Hello folks. This is my first post here. Just wanted to reach out to a community, since I often get great help from forums.

Why am I nervous? Let me explain.

This is my first European car. I've always bought Hondas or Toyotas and GMC (less of the last one). Our recent used car buy (2019 XC90 T6- Inscription, loaded with 19,000 miles) was to replace my wife's 2008 Yukon XL Denali. It has 203,000 miles. I got it to go that far because I do my own car repair work. One of first jobs, in my youth, was working at a used car dealership in the mechanical shop. I learned a great deal in those years, besides just earning money for college. I got good training and lots of hands-on experience.

So back to today.....I've done countless repairs on our GMC to keep it running. From oil pan gaskets to water pump replacements to new alternator to full break jobs several times and several batteries. Not to mention changing the oil on the engine every 6 to 7K miles and also changing the oil on the front and rear differentials and transfer case at least 4 different times--as well as transmission. You get the point

Fast forward to today. My wife picks out the Volvo as the car to meet her needs. I flew to California to pick it up. It is a certified Volvo used car, so we get 5 years from 02/2019 in full warranty and unlimited miles.

My nerves come from the fact that as soon as my road trip (500 miles) began, I decided to stop at the nearest gas station to fill it up and check the engine oil. No dip stick. What the? No way for me to inspect oil quality. At that point I realize she got me into a car that isn't designed nor intended for me to maintain and fix.

I've since learned a great deal about it and realize it has a sensor that measures the oil level. Fine, that's easy (as long as that sensor doesn't fail); however, I think I need a mental shift. I just bought a car that clearly the manufacture doesn't want me being a self-repair person. Everything seems to be tailored to bringing it in and they will do all the work. I suppose we have 2 more free oil changes and then it's time to open the wallet.

So sorry for the rambling but I'm curious what other owners experience has been on when Volvo vehicles begin to really start to need repair. I'm not talking wear and tear like breaks or tires. I'm talking when it starts to have oil leaks or when I can expect the air ride suspension to fail. I am impressed with the car but honestly think I may want to sell it just before these major issues begin to raise their head. I do get it, all cars break down. Some quicker than others but all need maintenance and repair to keep on the road. I fear this Volvo will exhibit such behavior just about 2024, or when she reaches year 5. Why fear that? Cause doesn't luck happen that way? A warranty is only at 5 years for a reason.

What has been your experience? I sincerely hope I've not offended anyone. I think this car is super nice, has great features and clearly well designed. Simply put, I have 0 experience on Volvo longevity and need some thoughts from other users. I have to resist the urge to get in and get my hands dirty. I have to now trust the car; take it to the dealer for maintenance and hope nothing wrong happens after the warranty.

TKH.

 

You don't need a dipstick to change your own oil.

For the most part, they really aren't that bad to work on. You have a fair amount of DIY mechanical experience so I'd imagine you'll be able to learn as you go.

 

Yep
They don't want you doing anything. My 2012 Audi S4 didn't even have a dip stick. I bought an aftermarket one for it. I'm pretty sure most modern vehicles these days won't have dip sticks.
You will also find that many new vehicles have electronic parking brakes which means releasing the rear brake calipers to change the pads becomes impossible without software through the OBD port to release them (at least this is how it is on my Audi again). I have not checked with the XC90 but I would not be surprised. Lastly - the oil change intervals on this car are supposedly 10k miles! LOL.. I'll be doing mine at 5k but if you stick to the 10k you won't be doing them frequently... given the car is so new you hopefully also won't have any maintenance things to do with it much either. Light bulbs can't really be "replaced" because they are all LED's... etc. So just enjoy the car and don't worry too much about it. Any new vehicle will have these same things... The pleasure of motoring and tinkering with vehicles is behind us... there are few brands that cator to the petrol head or "driver"... 90% of vehicles are SUV's on the road (which tells you a lot)... I personally am not a fan of SUV's - lol yes we just bought a large 3 row SUV but only because we had very limited options for a vehicle that will fit 3 car seats... etc..
Rant over... enjoy the new car!!

With all that said - you can still do plenty yourself if you want... the car is still the car and you just may have more plastic covers to get through in order to get to the parts you want...

 

Good points, no doubt. Vehicles are changing, this is true. We were about to buy the plug-in hybrid but cost held us back a bit. If we had, I would even be further outside of my element. I know folks replace the Toyota Prius batteries all the time, but the Volvo battery is under the car and looks to be much more challenging. Again, probably something I just won't be able to do in the future.

We will at least drive it till we get close to the warranty date and then see how our repair record goes. If it's been solid, we may push past a few years.

My trouble is I tend to stay with cars for 10 to 13 years (Yukon) and put 200K miles on them. To the point where they no longer are financially advantageous to keep. There is that balance or cross of the chart when keeping a car exceeds the monthly cost of buying a "newer" one. So with this car I have to re-evaluate my cost model. The good news in all of this is my wife absolutely loves the SUV. She needed the XC90 because we do often haul 6 or 7 kids for carpool to school and 5 of us take it up skiing in the winter. So we easily justify the seats, for sure.

 

You can still drive this into the ground so to say. I also keep vehicles 10-13 years... We don't put a ton of miles on them through - ex my S4 has 55k on it and I've had it 10 years...
The Volvo mechanically is basic. It's just a 2L engine and all bits and pieces are standard. The electronics in it I guess are pretty standard in today's car market... but that is what concerns me the most... all those drivers assist nannies etc. But then again, I felt the same way when I bought my S4 with it's "side assist" and "navigation system" lol - and all those worked fine over the last decade and continue to work well.. just stay on top of your maintenance - learn what you can learn and dont worry too much. You can always sell it if you're seeing it become a problem vehicle...