I currently own a VW Passat (POS vehicle) and a thinking of buying a 2000-2004 S60 Volvo. Can someone tell me what kind of problems does this cars have and how difficult are they to maitained?

 

Stay away from the 01-02 S60s they have tranys issues.Most of the problems were fixed buy 03 witch i have but if i were to buy again i would have bought a 04-07 T5 or R. I have an 03 S60 2.5t AWD great car but i have spent about $2000 on getting it to preform at the level of a stock T5 and for about a add $1000 i can get maybe get to a stock R.Make sure you check the Trany fluid on any car you look at .Smell the fluid and look at the color.If it smells burned or looks overly dark/black keep looking.Also buy a Turbo the added performance over a Non turbo is well worth the few hundred buck it cost on a used S60.The cost on fixing these car if your not a guy who can do it yourself may be a deal breaker for you.Nothing on these car are cheep to fix but that's not anything new on a Euro car.The Volvo is on par as far as repair cost with BMW and Audi.

 

I own a 01' s60 and there is nothing wrong with my trans (excuse MYS6T and his spelling/grammer). I have read reviews, though ford bought out volvo few years back, volvo is the benchmark for ford and every car under the ford umbrella. The s60 is considered a great used car to purchase, unlike the vw passat which i read is the worst used car to own.

Bottom line: The s60 has it's drawbacks; repair bills can become excessive if you're a poor/timid negotiator and parts can be high if only look at volvo brands (aftermarket is the best option). If you're mechanically inept to do basic service intervals than you'll be paying out the roof for bills so be aware. Buying a used s60 without service history and/or poor documentation is a big "no no".

If you enjoy working on cars, if you find pride in a DIY operation, and believe, as I do, that European cars are the only cars worth owning than the s60 is a decent match. The s60 and it's community is growing and DIY articles are springing up.... slowly.... but surely.... The s60 has a decent mechanics manual by Haynes and you can source (for free) copies of VADIS software.