Used Car: Volvo S80 vs. Acura TL?

My fiance is looking for a car. We have it down to two and would like some suggestions/opinions on which one to go with.

2003 Volve S80 - 44,000 miles 2003 Acura TL - 27,000 miles

Price wise, they are going to be very comparable to each other so that isn't too much of an issue. My main concern is mechanical reliability. I have a lot of confidence in the Acura but am not sure about the Volvo

(no experience w/ these cars). She LOVES driving the Volvo. Based on the extensive research (edmunds, msn, etc.) we've done so far when it comes to reliability and cost to maintain, the Acura gets a slight nod.

I would like to keep this car for 5-10 years as it will be one of our two primary cars.

Your thoughts? (We may be making this decision as soon as tomorrow 8/1)

I also posted this on the general alt.autos forum.

-diro

Reply to
diroberts
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IMO the Acura is likely to be the more reliable vehicle and the less expensive to maintain, particularly since many of it's mechanical parts are in common with high end Accords.

I have one friend with an S80 and while he loves driving the car he also complains about the frequent annoyance and expense of getting it repaired. Usually it is fairly small things like lighting fixtures and engine sensors, but every visit costs him hundreds of dollars and a day or two of time.

Also, 27k miles is a lot less than 44k which also tilts the scale in favor of the TL.

John

Reply to
John Horner

I know someone who sold his Volvo because the turning radius was ridiculously large. Weird, eh?

Reply to
Venture Rider

Odd that you mention this: when on my test drive of the Volvo S80 I wanted to see how the turning radius was and it was insane. I was doing figure 8's and extremely tight U-turns in this parking lot. Needless to say, my fiance - who was along for the ride - wasn't thrilled as I was really putting the car through its paces. :)

Reply to
diroberts

I've been active in the alt.autos.volvo forum for almost ten years. Although I have no personal experience with anything newer than our '85, I've seen a number of frustrated posts for all the models introduced since about 1993. The S80 seems to do well for most people, but a few have had long lists of problems - and not minor ones.

I would lean toward the Acura, although unless you are unlucky either should serve you well.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

We did - the bank is in the process of issuing a check to us today. Since we only have 24,000 miles on it, there are many items still under warranty so the local dealer is in the process of taking care of all of them. I've been very impressed with the customer service and attention to detail that the Acura dealership has given to us and the car (even though we didn't buy the car from them). Very stoked.

-diro

Reply to
diroberts

Most Acura dealerships do seem to try and go the extra mile to take care of the customer. To me this implies that Honda USA gives them the support to do so rather than trying to chisel back on every warranty claim. Often when you get indifferent warranty service from a dealer the real cause is that the mfg. is giving the dealer a hard time on claims.

John

Reply to
John Horner

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