[Xposted from New members Forum] Hello! I have the opportunity to buy a 2005 XC90 at a very reasonable price from a family member (about $1,000 below blue book). It only has 81,000 miles on it, and has been lightly driven in the last 5 years. However, there is quite a bit of wear on the leather seats, and the driver seat needs to be replaced (broken plastic on side). In addition, there is an error code with the ABS that can't seem to be cleared, although my cousin said the system was checked and is fine.

As a potential new Volvo owner, what should I be on the lookout for before I buy? I was going to have a mechanic give it a look-over, but are there problems with this year/model? Are repairs as expensive as I've heard? Are the airbags and safety features as effective after this many years?

The other concern is the gas mileage, as a V8 AWD, it gets very low mileage and it's a little more car than we need (we don't do any towing). So we are wavering between purchasing this or saving up for a newer Toyota Highlander.

Thank you for any advice or suggestions!!!

 

It's an extremely complex vehicle, 13 years old, European. They have prodigious amounts of features and technology. You already see it as it is; ABS light on, and your own family would rather hand it off to you rather than try to get it right. You probably get good service out of it, but keeping it 100% functional and perfect might be pretty difficult.

The key would be to have a great mechanic ( or be one). Bad mechanic with a complex European vehicle like this is a total nightmare. The problem is not really the car, though. It's the people involved.

 

Thanks for the great response ... took it to my amazing mechanic (who happens to be Swedish :-) and he said pretty much exactly the same thing after giving it a thorough inspection. There's so many codes and electrical "gremlins" going on — some he had never even seen before and he's pretty much seen it all! The technology is amazing, but I live in a rural area 50 miles from the nearest city and we don't have a true Volvo mechanic in this area, so I think it's not for us. :-(