Hey everyone
I am new to this forum and am looking to buy a 2005 S60 R. It has 80,000 miles on it and has the 2.5T. AWD etc. Any things I should be weary of or concerned about?

Jason

 

How much are they asking for it? Be sure to look into its maintenance log book and see what has been done. Get ready for some serious dough- $2.5 to $3.500 to do all the necessary maintenance on the car at it's age and mileage - like TB and components, PCV replacement, suspension and steering components w/c would need replacement at about this time. If you are a DIY guy, you'll save a lot

 

Ditto BBamKudin. In addition, have the transmission, cooling system, and brakes checked out. Most people who the R thrash them pretty good, but rarely seem to take care of the regularly scheduled service like they should. The timing belt and water pump and idler pulleys will need to be changed soon also.

 

I have been through a lot of this when I bought mine back in April. All of the above is applicable and accurate.

These cars are outstanding, and need minimal work outside of routine maintenance AS LONG as the maintenance was done.

Mine, for example, had a lot of stuff done by the Volvo dealer (and it was a one owner car) but they missed a few things... odd stuff... like the cabin air filter, and a rear wheel bearing (when they did all 4 brakes and a full alignment AND upper strut mounts on the front?) So, I pulled a full maints schedule out, and ran the maintenance up to date on it... it cost me about $400 for the bearings and other parts (filters, spark plugs, fluids, etc) but now I have a true Stage 0 ride... ready to go until the next change interval, and then beyond 2 more to the 105k timing belt change... (which will probably happen at 75,000 instead, because, having spoken with several friends, this is suggested as a safety net issue, go before it is due)

I also drained/filled the transmission fluid (pita, that) and filled the angle gear with lube, and checked the Haldex unit fluid (it was fine).

The angle gear on manual transmissions in 04 and 05 models seemed to be a weak link. Mine has a little leakage going on (and will get fixed soon) but some people strip the collar in them. This will NOT disable the car, just the AWD part of the car... in fact, some people claim to drive around with them stripped and not know it. (I can feel the rear end push on mine, so I know that isn't an issue).

Really, what you are looking for is the overall condition of the vehicle. If it feels like it's been well taken care of, it's worth a premium (mine was to me, I paid full boat friggin' retail on it... worth every penny) and you will have a car that will last you a long time as long as you take time to take care of it once in a while.

 

tj, did you buy the S60? One thing I can tell u is that they're fun to drive.