My 01 Audi A6 2.7T AWD was totaled and I am considering a Volvo..may be a bit cheaper to maintain (I hope). My question is all other things being equal (I'm not worried about interior size, perfromance, speed) which car would you take if you wanted the most reliable car that would cost the least down the road?

01-02 S80
01-02 S60
turbo OK?

I have read here that the Tranny and Computers seem to be the biggest issues in this model year range...what can I look for? Should the tranny have been replaced in these cars to make them a safe buy?

Thanks a bunch (I hope no one gets mad if I also post this in the S80 forum)

 

Locally, (Canada) the S60 seems to hold value a lot better than the S80. The flip side is that you can get a nice S80 for thousands less than an S60.

I've gone with S60's, myself. I'm considering moving to a V70R. I like the T5 power, but I prefer the AWD. So...V70R!

 

If you're thinking in terms of least expense to own, I would say S60 non-turbo. Being that it isn't a high performancemodel should mean less wear and tear by previous owners. And not having an expensive turbo to need replacing is a plus. Sort of (makes for a boring ride). It would be hard to go from a 2.7T to a 2.4 NA. You might fall asleep at the wheel. [8D]

I would stay away from the '01 since it was a new year and bad for transmissions. Rebuilt or replaced transmissions are no good. Skip the ones that have them; they just don't last. My '01 has been good on gas. That helps when gas is $3+ a gallon and rising.