Best Volvo After 2001?

Would anyone kindly give thier opinion as to the best Volvo in the post 2001 era? To me 'best' means reliability and not a lot of trips to the shop.

TIA

Reply to
Steve J
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The most reliable used Volvos are:

VOLVO S40/V40 '01 - '02 VOLVO S60 '01 - '03 VOLVO V70 '02 - '03 VOLVO S80 '02 VOLVO XC90 '03

Reply to
Stephen M. Henning

Reply to
Tall Guy CA

I'm relieved to see the XC90 is reliable, it seems one gets the wrong impression reading the NG

RL

Reply to
Ray Laughton

It's easy to get that impression about any car by reading it's respective newsgroup, particularly something so new, most of the people who seek out the newsgroup are the ones having problems.

Reply to
James Sweet

I guess it depends on your definition of "reliability". I owned Honda's in the past, and only had them in the shop at recommended service intervals or when I needed new tires - that's it!! Our current Volvos (2000 S40 and 2002 S60) have never left us stranded; however, I am on a first name basis with the service department due to lots of little annoying problems. (On a positive note, I get to drive all types of Volvo's as loaner cars). It seems these types of problems are very common with Volvo - it either bothers the hell out of you and leave Volvo, or you accept it as part of the cost for what ever reason you like Volvo (in my case - safety has been the only real reason I have stuck with them).

Reply to
Steve S

"Tall Guy CA" wrote:

The sample size is too small to come to a conclusion. Since it is based on the old S70 sedan, the C70 reliability should be below average. This is probably the last year for the C70, though a replacement based on the S40 should arrive in 2005.

Reply to
Stephen M. Henning

Consumer Reports has been very accurate for me over the years. The '03 XC70 is recommended, but the '03 XC90 is listed as a "used car to avoid."

Reply to
Bill Stehlin

And, for newer cars the sample size is so small.. I have hesitated to respond to the original message, but my '04 S80 with 15,000 miles remains perfect as it was when I bought it.

Reply to
Michael Hobbs

Then again your Volvo has many more cool toys (which always tend to brean down)... your Honda more then likely had very simple buttons to activate all the features, either hard wired in, or controlled with relays (solid state or mechanical). Most of the Volvo problems are with how the button interfaces to the computer and how it is interpreted.... I know what you mean about the in-shop time, friends of mine have a V70, and the poor car has been software updated more then my copy of windows XP :-P...... Nothing really "wrong" with it tho, mechanically its been the model of perfections, technology wise - the bugs are being worked out by a computer programmer.

Reply to
Rob Guenther

Actually they call this first year reliability or sample defects. The XC90 has trouble when new with it power assisted accessories. The jury is still out on whether these are fixed by warranty repairs.

Reply to
Stephen M. Henning

Steve, I could have written your post below myself. I went to an '01 S60 after six Hondas. Same experience with Hondas that you had. Same experience with Volvo that you're having.

What I don't understand is, if Toyota and Honda can get quality/reliability right, why can't Volvo? If you put out more money for a premium car, shouldn't you be able to expect premium reliability and general quality? Sometimes I'm so ambivalent about that car. We really enjoy it. It's never let us down. I love the styling. But I know all the service writers at my dealership (and that dealership is another plus) by first name. And I'm dreading the imminent demise of our warranty. (Won't buy an extension--I'll gamble, despite the poor odds.) Will we get another. I really don't know yet.

My latest passion, since I couldn't afford the XC70 I wanted (and support two [2] Volvos at one time?!?!) is my 2004 Subaru Forester XT. Looks like a small soccer-mom car, goes like the proverbial bat out of hell. Should be able to do 0-60 in no more than 6.7 seconds, very likely less. Subaru is a bit offbeat, and I like that. Very high quality. Very good safety (5 stars front and side). Very reliable. Funky styling but at least it has character. Gas mileage (premium) could be better. But fun comes at a price. And, now I have two cars with turbos requiring premium gas that, here, is $2.25-2.50 a gallon. But they're fun!

HW

Reply to
Hal Whelply

SAAB is the same way. Quirky but superb cars. At least while the Swedish built models are still available.(couple more years)

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

Hal - interesting comments. I often wonder same thing about Volvo regarding getting quality/reliability right in these expensive cars. But then, I guess that is why Acura and Lexus have historically done so well - perks that go with a premium car with the generally reliability of a Honda and Toyota. I know when it comes time to replace one of our Volvos, we are going to be torn between all of these issues. Especially with how Honda and Toyota are progressing in safety...

Reply to
Steve S

Honestly, I find Honda/Toyota seem to use older, but heavly refined ways of doing things... Which of course makes it all work nicely... The Euro car manfs (I have VW's too and the owners have the exact same gripes as Volvo owners, stuff not working, why cant we match the Japanese, bla bla bla...) seem to try new approaches to do things, sometimes out of the need to save money (it costs more money to make a car in Europe... not sure if it's less then in Japan, but I believe it might be), sometimes to improve technology.. For the most part Japanese automakers don't innovate (exception with the Hybrid, but this could stem from demand in their home market - europeans like disels for fuel economy, USA seems to not care) they tend to refine refine refine... Not to say the Euro's aren't refined, but they don't seem to stick with one thing long enough to make it perfect.

Also, you can't really compare a Honda or a Toyota to a Volvo, its a totally different type of car (more goodies in a Volvo)... and the 5 speed trannies Honda is making are really screwed up, huge recalls!... which shocked me, I never heard one bad thing about a Honda tranny.

quality/reliability

extension--I'll

Reply to
Rob Guenther

Rob,

Points taken, but (a) Hondas don't cost quite as much as Volvos (except base NA S60s, and S40s); (b) simple will typically be more reliable; (c) "older, but heavily refined" typically will be more reliable; and (d) new approaches that yield new results, though inconsistently, is less appealing to me than reliable service.

"Refine, refine, refine..."---and the problem with that would be...?

As much as I like our S60, it's not clear to me which innovations it features that fundamentally and very saliently make the driving experience better than it was in my '99 Accord V6 (very sweet engine), or my Subaru. And how can a European be saving money if he's spending more time and money in the repair bay?

I can't say that I have notably more "goodies" in our S60 than in the '99 Honda or the '04 Subaru.

Didn't know about the 5-speed Honda automatic problems, except in Acuras. I know someone who had one "bite." In the interest of "fair and balanced report," I can tell you about a bad, brand-new '93 Prelude 5-speed manual; personal experience that I'll spare you for now. Yes, Hondas aren't perfect, but they're as close to it as I've experienced.

As for interiors, yes, Hondas are minimal, but they're the gold standard in ergonomics. Based on extensive experience with both brands, I'd say Volvo could learn a thing or two.

As for comparing interior fit and finish, I'd have to say my '99 Accord was superior to my '01 Volvo. Not a huge difference, admittedly. But the Volvo certainly doesn't stand out. Further, the Accord didn't have a glove box with a large door gap and bad fit.

Seriously, despite many positive characteristics, Volvo needs a reality check.

HW

technology..

Reply to
Hal Whelply

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