These cars are money/time pits. They're fun, I enjoy mine, but you will pay the old Volvo owner toll one way or another. I would advise you to sink your time and money into something that will pay dividends later in life. Being 18, you're in the perfect spot to make some good moves.

 

These cars are money/time pits. They're fun, I enjoy mine, but you will pay the old Volvo owner toll one way or another.

FTFY
Regardless of age, they are quite needy.

 

Congrats on the R. They are fun cars to drive.
Your Check Engine and ABS/Anti Skid light are not related. You'll need to pull codes for both. Likely culprit of the Anti Skid light is a failed Steering Angle Sensor or Clockspring as some refer to it but can be a host of other issues including failed 4C shock/struts or lack of them if they were replaced with Non-4C components.
Shaking steering wheel could be out of balance tire, more likely a bent wheel.
Getting a Dice and VIDA setup will help as many aftermarket scan tools, even if they can scan all systems, don't offer the diagnostics help that VIDA will. Especially if they just report generic codes.
R's originally had the B5254t4 engine. If it was replaced, it may not have the same engine. Original B5254t4's have issues with cracking cylinder liners, many first think its a head gasket but majority of R's will suffer from cracked cylinder sleeves. You may want to investigate exactly what engine is in it. Many have replaced that engine with the B5244t5 engine found in 2005-2008 S60 T5's. Its a more robust engine with thicker cylinder sleeves. Stock 2.5L has 83mm pistons, 2.4L T5 has 81mm pistons. The 2.4 T5 variant of the years I listed also has the same cylinder head of the R which differs from the more generic 2.5L head, it has a higher height. That head requires longer spark plugs and I have found many cases in which the short plugs are installed by mistake. While they may run, they do not run very well. The coil boots are also longer in the 'R' head by about a half inch. In some cases some have just replaced the R engine with the generic 2.5L So you'll want to see exactly what engine you have.
All Turbos will leak some oil, usually noticed as a seep and can form a drip but not necessarily a "leak". Determining if its truly leaking excessively, I would clean the area of said leak very well. Then drive a bit and reinspect for leak. Easier to see the leak with dirty oil vs just changed. So if you haven't changed the oil yet, hold off to look for leaks. After cleaning and driving, oil should not be dripping onto the ground while its running, a slight haze or moisture type "leak" is considered normal, just no dripping.
These cars are money pits, there is no way around that. Prepare for many unforeseen issues.

 

Thank you for all the advice, I’ve come up with a plan I’m going to attempt to fix all the issues then I’m going to sell it. this is my first fast car and not gonna lie it scares me and I don’t want to get into trouble with it.

 

Welcome to the Luxury European Car Owners Club. I have a 2003 XC90 T6 my sister was going to give to the dealership when the third Trans failed.They had worked on every issue since new. I have had it since 2019. The stories I could tell you would make a normal human weep, or, I will stop there. Good luck to ya!

 

Imo, if you like and want the car it is certainly reasonable to keep it. With the massive knowledge base here, and your father's skills and tools you can make it work. It is a complex car, but really any twenty year old daily will need a good bit of attention.

 

Showed my dad the car today, he usually doesn’t like working on foreign cars but I can tell he likes this car he just didn’t want to admit it lol.

 

Won’t HURT to keep if you have support but be forewarned about it being needy as a daily.

 

Hey Danny, congratulations on the new car!

As a 20 year old myself with 3 S60R's in our family, I'd definitely ask a few very important questions. (This if of course just my opinion!)
1) Do you have a desire to learn how to work on your car in the event that something goes wrong?
I like to think of the R's kind of like a spectrum - you've got the cars that were loved, and the cars that changed hands a lot, so it's much more difficult to determine the previous level of care for the car.
It sounds like you picked it up from a friend who's around our general age. Where did he (?) get this car? If it was in his family for his whole life, that's different than a 10 owner Facebook marketplace special. (correction, I see you said previous owner did an engine, transmission, and clutch swap... 🚩I'd ask so many questions about this.)

There's a pretty helpful piece of advice I heard a few years ago, it might be different with inflation now. It's the 10k rule for an S60R, and likely 4-5k more for a wagon.
If you purchased your car for 4 thousand, you can expect to put about 6 thousand into it for it to become basically worry free. The barrier to entry is low, which means more owners/different standards.
That previous owner may put on cheap aftermarket parts that break much faster than you'd expect, and then it's your problem. Or one owner that didn't change the oil for 40 thousand miles (I sure hope not?!) But due to their actions, you've got much bigger issues on your hands.

If you purchased a 2 owner 10 thousand dollar (or more) car, but it was lovingly and consistently serviced it's whole life, you can rest easier knowing it was taken care of.
There are occasional exceptions to the rule, like an original owner that doesn't know what they have, and they let it go for very little because it's "old" and doesn't suit their needs anymore. Those are the real unicorns.

2) Do you have any opposition to getting a car loan?
I'm not sure if you are in the financial position to do it, but if I could recommend one car to get assuming you sell your S60R, it's a 2013-2015 Volvo S60 T6 (Platinum) AWD. That's the P3 generation, but it's remarkably dependable. I drive a 2015 XC60 T6 Platinum AWD, it has 155 thousand miles on it, we purchased it for $15,300 back in 2022 and I've only had a few issues with it. The R's? oh my gosh... don't get me started. That S60 T6 is easily just as fast, if not faster than the S60R, and has amazing torque and fuel economy. That engine (B6304T4) is nearly bulletproof.

The stock USA headlights on the S60R are absolutely awful. If you like to drive fast at night, do not keep this car. The P3 S60 T6 has a dedicated high beam and much better light output (though, this is up for debate. Some say that you need to change the ballasts and bulbs, and then it's pretty good.)

My S60R's high beam is my XC60's low beam.

The P3 S60 T6 AWD's are shockingly inexpensive to buy now. My car is maybe worth 10-12 thousand, and it's just... as good as it gets. However, the P3 S60 T6 AWD doesn't come in manual, so you would have to go to an automatic, which can be a deal breaker. It's a nice automatic though.

We pay $250ish dollars a month for my car, and once I get it re-financed, it'll be building my credit. It's a win win! You get to own an awesome car with a lot of creature comforts that never lets you down. And you get to have a diverse credit profile (how exciting is that?! just kidding...) If you want to see my thread for the work I've had to do, here is the link.

3) Would this be a fun project for you?
I'm not sure if you're going to be in college (or technical school), but I know so many people that just blow their entire savings to keep their car alive. I sold my V70R to an old friend for 5 thousand, he put 6 thousand into it, and it still wasn't what he was looking for. It put him in a really bad position that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Cranking out so many hours just to keep the car working.
BUT, if you want to get into working on cars as a fun skill, it's definitely something to consider. If you need a dependable daily, abandon ship. It can go both ways, you have minor repairs and mods, or you have a massive (expensive) headache on your hands. Think of it like a needy child. Are there great moments? absolutely. Is there a lot of work involved? absolutely.

So, my personal recommendation would be to do what you feel comfortable service wise, enjoy it for a little while if you want, but please sell sooner than later before things get worse.

That could be the difference between having a savings account that can turn into a down payment on a house, or go into investments. And it frees up the mental energy to not have to think about your car.

The S60 T6 AWD is the only car in the Volvo world I'd put in the middle of all of those categories. (A 2025 Toyota Camry also falls into all three! minus speed and upfront cost... so, maybe not. 50 MPG is nice though)

This is just my opinion, but I'd be interested to hear your feedback. Either way, I don't think you made a mistake getting into it, it just depends on what your goals are.

 

Everything Jake stated on the P3 T6 is true. Very underrated imo in terms of stock performance with gobs more torque than any 5 pot. 2013 and up have a slightly better Haldex but the '11 and '12 are no slouch either. And that 3.0L with just a stage 1 or 2 tune will run with many higher priced performance cars. I've seen the scathing looks on many a BMW owners face in my rearview with my last 2011 S60 T6. Just pure anger and betrayal from the Ultimate Driving Machine to be walloped by a Volvo. Fun times. And when it was an M owner, even more satisfaction. Volvo won't win on any cornering or windy road though, the BMW will catch up there.

 

Hey that's great to know! I didn't know that. I thought I heard of some minor differences in piston rings in the early T6's, but that might've been 2010. I wanted to suggest a good buffer so he could be sure it's been addressed with the revised design. I had another buddy with a 2013 S60 T5 with those oil burning piston rings. That's just awful to deal with.
And yep! I can definitely dream with the BMW, lol!
To me, there's different cars for different phases of life. My end goal is a Porsche But the T6 will help me save the money to get there! Lol. (and yes!! the GT3 touring is not cheap, I just like this video)