how reliable is the current S60 assuming scheduled maintenance is done, driving is mix of hwy/city. Average mileage 20k a year. Dealer is touting safety and reliability. Are there better options in this class other than BMW 3? Thanks
That model is too new to have any real record in regard to reliability, but if it follows in the Volvo tradition, anyone buying it would be well-advised to dump it once warranty coverage runs out.
In the latest issue of Consumer Reports, they have an article on Luxury Compact Sedans, and in their opinion, the new Mercedes C300 has unseated the BMW 328 from its best-in-class position. They also note that the Bimmer has sub-par reliability, and that the engine is extremely noisy at idle. (I can verify the tinny corn-popper noise of the newer 3-series engines)
In that class of vehicle, the one that has the best reliability is the Buick Regal, and the Buick has the advantage of also costing $10k to $15k less than their “Germanic” competitors. (The Buick is actually a rebadged Opel, so it also has a German heritage, even though it is made in Canada.)
In their article, CR rates the cars in this order, from top to bottom:
BMW 328d X-drive (diesel-powered, AWD)
Mercedes C300 (AWD)
BMW 328i
Buick Regal Premium
Acura TLX 2.4L
Volvo S60
Cadillac ATS Luxury (turbo)
Volkswagen CC Sport (complete with dismal reliability rating)
Infiniti Q50 Premium (with an equally poor reliability rating)
Audi A4 Premium Quattro
Buick Verano 2.4
Lexus IS250
CR rates the Buick as the best value in that class, and states that the Regal displays “European driving qualities and above-average reliability”.
Owning any Volvo as a new car with a factory warranty is fine. The problem is when the warranty expires. Off warranty repair bills for a Volvo often exceed $2000. And such bills are all too frequent. Owning a Volvo not covered by a factory warranty is simply a risky and often very expensive experience.
Driving 20,000 miles per year in a Volvo will very soon expire the warranty and then the owner is liable for those expensive repairs that will certainly crop up.
As suggested, the Buick is a good choice as would be any model from Honda or Toyota in that size category.
Pick up a Consumer Reports New Car Preview at the local bookstore. You’ll find all the options there along with good comparison data. IMHO there definitely are better options out there, and the CR will show them to you.
My choice would be a Lexus. But I admit to being biased. Any single individual will be, even if he/she denies it. CR is the best way to avoid that problem.
Look at the True Cost to Own feature at edmunds.com. 5 year costs for several major expense items are listed, including maintenance and repairs. Repair costs are estimated from extended warranty costs. Some of the folks here don’t like that method, but I think it has merit. Actuaries figure out what it will cost to fix problems in the future. One of the things they work on is auto repair estimates. Insurance companies would lose a lot of money if actuaries didn’t know their craft, and it seems to me insurers are making plenty. While the numbers are likely incorrect, the same system is used on all autos, and is good for comparative purposes. When I’ve looked at the repair estimates in the past, the usual list of high reliability brands had the lowest estimated repair costs, and those that are well know for poor reliability had the highest costs. The system is down as I write this, but you might check it out later. Compare the S60 to the IS250 and see how they compare.
Are you the person replacing a 2011 Camaro conv ? If so than you are not likely to be long term owner. In your place I would just buy what rings my bell and not care what anyone else says. I would make sure I understand the factory warranty .
Is the dealer trying to claim that Volvo is safer than other brands? That was true in the 1970s, but we’re a long way from that now.
Are you the person replacing a 2011 Camaro conv ? If so than you are not likely to be long term owner. In your place I would just buy what rings my bell and not care what anyone else says. I would make sure I understand the factory warranty .
IIRC, the OP is helping out a friend. But, the friend is supposedly shopping for champagne when they only have a budget for Pabst blue ribbon
bscar2 You may be correct. Seems like the OP had asked what to replace the Camaro with and then asked about a vehicle for a friend . I thought the friend had to have a purchase made a week ago.
Trivia time: what was the Camaro named after, i.e., what is a Camaro?
IIRC, Camaro=shrimp…
No that’s camaron. Close, but not quite. Ford tried to say that when the Camaro was first introduced, but they were wrong. It really doesn’t mean anything, and that is what Chevrolet was going for when they named it.
Merriam -Webster doesn’t know, so I guess I’ll never find out. It isn’t in the dictionary.
A reporter asked a GM executive where the Camaro name come from and he said it meant nothing; GM trademarked a number of 6 letter names that had a good ring to them. Since it was a Chevy, it had to start with a “C” preferably.
Tom McCahill jokingly said that “Toronado” meant “swimming bull”, but it was meant to sound like Tornado with out being as scary.
Toyota had some names that meant something, like Cressida and Corona. Others had to start with a “C” like Camry and Corolla.
Car companies spend a lot of money to make sure their model names aren’t not something that could inhibit sales. It used to be in the home market, but now with a world market, it is especially difficult. Toyota named their Echo replacement the Vitz at home, but it is the Yaris everywhere else. Vitz means fool in German, and that would not go over well in Europe or the Western Hemisphere where there are a lot of German emigrants.
I thought it was a good idea to name a car after…nothing. What’s a Camaro? It’s a car. There’s no other answer.
Some names MUST have been created by committees…
What’s your LEAST favorite name?
Gremlin would be high on my “why God, why” list.
Caprice is a silly name for a car. Suggest you bought it on an irrational whim. Most made-up names sound OK to me, but Camry has always sounded perfectly awful. As does Yaris. Neither exactly rolls off the tongue like Miata or Camaro.
I always laughed at El Camino, which sounds nice, but means ‘the road’. Somehow I can’t imagine them calling a car ‘The Road’ in English, but, hey, translate it to Spanish and no one will notice.
Le Car