I'm going to look at a 2004 xc90 to buy tomorrow. I'm told it sat in the garage for a year while the divorce got done.
It's got 140000km on it and has had the trans replaced 4 years ago. (It's a T6)
I will be checking all fluids, belts, tires and breaks.
Is there something I should look for that would be strange?
Anything that I wouldn't expect having never owned a Volvo before?
Anything just Volvo? (I Drive a SAAB now and am adept at fixing it.)
Thanks in advance!
Marty

 

It's a complex machine. The transmission is the worst thing about it, as I am sure you already discovered on the internet. The AWD is a little too electronic for its own good. It may not be working. if it's not working you may decide it's not worth fixing. The driveshaft to the rear is intended to be unrepairable, so it's about due one. Replacing the whole shaft would be okay if it wasn't so expensive. If you look through the XC90 forum you'll probably see all this.

I think they generally are pretty good vehicles while the transmission is working. When the transmission goes out, they are really horrible to remove because there is just so much stuff under the hood of that thing. Other than that, it would not be a big deal to just swap the transmission for a reman and keep driving, having low expectations. This transmission already went out at some point that the car had maybe 100,000 km on it or less. Imagine how that felt to somebody thinking "oh, I'm set, volvos last forever"

The usual "fluid tires brakes and belts" are the cheapest thing on it.

 

I just realized you asked "what to look for". I would look for warning messages. You want to make sure all the warning lights work and then go out. You might need an owner's manual for that. To be able to talk to all the various computers on the car you need Volvo's in-house code reader, but you can buy knockoffs somewhat reasonably.

 

Thanks for the input.
I now own a 2004 xc90.