I'm looking for advice...I have wanted a Cross Country for awhile now, but recently stumbled upon a few XC90's that are more in my price range. One specifically is a 2004 (found here) and has under 70k miles. I've been researching this year and model and have found that there have been a few major problems with it (transmission, etc.) and right around the 60k-70k mileage mark.

A little back-story: I had high hopes of bringing my '86 BMW 325ES back to it's near original mechanical shape when the engine started on fire and totaled it (the day after I got it out of the shop). I own a '97 Ford Escort LX (90k miles) and just got it out of the shop last month and now I'm having an exhaust problem. I am sick and tired of putting money into these repairs and am willing to start having car payments again just to have a car that will run for 1-2+ years without having to do anything other than regular maintenance.

I've heard great things about Volvo's but have also heard that when things go wrong, they go expensively wrong. The one thing I really want in a car is a hatchback, once you have that extra room to haul it's hard to go back to regular 4-doors. AND I'm looking to keep it under $15k...

Any good Volvo advice will be greatly appreciated, thank you!

 

Welcome to the forum and sorry for delayed reply.

You are right, often if something goes wrong in a Volvo, it is not going to be cheap. The repair bill, though, depends on what the problem is.

The XC90s, as far as I know, do not seem as reliable as Japanese makes. One problem with European makes is the poor quality electronics.

If you can turn wrenches & have basic knowledge in electricity & electronics, you can save hundreds of money by fixing the car yourself.

See what recalls are out there for the XC90s:
http://www.autobuyguide.com/2004/12-...lls/index.html

Note, that recall items are usually safety-related and the notorious GM-built transmission has not been a recall item.

Good luck finding a decent vehicle.


JPN