First off I would like to say hello, to all of you Volvo enthusiasts and hope you will welcome me and teach me the tons of things that Volvos have to offer.

I have always been an automotive enthusiast I currently own a 1994 pontiac firebird formula, and have been a long time V8 GM enthusiast. As of right now the firebird has over 164,000 miles on the original engine and tranny, and still runs like a top. Not too bad i have to say. Although I have heard of some volvos having more than double that!

The problem with those cars, is the lack of comfort I would like to have in a daily driven car, that is why I have been searching around looking for a decent priced sedan. I have came upon a silver 1999 Volvo S80 T6 with 116,000 miles and it has caught my attention, i like the idea of having a twin turbo daily driver! but I would like to get more knowledge of the S80 before I decide to buy, and I want a trouble free car, much like my firebird has been over the past 4 years.

Now after some extensive lurking and reasearch here it seems that the 99' is a bit of a dog year being the first model year, but any later models and they are out of my price range. And with this knowledge I want to know how bad are they? should I stay away and save for a different model? It seems that the most problems are with the Tranny, timing belt maitnence/pullies and ETC, but really other than that im not finding much to keep me away. What to you all do in my shoes? are all these problems too notorious to purchase this year?

Here is the car I am interested in
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

I look forward to learning more about these Swedish cars and hope to be the owner of one some day!

cheers

 

I have a 2002 T6 97k miles. It appears that 2002 is the first reasonably reliable year. I would go for a 2002 or later car. You will spend the difference in purchase price in repairs.

 

Check and see if the Tbelt and pulley have been replaced, if not do it ASAP. I have a 99 T6 with 113K and relatively simple problems O2 sensor. I caught it up on maintenance and feel like the car is pretty solid. If the car had been taken care of it could be a decent ride. Not all 99 S80's are going to fall apart. It really depends on the maintenance.

 

... buy a S80, 1999: it is a lemon. I have one. --Nuria.

 

stay away, stay far , far away, i love the way my car drives when its not broken but i hate it for the amount of time and money i spend fixing it...stay away

buy something non turbo that doesnt need premium gas

 

whats with the hate on s80 in an s80 forum? If you do your research and have the car checked out, It will be fine. I have a 1999 volvo s80 t6 with 122k on it. I had it since april and haven't had any major repairs that I did not know about when I bought the car. If you are good with cars, a lot of maintenance you can do yourself.
Gosh, there are too many whiners on here...

 

I wanted to add that I love my 2002 T6, and I have no experience with the 1999 model year other than seeing a lot of complaints on this and every other volvo forum. I am generally of the view that you get a distorted perception of a car's problems on forums as the postings tend to be about those particular cars that are having problems. This is often a function of the particular car (lemon) or owner's behavior (neglect or abuse). However, of the multiple cars I own and track on forums, the 1999 T6 seems to be subject to a more complaints than most.

I think the big issues with pre-2002 models are the ECM and ETM issues. If you rule these out, the one big potential problem all T6s seem to have is the transmission. I do not buy the line it bad because it is a GM transmission as the same base transmission is used in other cars and does not appears to present the level of problems we seein the T6, so put the fault where it belongs on Volvo and Volvo operators. I personally think the problem is a function of two operator controlled problems - - failure to change the fluid and filter before it is too late and overzelous driving. The owners who follow Volvo's good for life approach to transmission fluids and filters will enjoy a standard life of about 100k. The problem with overzealous driving is the motor's max power and torque seem to be too much for the transmission long term. I suspect Volvo envisioned the S80 to be used as a fast comfortable highway crusier and not a drag racer from light to light. call it a design flaw I guess. So if my son where asking the question, I would say go with a 2002 or later, but if the filter and fluid were changed by say 75k and the car was not driven by a teeneager, and better yet is mostly highway miles, a used 1999 might be fine.

 

Whiners ? i bought my car in december of 08 just last year.

previous owner did the brake booster, timing belt, all pads, front rotors,

since i got the car i went through 2 oxygen sensors, pass inner tie rod, pass outer tie rod, pass ball joint, transmission viscous coupling ring leak, right now my car is in the shop AS WE SPEEK because it has a huge power steering leak and the RACK WILL BE REBUILT , i will need to do alignment on this car FOR THE THIRD TIME !!!....

the engine burns oil , probly due to those stupid o rings that are shot, i have to add oil every 4-5 weeks, it take 6.9 litres of oil, my wifes hundai tucson can get two oil changes out of that!!!!! it must use premium, and synthetic oils are recommended

i did the software upgrade and the tranny is fine , never had an issue, but many others have, bad ETM is a huge issue, the stupid radio cannot even be replaced without going to the dealer and DELETING IT FROM THE ECU BECAUSE OHH NOOO THIS VOLVO NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT CD PLAYER IS CONNECTED, SO LETS GO TO THE DEALER AND PAY OVER $100 JUST TO DELETE IT SO YOU DONT HAVE A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT


sorry im pissed but i hate this endless money pit, buts IT NEEDS A RACK REBUILD,, so look who is whining and you do the research before you get ANY CAR!!!!!! thanks

EDIT: i also changed 2 ignition coils ( and all 6 plugs but thats maintenance), also maintenance wise i use synthetic oil, drained and filled tranny with filter change, drained and filled coolant, bleed the brakes. and now power steering will be done lol funny

 

I have a 2000 s80 T6 I bought last year with 102,000 miles.

Items I needed to change - Lower control arm bushings, 3 ignition coils, timing belt, catalytic converter, cd player- Total cost $630 in parts - labour by me.

Items I changed - pvc system, turbo control solenoid, spark plugs, speedometer(from imperial to metric) ECC(from imperial to metric) 3 oil changes with syntheic - Total cost about $250

Not bad for a 9 year old car including maintenance! Tranny has a shudder between 1st and 2nd which I'm sure will need attention one day but I can't complain. Also slight vibration in steering wheel which I'm guessing to be balljoints or tie rod ends, so that's coming as well.

I would buy another in a hearbeat! Car now has 117,00 miles.

 

Hello to all of you,
own a 99 s80 t6 with 170.000 k on her and no problem the original owner did the maintance on it perfectly. I would buy one again