I live in Seattle and am looking to buy a Volvo Station wagon. My budget is $5000. I’ve owned Volvo’s before, but newest one I had was a 1983. Can anyone recommend a newer model that is safe, reliable, and can be found (used) in my price range?
Thank you in advance,
-Gilad.
Safe is a relative term, just look up “Renault Volvo crash” on youtube. Volvo seems to thrive on the old days when they were safer than most vehicles on the road. Today, they’re pretty much just like any other car.
Reliability is also relative. Some might think a broken axle doesn’t make a vehicle unreliable; while others think that needing to have an oil change performed makes it unreliable. Volvos, however, aren’t known for their stellar reliability, espeically in your price range.
If a $5000 Volvo is going to be your daily drive, and you don’t have lots of disposible income, then you’ll want to look for a different brand of car. If you want a wagon, look for a Ford Taurus wagon, they shouldn’t be hard to find in your price range and maintenance and repairs will be cheaper than any Volvo.
Older Volvos aren’t particularly reliable. They’re also expensive to fix when they break. Are you sure this is what you want?
You’ll need $5,000 just to keep the Volvo running.
Any used car is a roll of the dice no matter what badge is no the tail end. A thorough inspection can swing the odds a bit more in your favor is about the best that can be said.
Car buyers routinely buy late model, comparatively low miles vehicles of all makes and discover soon after they’ve made a huge mistake for any one of a number of reasons whether it be a collision history, premature engine or trans problem due to someone botching a fluid change, and so on.
Volvos are luxury cars these days. This means that you will have to buy an older one because of he extras on a luxury car. You might find a 2003 or earlier S40 or S60 in you price range. Just be aware that luxury cars are also more expensive to repair, too. If you don’t mind a compact sedan, consider a 2005 or earlier Chevy Cavalier, a 2005 Chevy Cobalt, 2005 or earlier Hyundai Accent, 2007 or earlier Kia Rio sedan, and a 2005 or earlier Ford Focus Sedan. Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas will be priced like the Volvo for the same years. With older cars, it is more about how the car was maintained than what the brand is. Any of the above-mentioned cars can be great buys for you. Just be sure to get them checked by a trusted mechanic to make sure there are no hidden problems.
There was a short-lived television series back in 2001-2002 called “The Education of Max Bickford”. The series revolved around a college history professor played by RIchard Dreyfuss. The professor drove a Volvo, and one of the shows was particularly realistic–the Volvo broke down.
Everyone else has improved in reliability, the Volvo hasn’t. A close friend, a dedicated Volvo owner for thirty years, finally gave up on them and went to a Subaru. Please pick up the car issue from consumer reports on the news stand. Though they may have shown an improvement of late in their newer models, $ 5 k will put you right in the middle of their least reliable years. For that money, maintenance is most important. The problem is, in that price range, a well maintained Volvo could still be a money pit. As “jt” says, they are luxury models with lots of stuff to go wrong.
So far it’s 0 for 6 recommending a Volvo.
If I were to buy a Volvo it would be new.
Then I would sell it the day the warranty ran out.
Volvo was a pioneer in safety, but now all car makers in the US have to incorporate strong safety features.