Any Volvo Owners?

The quest for a new car for my wife has taken a new turn. A couple weeks ago I asked about the Saturn Vue (3.5 Honda engine and tranny, fwd), and it's still in the mix. Now the Volvo V70 2.4 (non-turbo) wagon is also being considered. It's about 3 grand more ('05 demonstator), but does include 3 yrs/36,000 mi. maintenence plus loaner for all service. The Volvo's definitely got the best seats, and that's a big plus for her. Space and efficiency is about equal. Performance, for her, is pretty unimportant. What concerns me is primarily reliability. Is that Volvo going to be visiting the service department every few months down the road? I have this gut feeling that the Saturn might be the wiser choice in the long run. Any opinions? Thanks.

Geoff

Geoff -

I owned a V70T5 for about one year before it went back under the lemon law. Sucks. I loved that car when it worked right. But I was at the dealer about 2x/month. I finally couldn't take it anymore, and gave it back. Lost a lot of money anyway, but it was worth it in the end. My refund when toward my first EV, and I haven't looked back.

Just for grins, I put my Volvo site back up live. I haven't touched it in years. Fun to look back. I'll bet lots of the links are out of date. Maybe even my email address.

http://darelldd.com/volvo/

Not sure this helps much. My latest Volvo experience was not a good one. I did put 300k miles on a 1966 P1800 though. My first car.

Sorry to hear about your experience, Darell. I used to lust for a P1800. My first car was a '63 122s, so you know I have a soft spot for Volvos. They really are nice, when they run.

Geoff

At one time, my mom at a 144, my sister had a 122, I had the P1800S, and a good friend had a P44. Was a fun time, I tell you!

As for the V70, it came down to a safety issue of all things. There were times when I asked it go to (like through a crowded intersection) and it said, no thank you. When it worked, it was a fabulous car. And fast?! Damn. Almost as fast as my EV1.

In a driving rain on the freeway, there is no other car I'd rather be in... as long as I had a tow truck running shotgun.

Me: 2004 V70 R (manual trans)
My wife: 2000 V70 Cross Country

No troubles. I was worried since I was switching from a Honda Accord wagon to a non-Japanese-made car with AWD and a turbo. I drive the V70 R like it begs to be driven and no troubles at all. My wife has no troubles with hers either. But this is Volvo-land up her in New England so the dealers tend to treat service things a bit more preemptively to keep the customers happy.

Y'know, there are many regions of the country I probably wouldn't buy a Volvo, though. Up here in the Boston area they're as common as the gloomy weather, but if you don't have a dealership community that's got some local competition that seems kinda like asking for trouble. Do you have a few Volvo dealers near your part of NC? You wouldn't want to get stuck with a one-dealer option, no matter what the make.

Check Consumer Reports. They're putting the V70 reliability at only average ("good"?).

Oh, and be sure it has the rear-seat legroom you want. My 2004 V70 R is actually shorter in back than my wife's 2000 V70 XC, so the kiddies aren't as comfortable in mine. (But I can get 'em there twice as fast. )

Warning: The new little 40/50 series... I believe those are having many reliability troubles.

I have a S60 full option for about 4.5 years now ... no problems to speak of. I am really satisfied. I have the smallest engine though 'cause I don't really care for speeds above 100mph or super-fast accelaration.
bernie

I have the 2001 S40 1.9t with no problems to speak of except one which caused the check engine light to come on and stay on. We also have a Volvo V70R though I prefer the S40 instead. I have been considering getting a V70 when it comes time for another car.