I am considering a certified pre-owned volvo S40, S60, S80 (an 05, 06 or 07). Volvo seems to one of the best certified warranties and the cars available have less than 40k miles. Can anyone speak to their experience or the general quality of Volvo S40, S60, or S80?s?
Pick up a Consumer Reports Used Car Buyers’ Guide at the bookstore this evening. I think you’ll get more aggregate info there than here.
Estimated repairs on the 2007 S80 are $4300 for 5 years, including one year of warranty. Ir’s $4600 for the S60 and S40. Compare that to $2300 for the 2007 Infiniti G35, M35, and M45, and you can see that the cost is high. The source is Edmunds.com ‘True Cost to Own’. There are higher cost cars, like the BMW 528i. You might also look at the Lexus I350 or 2008 Pontiac G8, both with low estimated repair costs.
I was considering a used Volvo purchase about 3 months ago…looking at 07’s…but was ultimately turned away by all the info I have read/heard about repair costs (I usually keep cars a while). The certified program is rated highly, but I haven’t been able to find a website that provides the details of what it covers, I would ask the dealer for something specific before taking the plunge. Good luck…
A life long engineer friend owned nothing but Volvos for more than thirty five years until 2000. He now owns a BMW 3 series and a Subaru Outback 6 cly. He buys nothing that he hadn’t researched cost of ownership over a 10 year period. According to him, no more Volvos. He’s got other “toys” he’d rather spend his fixed retirement income on.
Get the owner’s manual for any Volvo you are interested in buying. Go to the Maintenance section and look at the service intervals. For instance you may look at a car with 25,000 miles. At 30,000 the car may need a complete tune up (plugs, wires, the works) etc. Get the service department to give the prices they charge for these services. My guess is it will knock your socks off.
I did buy a certified Volvo, a 2000 V70XC with about 26K miles. The cup holder was broken, $200. Then a motor mount was bad, $600. Then the 30K service $1,200. Get the picture.
I always recommend consulting a Volvocologist, so I guess you came to the right place. I think you should get a spare car so you can drive when that warranty has to be used, but I’m not an expert on those cars.
Look at the Ford equivalent(since Volvo is owned, in part, by Ford), which should be the Focus or Fusion.
Looking at the price for dealer retail on edmunds.com, the s80’s price($24k) could net you a brand new 09 Fusion and should still leave you with some extra cash in your pocket.
It’s basically gone over by mechanics to spot obvious flaws, execessive wear, etc. That means it will service you well for a few months or more. On the other hand, as pointed out, these cars are less than average in reliability and much more expensive to maintain and repair.
Think of it as having a healthy wife with good teeth, but very expensive tastes in everything.
Consider this article…
“BEIJING – Geely Holding Group is likely to bid to acquire Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo unit, people familiar with the situation said, in what would be a bold attempt by a Chinese auto maker to expand internationally amid the global downturn.”
Let’s hope someone here has enough parts on hand. As soon as it’s obvious that Volvo is Chinese owned, the “high end” mystique may evaporate quickly even as it’s reliability begins to improve.
Has Jaguar’s or Land Rover’s luxury appeal dropped since Tata Motors bought them?
You tell me…do we oooo and aaaah over their models as we did once, regardless of who they’re owned by ? The Rover’s around here seem to get a lot less respect than Lexus comparable models.