New S40 a good buy?

I'm helping my father buy a new car (in the UK), and come to the conclusion that an S40 would be ideal for him, perhaps a 1.6D S.

What he wants is something safe, comfortable, quiet, not too expensive, well-designed, and crucially, short enough to go in his garage. The length rules out half the cars he might otherwise consider.

We've had a test drive and liked it. From what I've read, owners are generally satisfied. Is this generally the case, would you say?

Thanks.

-- Androo (Remove your clothes to reply)

Reply to
androo
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If I lived in jolly old I think I would buy an alfa! For what you are looking for, the s40 sounds great, but your hinda accord is what we across the pond are sold as an acura TSX, a lovely car as well.

So many fine cars, so hard to choose!

I think the Volvo is not a mistake but the hinda will be more reliable, but perhaps more common and laking in that special volvo comfort.

Reply to
Steve

Well, we tried the hinda, but didn't like it. Too long apart from anything else.

Androo

Reply to
androo

How about an Audi A3?

Reply to
zencraps

OH YES!! Another Alfa enthusiast! ;)

I've had an Alfa Milano (75 in Europe). Great car.

Now I have my Volvo (760), while it is far superior to the Alfa (reliability), it just isn't fun to drive....

Reply to
M.R.S.

I have a 940 turbo wagon, my wife has a non turbo 850. I have my old acura integra I am selling BTW 91 with 150K I think would like $1200....

The volvo is smooth and nice, but the acura is zippy and fun...sigh I will miss the old acura - my wife hated it and only was in it a dozen times in the 6 years i owned it...

Reply to
Steve

Thanks I guess. He's gone right ahead and bought an S40 1.6D. Very nice too.

Androo

Reply to
androo

If the market over there is like here, I would buy a 2 year old S40 if they are available yet. Volvos are wonderful cars, but they just do not hold their value!

Enjoy the S40!

Reply to
Steve

Having just gone through the car buying process to replace my '96 850 I would pick a fully loaded Honda Civic over the S40. Believe it or not, the new Civic is a darn good car. The reliability and resale value are likely to blow the S40 out of the water and the driving experience is amazingly good. Spring for the Navigation system and you will get one of the best ones available, far better than Volvo's Navi.

In my case I ended up choosing an Acura TSX over the S60. Far more car for the money IMO.

John

Reply to
John Horner

A caveat - recent Hondas and Acuras have been problematic. There was a period when the automatic transmissions they hooked to the V6s had serious reliability problems, including three failing within 60K miles in one Acura (Honda has been good about picking up the tab). The problem is supposed to be fixed now. Time will tell.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

I second that. I, too, chose the Acura TSX over the S60 (and the Camry and Accord). The TSX is far and away the best car $25K can buy. Of course, I was a little biased after my most recent (and seventh) Volvo died a horrible and most expensive death at 65,000 miles.

-----

-RL

Reply to
Robert Lutwak

".....Volvo died a horrible and most expensive death at 65,000 miles...."

Details? sounds interesting!

Reply to
Perry Noid

True enough, but at least Honda extended the warranty on the troublesome automatic transmissions to 10 years, 100,000 miles unilaterally. I haven't seen Volvo do such a thing without having it's feet put to the fire by governments and lawyers as with the throttle body early failure problem. Volvo has had it's share of chronic problems with recent vehicles and in my experience is very reluctant to own up to any of them once the warranty is over. ABS module and A/C evaporator failures on

850s anyone? I'm still angry about getting stuck for those costs shortly after the warranty on my '96 850 expired.

Even with the transmission problems recent Hondas come out far better in Consumer Reports reliability survey than do recent Volvos.

To top it off, for 2006 Acura increased the length of the powertrain warranty for all vehicles in the US to 6 years/70,000 miles in addition to the basic 4 year/50,000 mile warranty on the entire vehicle.

Nothing is certain, but the data says that the probability of costly failures on a recent model Acura is significantly lower than for a similar Volvo.

John

Reply to
John Horner

I spent several most enjoyable hours in my TSX today. What a sweet ride, and it returned over 32 MPG for the day with 85% freeway, 15% local roads driving. Smooth, quick, comfortable and finely tuned. One of the nicest driving FWD vehicles available today IMO.

John

Reply to
John Horner

You can read all the ghstly details in the archives of this group. The auto transmission let go (on the highway at 65 mph) and two different dealers wanted more to replace it (~$3500) than the book value of the car ($3000). Combined with the upcoming need for a timing belt, tires, and suspension bushings I was compelled to sell it to a junkyard for $400. This, despite it being a fine car and a joy to drive, right up until the moment it nearly killed me.

Prior to that we had five Volvos, all RWD and all manual transmissions ('76

264, '78 264, '76 262, '87 240, '89 240). This was our first FWD and our first automatic. I've happily moved on to the (6-speed manual) TSX and I hope we can replace the wife's 850 wagon before the transmission goes.

Thinking back on the (hundreds of) weekends I've spent fixing Volvos and the dozens of times I've stood by the side of the road with my broken Volvo, waiting for the tow truck, I realize that there's more to safety and reliability than crash tests and odometer readings indicate. A car that frequently requires major repairs is not safe, no matter how safe it is when working.

-RL

Reply to
Robert Lutwak

Couldn't agree with you more. My V40 costs a mint to keep roadworthy and if I could afford a new car I would certinly do it - and it won't be another Volvo. I'm sick of replacing engine mounts each service, sick of the high cost of routine parts and the latest when not only did my ignition barrel cark it and cost me over $AUD800, they (the service people at the dealer) also broke my bonnet cable, and then charged me just under $190 to fix!! (only after I had a fit). I rang Volvo Australia and was told they could do nothing about one of their dealers being so heavy handed. God knows how hard they must have wretched that cable to break it! Great customer relations Volvo, stunning!!

Next up is timing belt, more mounts and I fear a power steering pump now.... The joy just never ends - what a painful experience owning a Volvo is!!

John

Reply to
John Smith

In defence of the S40, my father has just bought one after trying just about every car on the market first. And he's entirely happy with it. I'm not surprised. It has an understated quality feel to it that's a cut above any of the Japanese cars we tested. The interior is beautiful, verything works with precision, and it's a very quiet car. The doors shut with a great thunk too. And it's incredibly well equipped: it's a UK model, and I guess most people on this group are from the US, but here the base 'S' version has climate control, cruise control, six airbags, DSTC, eight-speaker stereo, electric windows all round etc. etc. I guess in the US you can't get it with the sweet little 1.6 diesel engine in my father's, but I hear the 2.4 petrol is pretty good. The list price is high, but big discounts are available.

Can't vouch for reliability and costs yet, but if I was choosing a car for myself, I reckon I'd get one too.

Androo

Reply to
androo

We shall see if you feel the same after the warranty period is up :(.

Reply to
John Horner

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