Going to look at a 2000 S80 T6 in the morning, anything I should look out for?

Thanks in advance.
Alex

 

I bought a 2000 S80 T6 last September with 109,000 miles on it. To date here are my repairs to the car: new tires, new rotors, new steering stops, 1 new ball joint, new brakes, new top motor mount, one new front strut & control link arm, new fuel filter, new headlight wipers, new battery (make sure it's the right size for the car, it's in the trunk). These repairs were all due to wear and tear but still set me back quite a bit as previous owner of this car only changed the timing belt and had the ball joints replace under warranty several years ago. I will need an expensive sunroof repair soon as the roof rattles over every bump in the road. Volvo dealer tells me it's possibly the 'gates' which they say is typical for Volvo's of this age. The repair will be $700 from the dealer unless I can figure it out on my own. Otherwise I love this car and look forward to driving it every single day. I wish my commute were longer so I could enjoy the drive. The stereo is awesome, get one that runs the center speaker, I had to find a center speaker in a junk yard and switched out my stereo unit to the one that runs it plus has Dolby Pro-Logic. My husband owns a 2008 Saab 93 which is pretty quick, but hands down this older S80 is more car for the money any day. I drive it instead of driving the newer Saab with only 33k miles on it. We also dragged with them, and the S80 took it with no problems. Good luck and make a good deal keeping in mind that previous owners stink at maintaining cars properly and drive them without caring for them, which means that you will be the one to repair it.

 

Unfortunately it would appear that this S80 was past it's prime, the dash lit up like a christmas tree and the low coolant "pull over now" warning were enough to tell me that this poor car had been abused.

Second time I though I'd found a volvo just to have it fall apart in front of me.

Soon Volvo...soon...

 

Michelle0967 The sunroof may be repaired by replacing the four screws that hold it in. Mine was also rattling and Volvo has new screws to hold it tighter. It worked for me. Cost $7.50

 

The Volvo S80 (Standard or T6) is a fast, fun car to drive. BUT, be prepared to spend lots of money each year to keep it running well. They are way over-engineered and in my opinion, poorly engineering in many regards. Way too many warnings that pop up. Way too complicated electrical system and many of the warnings cannot be cleared unless you visit your Volvo dealer and pay $$$$. I have owned 4 Volvos and I have owned Mercedes Benz as well. You get far better value with Mercedes and if you buy used, they are very comparable in price. The Volvo does hold up well in regards to body and interior. I like my S80. With the twin turbos, it's a blast to drive, however the little problems that pop up each week, drain the pleasure of owning it.

 

Thanks for the info. One screw was missing so it was replaced and the other 3 tightened. That helped a lot but will try new screws for a tighter fit since there is still some play over rough pavement.

 

Wow, thanks for the info on Mercedes Benz. My mechanic steered me away from considering one, but your comments have rekindled my interest in them. I would like to replace our 2008 Saab 9-3 with something else. Very disappointing little car compared to my much older 2000 S 80 T6. Drove the Saab yesterday and then drove the T6, keep in mind that there are 8 years difference in age plus 82,000 miles, and the T-6 is more tight, solid, rides more comfortably, is quieter by a long shot and handling is superior to the Saab. Will go out and look at some Mercedes!

 

Just to give you an idea... The last Mercedes I owned was a 1995 S500. I bought it for $5000. It had about 110M miles on it. I put 60M miles on it before I sold it to a friend for $5000. The only thing I did to the car was put front brakes on it. So I drove the car for 2 years for the price of front brakes. He still has the car. The only thing he has done to the car was rear brakes and a new distributor cap, both of which I did for him. The car now has 232M miles on it and still runs and drives great. Not all Mercedes stories will have a happy ending like this, I realize this. But I regret buying Volvo again. My past Volvo's were V70's. Much better car than the S80.

 

Very Impressive. The last car we owed we bought for $2100 for our teens and they drove it for 4 years, same thing for the price of a set of brakes. Will look at some Mercedes this week actually as I woke up this morning and under my car is a giant puddle of oil. I suspect the seals in the turbo need to be replaced. We'll see later today the damage. Thanks for the info again on Mercedes Benz.