Going to look at a 2011 T6 AWD S60 tomorrow. Any particular gremlins I should be looking for? I actually test drove the latest gen S60 when it first came out and really liked it. For various reasons, however, I've held on to my Saab 9-5 since then.

Anyhow, looking forward to hopefully joining your ranks.

 

As with all Volvos,make sure that the Timing belt was changed,and check the PCV system and codes off course,bring an ODBII.

 

You said T6? The inline 6 engines run a timing chain and not a belt so it doesn't need to be changed as frequently.

This list is long but it's what I check when looking at a used Volvo. Don't let it scare you. That 2011 is new enough that hopefully many will just be a check box.

The early 6 cylinders had a bad batch that burned oil. It's tough for you to check but I would ask a mechanic to pull the plugs and check for fouling from burning oil. You can also look for a low level on the dipstick but I would expect that to be fixed by all but maybe a few private owners.

I would look at the baffle under the oil cap. orange or even red coloration isn't a deal killer but carbon build up / blackness is.

I would also do a glove test. Remove the oil cap and pop a rubber glove on the hole. It should suck down. If it doesn't or worse if it inflates the PCV system needs servicing

How is the wear on the tires? Even if they're new, check the tread thickness using a coin or gauge. Is the wear even?

Do some panic stops. Does the car pull to one side? Does the pedal pulse? Did the anti-lock kick in as expected?

Turn on the fan and crank it up. Hear any whining? That's the blower fan bearing. Not a huge deal but can be a pain to change and would be a bargaining chip.

Do all of the electircal dohickeys in the car operate? windows, locks, stereo, power seats. seat heaters, rain sensing windshield wipers etc etc.

Any buzzing coming from the speakers when you turn up the radio?

Is the coolant green? If so, they may have put the wrong coolant into the car and now the seals in the system are suspect.

Is the coolant overflow empty? If so that may point to a head gasket issue. The spark plugs can provide hints about this but you might be able to pull them. These cars can appear to run fine with a blown head gasket and not have anything kicking out the exhaust but it's not a cheap fix to make it right.

Check the power steering fluid. If it's NOT green then they put the wrong fluid in, walk away.

Any clunks or bangs when driving over speed bumps one tire at a time or driving into a driveway? What about when you drive in a tight circle? You could be chasing worn struts or suspension or the dreaded axle ping irritation if you hear noises. It's easy to drop 500 - 1000

Any puddles under the car? The color of the puddles or color of the trails under the car can tell volumes.

If you can, check the trans fluid level with the car on a level surface and running. If not, still pull the transmission dipstick. What is the color of the fluid. I don't like it when I see brand new bright red fluid or black fluid. That tells me either the fluid has not been changed in a while or it was changed recently. If the fluid was recently changed then I want to know when, why and by whom. Does the fluid smell burnt? If so walk away, that could indicate a 4000.00 trans repair is coming.

Any maintenance activity recorded in the cars service log in the glove box? If so, snag the number of the dealer or shop referenced in the logs and give them a call about the car. If it's a dealer, giving them the VIN will allow them to pull the service records for the car. No records? Buyer beware...

Does the sun roof work and work smoothly?


If you can, do these checks or go to a mechanic and ask them to.

Put the car on jacks and pull the tires. Look at the lower control arms (LCAs) where they meet the subframe. If the rubber is torn and you see metal expect to replace them soon. 400.00 repair on the cheap side of things using cheap parts if you do the work and get an alignment. You can approach 1000.00 using Volvo parts and going to a dealer.

Any fluid leaking out of the ends of the steering rack or out the input shaft into the rack? That's a costly repair. probably want to walk away.

Using a pry bar, gently pry between the steering knuckle and LCA. If there is movement then the ball joints are suspect and will likely need to be replaced. 200.00 at a minimum but normally the LCAs get replaced at the same time so 500 - 600 on the cheap. Pulling these and pressing new ones in can get tricky since the steering knuckle is aluminum and easy to damage. I know folks have videos online that show them being pried out and reinstalled using the LCA and bolts but trust me that is a really really really bad idea unless you like buying steering knuckles or pulling them from donor cars and redoing the same work twice.

Look at the brake pads and rotors. Do they both pass their thickness tests? Any scoring on the rotors? What about warping / run out?

Pull the plugs and check them (remember the coolant overflow?).

Perform a compression test across the cylinders. Sometimes these cars will run fine with a hurt cylinder that has low compression but why buy a car with the problem?

Pop the over the engine pipe off and stick your hand down in the rubber hose going into the intercooler. You can expect to get some oil but it shouldn't be pooling in there. If it is, the turbo is suspect.

Is the car an AWD car? If so, check to see if the AWD works. If you stop and then accelerate hard around a corner the front tires should not break loose. If they do then the AWD might be suspect.

If you do buy the car I would still plan on doing a complete fluid change, belts and hoses if you plan on keeping the car and not just driving it till something big falls off. That's probably going to run you between 500 and 1k.

 

Hey, thanks. Those are all very good tips.

I ended up buying the car back on July 1st. So I'm good for now. There have been some issues with it, but I expected there to be given that I wasn't able to take it in for a mechanical inspection. I caught some of them upon my test drive: warped rotors, glitchy backup cam, out-of-date maps requiring the dreaded Sensus update.