Dealer is willing to accept an offer of $27K for a 2004 FWD XC90 with 25K miles. So far, I have only been looking at AWD's, so I would appreciate anyone's opinion of whether I would be compromising my standards by selecting a FWD vs AWD. By choosing a FWD would I be giving up anything substantial?

Thx for your time - Brad

 

AWD is more compatible with other rough terrains. It all depends what you're using this car for. AWD gets better traction control than FWD and often times, you have more control of the car. I presume you're not going to use this car for off-roading... What is the price difference between the FWD and AWD?

 

Also where do you live?

Do you drive in the snow and ice?

If not then you won't need AWD anyway.

Unless you are going Off Road.

ALSO NOTE: Volvo AWD disables at I beleive it is 30 MPH and then you are FWD anyway.

 

I live in the Bay Area, and would rarely ever see ice or snow. And the cost differential seems to be significant. Most AWD's with the same features and mileage cost an additional $2-3K. I would prefer an AWD because they seem to hold a higher value, but the additional cost doesn't seem to be worth it. Does anyone have any comments on whether FWD have less maintance issues, or any other benefits that anyone else knows of? Any advice would be appreciated..

Thanks, Brad

 

If you live in the south I would not even consider AWD unless you are off roading. You will never notice that you dont have it. plus you gas milage would be worse and the cost of repairs would be more (All AWD are more) Good luck with your shopping.

 

Like stated, if you don't need or require AWD, go with FWD. The AWD costs only about $1,500-2k more but this increase may not be reflected in the resale value.

 

I want to thank both of you for taking the time to help me out. I really appreciate it.

Brad

 

I am kind of tired of the AWD/SUV craze. I have had four of them now and other than my 78 Jeep Wagoneer, I have never done any offroading and that's where you really need 4WD. The other day I'm following a friggin Hummer and the guy practically stopped to go over a speed bump. I would have probably tried to hit it hard enough to get the wheels off the ground if I paid that much for a vehicle like that. Obviously I would go for the FWD because of the better gas mileage and the fact that there is no need for AWD.

 

What a great story. Whoever buys a Hummer must know that they are spending way too much money to drive a vehicle, which will probably never even see a dirt road. I have a 4WD 4Runner, and have never actually needed to use the 4WD function, meaning that I was stuck in snow/mud/or ice and needed to use the 4WD to get unstuck. I think my mind is made up on this issue.

 

Yeah I had a Four Runner once too. Really fun to drive because it was small and sporty compared to the Wagoneer, but I rarely went off the road with it and it was a stick so it made hill climbing tough. I tried it once got the crest of the hill and stalled it. There was no way I was going to get it going again, so I had to back down the hill. That was embarrasing. I could have towed it up with my old Jeep. Then I had a 4WD Suburban that was no fun whatsoever. Great for towing but the 4WD was a waste except for in snow where it would get stuck w/o 4WD in about an inch of snow. It was RWD unless you put in into 4WD. I just got rid of it last fall. I'm pretty sure I'm done with 4WD/SUV's.

 

Bradnight,
What did you decide? I hope your decision works out well for you in the end and benefits you in the long run.

 

I have to agree with the 4x4 thing. I use to drive the major highway here in winter with my FWD and on snowy days I would usually see more 4x4 SUV in the ditch than any other car. I drove through Rogers Pass in the dead of winter at night in a Jimmy 4x4 and I did not even turn the 4x4 on. didn't need it. I personally think it is mostly a waste of gas money to buy those things.

 

Unless some disaster strikes, I am making the deal on Monday. I don't know if anyone else has found this to be true, but the used XC90's are pretty expensive in California. One dealer was asking for $36k for a 2004, with 23K miles. If you look at Yahoo Autos, that price isn't that unusual for California. Given that used prices were so high, I decided to check out the cost of a 2006 2.5T. I was able to get a dealer down to $39.9, which I still was not ready to pay that much. Especially once you add in all the sales taxes and registration fees for California (don't get me started on that topic).


So then I hit eBay. What I found is that there is more availability in the midewest and the east coast, and prices and the dealers seem to be more reasonable. After a couple of months of searching, I found this XC90, Silver with tan interior, DVD, versatility package, and premium sound for $29K, which I worked the dealer down to $27. Shipping will cost $1,200. So in the end I pay $28.2K for a vehicle with 25K worth of warranty left. I might buy the optional extended warranty for an additional $1,300, which protects me for another 4 years/48K miles after the Volvo warranty lapses. Sorry for the long email, just thought some of you may be in the same boat and are examining your options to get the best price and could benefit from my experience. Any input on the value of the optional extended warranty would be appreciated. Thanks again. - Brad

 

Here's another opinion from me: I never buy extended warranties on anything, period. In the long run you have to save money by not buying them. If they were not profitable for the ones selling them they would not be sold. Unless something really major goes wrong that is covered by the warranty (that's a big IF) you will not spend $1300 on repairs to the car. For the warranty to be valid, you will have to do all your routine services probably from a certified Volvo mechanic.

By the way I have bought my last four cars over the internet, but not through e-bay. I have used AutoTrader.com. One thing you might do if buying quite some distance away is to find a local Volvo mechanic in the area and have them do a pre-purchase inspection of the vehicle. I did that for one I found in the Chicago area. Spent $55.00 to find out it was a piece of crap. At least I didn't fly up there to find out. I thought it was well spent money. The last one I bought in Va. Beach. $117 to fly down to look at it, and had I not liked it, the guy would have taken me back to the airport where it would have been another $117 to get home. That's a good bit of money, but I was pretty sure I was buying it, which I did. Then I drove the 600 miles home. AutoTrader had it down as 430 miles.

If anybody needs some help here in the Columbus, OH area, let me know. I will recommend a great shop to do the inpection. If it's not too far I would be willing to check a car out for somebody interested. I'm sure there are others in different areas that would dot the same. Build a network of people willing to help other people buying Volvo's. There are quite a few of them around here. Too long. Later.

 

Hmmm. That is really good advice. May I ask what was involved in your "pre-purchase inspection"? Did they walk around and visually inspect the vehicle, or was it more in-depth than that, actually hooking up to a diagnostic machine? Thanks for the input - Brad

 

Somehow I missed this post when the trucks were talked about.

I used to have a Toyota P/U 4X4 and the only time I every used the 4X4 was when I was pulling someone else out of the snow.The only other time I used it was when we were driving through 3FT of snow going from Florida to New Jersey.
There was a big storm moving up the coast from Florida to Canada.
Also to note the Truck was jacked up 3 inches and had 35 inch tires on it.I also had a front bumper off of a Freightliner Tractor Trailer which we were using as a plow when driving.

Yes had a ton of fun in the mud as well but that is another Subject.

 

4x4 is also very helpful in wet mud or rough terrain.

 

Yes and Very fun to.

 

Thought I would give out a quick update. The car was delivered three weeks ago, a bit later than I thought primarily due to shipping delays. It's in great shape, and I am really happy that I went the route of a front wheel drive only. It's not super fast, but, it's fast enough to merge with traffic, and that is enough for me. Since I bought it sight unseen (the car was located in South Carolina), I was a bit nervous, but the local mechanic did a nice job of pointing out what maintenance was needed (new tires, front brakes). The body and interior is clean, and so far so good.

However, there are three weird things that we havent figured out yet.

The first is that it came with a post-factory installed DVD player underneath the drivers seat. The DVD works and all, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how to get the volume to play through the speakers. Any tips here? Is there a button that I need to push or a setting that I need to put the stereo system on?

Second, the arm rest keeps popping back, sliding off it's rails. Of which, I then keep having to push it back into it's place. Is there some sort of locking mechanism that keeps the arm rest in it's position?

Third, when we got the car, the mats were in the back. So I see where the mats go, and that each mat has a round hole which should snap onto the tab on the floor, but for whatever reason they refuse to snap on, no matter how hard I push down. Is there some trick that I am missing here? This should be really simple, but I can't get any of the mats to snap on.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Brad

 

You probably cannot play dvd directly through the speakers - sound system does not have auxillary input to plug the output from dvd player. the only way is to use FM modulator. You need to see if they connected an FM modulator to DVD, and if they did, determine what frequency it is set to. Then you tune your radio to that frequency and -THA DHA...

The armrest has a loking mechanism that locks up when the armrest pushed forward all the way. If it does not-have it fixed..