Anybody Drive Volvos?

[eskimo810]

First car i got to drive once I got my license. Total buzzkill.lol.

heh.

Avoid the 99-00 S80 at all cost. Its a colossal pile of shit, the worst Volvo ever made by far. Volvo used its customers as beta testers thats why those cars are so cheap. 2001+ Volvo fixed all the issues of the early cars and the 5cyl turbo in the S80, S60 and V70 is a much better package. The T6 used a 4 speed slush box from GM. The 5cyl used a 5 speed auto from Toyota (Aisin).

But I liked them because they were $2k for 280HP :( Damnit. I do like the S60 quite a bit though. Thanks for the info.

Just going to drop this here... Although it looks like you are on the other side of the country....

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=278281

Well, I'm in Vermont, so not quite. I would need something that runs anyway, but thanks for the heads up.

[Asbradley21]

I'm just going to paste a previous post of mine that discusses my opinion and experience with volvos. It is specifically talking about the 850 series but much would apply to the s80 series as well.

I bought and sold one this year. Fucking horrible cars. Horrible to work on, shitty to drive. Falls apart in every way imaginable. I bought it and it dumped a ton of money into making it drive-able and just fucking sold it. Ended up replacing countless seals, entire PCV system, tons of vacuum lines, tons of oil lines, o-rings, and the turbo. Had that car for 5 months and only drove it a handful of times. The rest of the time I owned it I was just fixing one thing after the next because every time I drove it something else fucked up. I sold it before the transmission exploded thank god. Run away.

[eskimo810]

I'm just going to paste a previous post of mine that discusses my opinion and experience with volvos. It is specifically talking about the 850 series but much would apply to the s80 series as well.

I bought and sold one this year. Fucking horrible cars. Horrible to work on, shitty to drive. Falls apart in every way imaginable. I bought it and it dumped a ton of money into making it drive-able and just fucking sold it. Ended up replacing countless seals, entire PCV system, tons of vacuum lines, tons of oil lines, o-rings, and the turbo. Had that car for 5 months and only drove it a handful of times. The rest of the time I owned it I was just fixing one thing after the next because every time I drove it something else fucked up. I sold it before the transmission exploded thank god. Run away.

Damn, that's pretty shitty. Sorry to hear that and thanks for letting me know.

[Jand3rson]

Not from the E30 era, but our family car is a '99 Volvo V70 XC. We've had it about 4 years, and it needs a few things right now (front upper strut mounts, new ABS module), but parts for this thing, on the whole, are DIRT cheap. There are exceptions, for instance, a new coolant expansion tank was $78, but inner/out tie-rod ends were $8/$12, respectively.

The AWD is simply amazing, this thing is a TANK in the snow and ice, with nothing more than studless snow tires. Gets great mileage, has great power (5 cyl turbo), heated leather seats, rear folding 3rd row, and tons of room. We LOVE it.

[atmobenzin]

You dont get a lot of snow, do you?

[Jand3rson]

I live in the Cascade mountain range, at an elevation of 3800 feet, 25 minutes from the base of a ski resort with a 9000' summit. We get on an average of 6" - 1" during a decent storm, and it will generally ice up and stick around for a while. Not nearly as much as other snowy regions of the country, but yes, we get enough to matter.

[atmobenzin]

Ok, its just that I don't see how anyone who has driven awd volvo in snow could recommend it to someone.

They are not bad cars in general, I am surprised to hear that S80 seems to be a peace of crap on your side of pond, because over here its a great car, for a mid size fwd saloon anyways that is.

[Asbradley21]

Ok, its just that I don't see how anyone who has driven awd volvo in snow could recommend it to someone.

I would agree, this video says enough about the volvo AWD performance. Always a laugh too.

[tjts1]

I bought and sold one this year. Fucking horrible cars. Horrible to work on, shitty to drive. Falls apart in every way imaginable. I bought it and it dumped a ton of money into making it drive-able and just fucking sold it. Ended up replacing countless seals, entire PCV system, tons of vacuum lines, tons of oil lines, o-rings, and the turbo. Had that car for 5 months and only drove it a handful of times. The rest of the time I owned it I was just fixing one thing after the next because every time I drove it something else fucked up. I sold it before the transmission exploded thank god. Run away.

We have an 850 manual going on 230k miles. Got it at 150k. Its by the the most reliable car we're ever had. The only large thing I've had to replace was a cracked radiator and a family member drove it over a curb cracking the aluminum pan. Fixed it with JB weld 3 years and 40k miles ago.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/tjts2/850%20wheels/IMG_6598.jpg?t=1287722261

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/tjts2/850%20wheels/IMG_6639.jpg?t=1288480340

Like any car this age the most important thing is how the previous owner treated the car. If you buy a POS beater of course you're going to have stupid bills. What did you expect?

[Herr Faust Schinken]

What wheels are these I saw some at a yard and was temped to pick them up

[cuchullainn]

I drove an 01 S80T6 for 3 years, ran it up to 240k, until the 2nd transmission went (first one had been replaced by the PO). Comfy car, but heavy and thirsty, got 19-21 mpg at best. Really had a problem with the front strut mounts too, tried urethane ones too and still managed to tear them to pieces. Would'nt consider owning one again. That said, fucking awesome engine. Small quick spooling turbos on a big six, can you say torque steer?

I'd love to swap one of those into a 960, or maybe 240.

[eskimo810]

I would agree, this video says enough about the volvo AWD performance. Always a laugh too.

Wow that is sad, and I always thought of Subarus as being the blunt instrument as far as... well everything. I don't exactly like where this is going, I was hoping to get something a little more unique than a POS Legacy Outback in Vermont.

[redsubdivisions]

I drove an 01 S80T6 for 3 years, ran it up to 240k, until the 2nd transmission went (first one had been replaced by the PO). Comfy car, but heavy and thirsty, got 19-21 mpg at best. Really had a problem with the front strut mounts too, tried urethane ones too and still managed to tear them to pieces. Would'nt consider owning one again. That said, fucking awesome engine. Small quick spooling turbos on a big six, can you say torque steer?

I'd love to swap one of those into a 960, or maybe 240.

lol agreed. I drove one and thought it was V8 because of how quickly those turbos spooled.

[superboosted]

What wheels are these I saw some at a yard and was temped to pick them up

ARE's

[101]

98 V70 GLT is my daily driver. We've had it since new so I know the history well.

I agree with most of what has been said above. Stay away from the 99-00 S80's. Stay away from the first generation S/V40's.

The 850 and S/V70 series are actually pretty good cars if maintained properly. They are no different than any Eurocar in that they like to go through maintenance and suspension parts quicker than the average American car. The 1999 model year introduced a new engine management system and electronic throttle system which are not as easy to work on, so stick witih 1998 and prior. And the AWD system is very picky about maintaining correct tire sizes all around and is expensive to repair if it fails.

Mine is a FWD only. It has decent performance in the snow (it would be great with snow tires) and is one of the most comfortable cars for a long trip. Volvo seats are second to none.

There is a good group of fanatics online as well. Anything you need to do on these cars is well documented somewhere.

Finally - If you can't verify the maintenance history of any Volvo you are looking at - RUN!! A neglected car can easily require more repairs than its book value.