than the 05 naturally aspirated car? (Problems, hidden issues, condition). This seems a little odd.

Have you gone to KKB.com (Kelly’s Blue Book)? You should – an informed buyer is a smart buyer!

Make sure you thoroughly test drive both of these cars too… I lived with my wife for over 5 years before making the purchase. Oh - did I just say that?

If you have a friend who is a mechanic bring him along or take it to a dealer ship to have it checked out... Yea it may cost some money up front but $50-100 now is better than spending thousands a little later down the road. (Mechanic freind should only cost a 6er or so).

Last if everything checks out and either car would do for what you “need” buy with your gut – which one tickles that special spot for you.

Don’t for get to play hard ball when negotiating price too… The worse thing that can happen is the seller will say no to your offer.

Good luck and regards,
DMac

 

If your not into performance then the newer NA FWD would be fine. As with any mechanical situation, the more parts you introduce the more things that can cause problems or fail. I'm not saying the Turbo is unreliable, just that it is an additional thing that could need repair or replacement. And, turbos are not inexpensive. The AWD will be better in really bad conditions but the FWD hasn't let me down yet. Also, as with the turbo, the AWD also adds additional mechanical parts to the equation.

I drive a NA 02 S60 and I really like it. Yes the gearhead in me would like to have a turbo but I'm not really sure how much good that would really do me.

 

You don't buy a Volvo for reliability.

 

EX60 - I understand you had an issue with YOUR car but your posts are unproductive - take the attitude and the bad advice and go elsewhere.

Marko- I am 120k miles into a heavily modded volvo and have had ZERO major issues.

 

I'd get the turbo. I drove an NA 2.4 s40 and it was sooo slow compared to my s60 2.5T.

 

Apparently I am not the one with an attitude. I understand YOU have been lucky with YOUR car, but your posts are unproductive if you are trying to squelch open discussion that differs with your opinion regarding reliability about a car. Can you tell me how many dealership owners you know that have discussed the brand with you? How many other Volvo owners have you discussed particular reliability issues with such as Angle Gear recalls or XC90 transmission problems, axles going out of round across the entire brand or the multitude of suspension component problems? How about the number of reliability surveys you have looked at or how much research you have done? My own particular car had many other problems, but as of yet I have not verified those issues in a wide spread manner so I am not even discussing them here.....

 

ExS60 - I have been a member of another volvo forum for years and am within the top 50 on post count (approximately 9k posts)- i have discussed the vehicles with HUNDREDS of owners and 10-15 dealers.
I personally know a number of Volvo Master Mechanics.

There was no angle gear recall - SOME were replaced under warranty when they failed. Failure was related to EXTREME acceleration around a corner on a damp surface. Failures are more typical in Rs than in 2.5Ts, and 2.5s with failure were often abused.

The tranny on the XC90 sucks, but we are not talking about the XC now are we? Its a TOTALLY different transmission.

Only suspension component issues are the spring seats - and if your dealer is competent they replace them with XC90 seats and you are good to go for another 100k on them.

I am well acquainted with reliability surveys, note that True Delta and Edmunds both rate it as being better than average. Consumer Reports method is not statistically accurate or reproducible (they dont take sample size into account) so I couldn't begin to guess what theirs is.

Do I think you had issues with your car? Of course I do, and I feel bad for you about that. That said, representing YOUR issues as being system wide is inaccurate, and disingenuous at best.

 

Regardless of who has more posts, knowlege, connections, etc. This is a message board and everyone here is trying to get to get objective advice from several different people with different backgrounds.

I would not have bought my car if I knew then, what I know now.

Also, talking a lot on message boards does not equal actual knowledge.

 

No i agree, that said the previous statements about these being universal issues are simply false. They hit a VERY small percentage of vehicles.

 

I am not here to bash Volvos as another thread is having this discussion. I think making sure the buyer is an informed buyer is what these forums are about.

 

These threads make me LOL.

IMO, I know I don't drive S60s, but some cars will have more problems than others, it's the luck of the draw, and unfortunately, more often than not you hear from the people who have issues with their car more so than those who are satisfied. Yes, what has been listed are possible things to go wrong with the car, but chances are, you'll be fine. And it is an import, so unless your a mechanic yourself or know how to work on your car, then unfortunately you're going to have to pay a little bit more for parts and to get it fixed.