Consumer Report recommends the '99 and '00 S70 as used cars, and that's all.

I'm considering buying a new Volvo for my kid as a graduation present. (yeah, I know, but she's running a 3.8 GPA and she's taking P-chem this, her last semester "for a challenge" - life rewards performance!)

That said, I'll probably buy a BMW for myself next time.

The V70 is too big for me and the V50 has such little footspace that I can't even drive the automatic version, never mind the 6-speed. In effect, Volvo has stopped making cars in my size. My daughter is more of a wispy dancer so it's not a problem for her.

I'm planning on keeping my '98 Volvo for 10 years/200,0000 miles and I'm getting close on both my time and mileage limits.

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 167k mi, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, e-codes, XC grill, Lidatek LE30, V-1, Mobil-1 since new

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair." -- Douglas Noel Adams (1952-2001)

OZ Brick has some nice discussions on this page:

http://au.geocities.com/ozbrick850/misc-tips.html

Look near the bottom and have fun reading,

Klaus
--
(V♂LV♂s 1975 164, 1995 854T, 1998 V70R)

look through load of posts on here .. you wil lquickly get a flavour of what goes wrong...

to put it in perspective we have had in our family:-

144,245,740,745,745,945 =,850 over the years...in terms of reliability/running costs i would say the 144 was probably the very best, we had one 740 that was pretty damn good, the 850 has been pretty much the same....

We have also had 940's nd 740's that went from nightmare to bad...

so it depends on the car itself significantly...

the later the car the more electronics....the more up-spec the more electronics...


I have a 95 850 at the moment. To work on its no worse than a 940 - easier in some ways, worse in others. WOuldnt buy a 93/94 due to dodgy gearbox's, wouldnt go later than 95 due to being into odbII and increrasing electronics...

I am looking to replace my 850 within the next year and UNLESS i can drop on a nice low miles 95 850 (possibly a 96/97 also) i wont be buying a volvo...the more i see on here the more i get put off - what goes wroing is mega exensive black boxes and i cant fix them mysel i have to spend silly money with volvo...

the 945 went in favour of a mitsubishi for this reason alone....and more space...

About what year you looking for?

General opinions seem to be avoid 93 & 94 (don't know why, I have both).
95 good as last year for computer you can talk to without special scan tools.
96, 97, 98 best years of 850 style (98 new body but same under the cover).
1999-2001 avoid due to expensive ETM repair (although rumor has is Volvo will replace. ETM fails without warning and leaves you standed with $1000 repair needed).
2002 & up don't see as many issues yet.

Also - 850s require more maintenance then my 245 and not as bullet proof. But much higher on the comfort scale. I have no experience to comnpare with the 122 or 1800 for you. Sure others will.

If you find one post info and you'll get more detailed info. And as with any used car, get carfax.com report.

The later in the series the better. For example a 2000 or 1999 S70 are good choices (except for the ETS) or 1998 S90. Volvos have always improved the cars from year to year so the last years are better. Stay away from 1993 850s many improvements in 1994 and much more reliable. If you want to saty away from the ETS go for a 1998 850. My wife has a 1999 and so far so good, the ETS prbolem has not shown up so far but I'm keeping the fingers and toes crossed. I have a 1998 S90 and the car is great except for the rear shocks that according to the board suck, the fronts are better but not much. I prefer the rear wheel drive cars so that's why the S90. I could have bought a 1999 S80 for less. That's because the first year for the S80 was another to stay away from. My friend has a S60 again the first year 2001 and he has not been very happy. Mind you he bought it new and it was his first new car so maybe his expectations were too high. but again the first year cars seem to be the problem children. I've owned seven Volvos so far and have been happy with them all but I never had a first year car!