Hi Chris. I did end up getting an S80 with 29k a few months ago. Thanks for your input during that thread. After months of trying to decide what I wanted, I abandoned the Benz and Lexus shopping and decided on a white 2005-2006 S80 2.5T, miles under 40k, and preferably Volvo certified.

I found this car as an off-lease CPO car at Volvo of Tucson (Broadway Motors), under warranty until almost 2012. It was bought and serviced there. I looked at it online several times as it was in inventory for a while, but it was 90 miles away so it wasn't exactly easy to go and look at. I was bored one nice Saturday afternoon and decided to take advantage of the perfect day to drive down to Tucson to check it out. I had a very low price in mind, and, assuming it was as nice as it looked online, I decided that I had screwed around long enough looking for cars and if they met the price I had in mind, I'd buy it. Three hours later I was driving back home in it, my price was met and the car turned out to be even better than it looked (it hardly rains or snows here, so cars tend to stay new for years). The dealership experience was very pleasant, the salesperson was nice, and I didn't encounter any shady tactics employed at other car dealerships. I'll definitely go back there, possibly soon, as I may be replacing my northern car (940) in the near future.

You probably have a more feature-rich model; mine is a standard sunroof model with the sport package (T6 seats and Interceptor 17s), the interior is the lightest tan, I think they call it 'light taupe'. It doesn't have Nav, DSTC, or AWD. I'm adding homelink to it so I can stop fishing around for two remotes just to get into my gate and my garage. Other than that, I'm not too familiar with the inner workings of the car, although I have to say I'm really happy with the powertrain. If your car is still driving new at 70k+, that's an excellent sign. These models seem to have fewer problems than the 6 cyl models. Aside from that, I'm still wondering about a couple of quirks, such as what on earth is the black button thing on the headrest? I'm sure it's the manual somewhere, but that's not my first priority.

I pulled it out of the garage and shot a couple pictures of it a few weeks ago. I'll attach them. The interior shot was inside the garage so it's a little dim.

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Chris Herbst
Scottsdale, AZ

1992 940 150k
2005 S80 30k

I was not aware that the S80 came with a normally aspirated 6 cyl. The only designation I have seen with the 6 was a T6, or twin turbo 6. The turbos created a large amount of engine bay heat, which tends to cook the electronics and the wires. The increased torque also played havoc with the tranny.
The design was probably OK for the Autobahn, but with the USA slow speeds and suburb driving, it needs extra cooling in the tight engine bay. Like the 960, cooling is paramount with these engines, along with Volvo brand coolant. There are just too many examples of holes in the block caused by internal corosion.
The 5 cyl LPT with 208bhp is the base model and has been fairly reliable.
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My name is Klaus and I am a Volvoholic.