Hi ladies and gents -
I'm looking to return to an '01-'07 S60 (or V70) after several years of owning... other things.
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I had a 2001 S60 2.4T that remains my absolute favorite car. I've owned bigger, faster, and more gas efficient, but it was ME.
Me, of course, being younger then, saw a '98 V70R for sale locally and traded the S60 to my mom for that. Big mistake - the V had been beat on and was a huge money pit. She loved the S60 until she managed to make a telephone pole's acquaintance at 55mph. She loved it even more after she walked away with seatbelt bruises and an airbag burn, and bought an '06 2.5T to replace it. I continued to pour money into the V70R to replace Things That Make It Go until I'd had enough.
Replaced that with a brand new '08 Mazda3 hatchback, which was nice enough for an appliance. Drove that for a few years, got pretty bored - it didn't get the gas mileage to justify the anemic engine, it didn't hold enough stuff to justify being a hatchback, etc. Seats weren't right, for sure. So I figured I wanted bigger! I traded it in on a car I'd always had my eye on: a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Boy has that been a mistake. I saw the EPA estimated 15 city/19 hwy and said hey, I can probably do better than that! Nope. Mine is a full-time AWD setup with limited slip diffs front and back, and you can lock it into more of a 50/50 4WD mode via a shifter inside. Yes, the full-time AWD defaults to the rear wheels and they say the MPG difference is negligible... but yikes. 12MPG city is not cool, and throwing a little party when it breaks above 19.9MPG hwy is also not cool, with the amount of highway driving I do. Royal Purple fluids in the diffs and t-case, the best dealer fluid in the tranny, brand new spark plugs, and meticulous maintenance do not make a lick of difference to the gas bill. Also, the seats. Oh, the seats. This is the top-of-the-line, 41,000 dollar sticker price Overland model with the upgraded 2-tone leather, 10-way power seats on both sides... and I feel like my lower back is developing curves it never had before. I'm barely 29 but rapidly feeling much older! Oh, and the headrests are WAY too far back. I don't remember Volvos having that problem!
(SKIPPABLE STORY TIME ENDS HERE!)
But I digress. I like the space inside my Grand Cherokee, but have realized that I may have wanted AWD/4WD when living in snowy climes, but Alabama doesn't really get that so much. Ever, really. FWD is FINE with me. So: I'm ideally looking for a low mileage well-maintained V70 2.5T, but S60s are AOK too.
(FINALLY)
My question for you guys (I'm from the North, I don't say y'all yet) is:
Are there any specific years/year ranges within the '01-'07 model years to stay away from? I remember there was a big hullabaloo about the electronic throttle in my '01 and how it would eventually crash me into a tree and kill me and then find my family and kill them, etc - is the problem gone, and when did that go away? Are the transmissions still prone to fail? Am I insane for wanting to come back to the fold?
Thanks, and if anyone made it through the whole story I'll buy you an e-beer.
I'm looking to return to an '01-'07 S60 (or V70) after several years of owning... other things.
(SKIPPABLE STORY TIME BEGINS HERE)
I had a 2001 S60 2.4T that remains my absolute favorite car. I've owned bigger, faster, and more gas efficient, but it was ME.
Me, of course, being younger then, saw a '98 V70R for sale locally and traded the S60 to my mom for that. Big mistake - the V had been beat on and was a huge money pit. She loved the S60 until she managed to make a telephone pole's acquaintance at 55mph. She loved it even more after she walked away with seatbelt bruises and an airbag burn, and bought an '06 2.5T to replace it. I continued to pour money into the V70R to replace Things That Make It Go until I'd had enough.
Replaced that with a brand new '08 Mazda3 hatchback, which was nice enough for an appliance. Drove that for a few years, got pretty bored - it didn't get the gas mileage to justify the anemic engine, it didn't hold enough stuff to justify being a hatchback, etc. Seats weren't right, for sure. So I figured I wanted bigger! I traded it in on a car I'd always had my eye on: a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Boy has that been a mistake. I saw the EPA estimated 15 city/19 hwy and said hey, I can probably do better than that! Nope. Mine is a full-time AWD setup with limited slip diffs front and back, and you can lock it into more of a 50/50 4WD mode via a shifter inside. Yes, the full-time AWD defaults to the rear wheels and they say the MPG difference is negligible... but yikes. 12MPG city is not cool, and throwing a little party when it breaks above 19.9MPG hwy is also not cool, with the amount of highway driving I do. Royal Purple fluids in the diffs and t-case, the best dealer fluid in the tranny, brand new spark plugs, and meticulous maintenance do not make a lick of difference to the gas bill. Also, the seats. Oh, the seats. This is the top-of-the-line, 41,000 dollar sticker price Overland model with the upgraded 2-tone leather, 10-way power seats on both sides... and I feel like my lower back is developing curves it never had before. I'm barely 29 but rapidly feeling much older! Oh, and the headrests are WAY too far back. I don't remember Volvos having that problem!
(SKIPPABLE STORY TIME ENDS HERE!)
But I digress. I like the space inside my Grand Cherokee, but have realized that I may have wanted AWD/4WD when living in snowy climes, but Alabama doesn't really get that so much. Ever, really. FWD is FINE with me. So: I'm ideally looking for a low mileage well-maintained V70 2.5T, but S60s are AOK too.
(FINALLY)
My question for you guys (I'm from the North, I don't say y'all yet) is:
Are there any specific years/year ranges within the '01-'07 model years to stay away from? I remember there was a big hullabaloo about the electronic throttle in my '01 and how it would eventually crash me into a tree and kill me and then find my family and kill them, etc - is the problem gone, and when did that go away? Are the transmissions still prone to fail? Am I insane for wanting to come back to the fold?
Thanks, and if anyone made it through the whole story I'll buy you an e-beer.
