I am looking for a new/used car and I come across this 1999 2.9 model. (I am not interested in the Turbo model.) It is silver with black interior, and is absolutely beautiful. It has 26000 km, or about 16000 miles on it, and costs $36000 CAD. I am a fan of Volvo, but I am owning 2 Toyota Camrys, which are running flawlessly for 8-9 years if not rather boring. I am concerned about Volvo reliability, so the questions is how reliable is your car, or should I spend the same $36000 on another fully loaded 2002 Camry or Avalon just to be safe? I really do not want to experience of owning a lemon. Also, what is a good price for a 1999 S80 2.9?
Need good advice from current Volvo S80 owners
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Do not walk, but run from this monument of unreliability as if your life depended on it. You can get some great deals on used S80's for the very reason that unreliable equates with undesirable. If you've grown accustomed to trouble-free Toyota motoring, trust me that you are completely unprepared to deal with this service shop queen. On the positive side, you will have the opportunity to spend lots of quality time with service personnel at your local Volvo dealer, and might develop a close and abiding relationship in the process. My '99 S80 T6 chaulked up over $12,000 in warranty bills, and the first repair order out of warranty totaled $5,500.00. Is my example "unusual"? Not if you go by the experience of Consumer Reports readers owning the same jewel, or do soem reading of consumer reviews on the net. Ask the man who owns one. If you send me your e-mail, I'd be happy to e-mail you a copy of the stellar service log from my car. I'd also be thrilled to offer a great deal on a slightly used, and extensively rebuilt T6.
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I have heard that early S80s were less than desirable when it came to repair work. Early production on any new model/chassis is generally something to stay away from.
Nowadays, I believe the new cars are more reliable, but your used one will probably be higher maintenance than a Camry.
Nowadays, I believe the new cars are more reliable, but your used one will probably be higher maintenance than a Camry.
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Actually, the newer cars have jumped quite a bit in the JD Powers Survey (as did VW to defend the Euros).
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How bad? Don't let others frighten you because they have had certain negative experiences. I would still pick any European car over any American car and also over most Japanese cars based on the way they drive.
I have had three Volvos (one very short term) and have driven countless cars from 0 to 6000 miles and have only had one problem with a demo (a 1999 S70 AWD) and none of the cars I owned have had problems.
It is true that S/V70s for MY1998 and MY1999 have had issues with lightbulbs, etc. and some AWDs had issues with shaft vibrations but the overwhelming majority of owners have been extremely happy. In MY1999, the S80 had some pretty good teething problems so I would advise you to stay away from any S80 that its last 6 numbers of the VIn are lower than 042000. Look for a very late 1999 model or 2000. The S80 is a tremendous car, it has a lot of qualities, just look around of this car's VIN is lower than 042000.
Yannis
I have late build 1999 S80 with currently 57,000 miles and I have been very fortunate and blessed to not have had any major problems; the quality and reliability are above average. Of course, there were the recalls such as: replace ball joints, bushings for suspension, voltage regulator for headlights, and cooling fan replacement. These were all fixed under warranty at no cost. The only other thing that needed replacing was the steering wheel module, and of course this was under warranty also. With this replacement module I received all of the latest software updates and my suspension was re-tuned. Wow! What a difference in both performance and handling.
Rule of thumb: make sure you get late build '99 or better S80 with good service history. If your dealer/service center is on top of things, this information should be available to you. Better still, purchase Volvo "Certified" and get extended warranty. I have found that the most important thing that you need with having this car is having a dealer/service center who knows how to take care of these later Volvos. By this I mean you need a knowledgeable staff that does the research and can deliver the "fixes" without cutting corners. I currently own three Volvos, one of which is a 240 with 195,000 miles. Go for the S80 if it has good history. I've owned Honda (3 Accords) and can say European road cars are the way to go!
Rule of thumb: make sure you get late build '99 or better S80 with good service history. If your dealer/service center is on top of things, this information should be available to you. Better still, purchase Volvo "Certified" and get extended warranty. I have found that the most important thing that you need with having this car is having a dealer/service center who knows how to take care of these later Volvos. By this I mean you need a knowledgeable staff that does the research and can deliver the "fixes" without cutting corners. I currently own three Volvos, one of which is a 240 with 195,000 miles. Go for the S80 if it has good history. I've owned Honda (3 Accords) and can say European road cars are the way to go!
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