Insurance wrote off my 1998 S70T5SE and I've been shopping for a replacement.

Checked out a 2004 S60 2.5T AWD, with 135,000kms (approx 84,000 miles) at a used car dealership. Single owner, just off lease & in decent overall shape.

The car was cold, when I tried it first thing in the morning and the engine sounded really harsh and louder than usual. A friend sitting in the passenger side had his leg against the centre console & noticed vibration. he thought it may be due to the exhaust system vibrating.

After driving it around the block for about 10 mins and left idling, the sound seemed a little less. Then one of the guys from the dealership took me for a ride & sped around the block a couple of times and the car sounded normal (& like a Volvo!) when left on idle.

It's not like it's idling rough; the sound from the engine when I'm in the driver's seat just sounded 'harsh'. Never experienced this in any Volvo I've owned from 240,740T to S70T5.

Any ideas what this may be due to? The exhaust system looked OK when we put the car up on the hoist.

I'm getting a Volvo dealer to check it out on Monday morning, but I don't think they'll hear this harsh sound from the engine because the car will have been warmed up driving from used car lot to dealer's.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, before I decide to buy it.

 

So, "just off lease" how long ago? That car might have sat for awhile before you drove it, making it run like crap. I know if I don't drive mine for 5 days or so it will run like junk (relatively speaking) for a mile or two.

 

I just purchased a 2002 S60 AWD (86,000 miles) as well a couple weeks ago (my first Volvo). It's been in the 20's in the mornings and I would use the term "harsh" as well. After driving for 10-15 minutes everything seems to "calm" down and run smoother. Today it's was in the 50's and the car ran even snoother.

I thought maybe the motor mounts were going bad. I'm not sure how lone the mounts last in a Volvo though.

Nick

 

I just bought a used 2004 S60 2.4L (Non-Turbo) and did notice the engine seemed a little louder than what I thought was normal. It was more pronounced when the car is first started up and I thought it might be the timing belt or pulleys going bad so I had the vehicle noise checked out at an indepedent Volvo repair shop ($90 labor). Turns out it was both the power steering pump and the alternator making the noise, kind of slight metal against metal sound especially when first started but would become softer when engine warmed up.......Volvo shop said they were both still working but couldn't predict how much longer until one or both failed. So, I decided to replace both of the units myself and saved $800. So, not sure if the noise you're hearing is localized on the right side of the engine like mine was or not........but thought I'd share my experience anyway.

 

Thanks to those who responded.

The problem turned out to be a lot more serious than expected. Volvo dealer found that the subframe was damaged and the 'harsh' sound I heard from the engine was probably engine touching the subframe.

Guess when engine is cold, it vibrates a bit more and just enough to touch the bent subframe?

Just goes to show that Carfax or equivalent doesn't always tell the whole story if accident wasn't claimed. According to the used dealer, this car was also certified, so whichever garage certified it, obviously didn't do a thorough job as this would be considered structurally unsound (?).

I'll go & get back my deposit tomorrow and I've learned that I should trust my instincts more and as one of the posters said "When In Doubt, Pull Out"!

 

If you bought the CarFax Report service and registered the vehicle through them, they offer a vehicle buy back feature if their report is in error. I took out a 30 day CarFax subscription in February when I was searching for a used vehicle and made sure I registered any vehicle I was seriously thinking of buying. Wonder if anyone on this Forum has successfully exercised that benefit of the CarFax service?