Hey board,
Ive owned 1 122s, 3 240s, 1 740. Ive done most of the maintenance and repair on all of them.
Now Im thinking to replace the 740, its been in a couple of accidents, and its just getting a little raggedy. Its time for it to go.
Im thinking the S60 may be the car for me.
The question I have is: does the S60 have any kinship to the 240 and 740, especially in regards to their relative ease of repair? Can I expect the S60 to have the longevity of my prior cars. Will it burn 89 octane fuel.
In short, with my history, is it a car that I will like.
The S60 would be 2002-04 vintage(all I can afford, and have enough left for upkeep)with a stock, non turbo engine(I dont need a bunch of speed).

If anyone can offer information on this topic I would greatly appreciate it.
Ive read a bunch of reports on the net. But I would love to hear from some tried and true bricksters.


Thanks.

The only similarity it has to the old bricks is the logo. Everything else has changed. It is more costly to repair, has more computers than a household with teenagers, and is safer.
There is much less interior room, especially in the rear seats. And the trunk is a little smaller than a 240.

The light pressure turbo engine is a good compromise, returning reasonable mpg and still running on 89 octane.

If you like RWD, look at the BMW 5xx models for more room but 91 octane and slightly higher maintenance costs :)

The S60 is not being sold this year due to an 'upgrade', but the 2003-5 are good volvos. The bodies do not rust unless panels are replaced with aftermarket. The S80 with NA engines are pretty good also, just stay far away from the T6 or V8.

Klaus
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Proud owner of a 220S. If I had more room, I would have more Volvos.

Thanks Klaus.

Is the car DIY friendly?

Go to a dealer and raise the hood, you will find very tight spacing and a lot of plastic covers. The 5 cyl model is a bear to work on compared to all of the open space of the older 4 cyl models, but it is still DIY.

There are no more paper manuals to look at. But the Tbelt is every 105K miles, the tranny flush for AT is every 60K miles after the initial 100K. The hard part is when the check engine light goes on, you will need to find a code reader at your local autoparts store or buy a good one.

Most important is maintenance history, either supplied by the owner or a local dealership. If you buy from a broker/dealer, beware! Mileage on the odometer means less than proper maint.

Do look at the newer S80 for more room and comfort. Just make sure it has the 5cyl engine in it and newer than 03.

Klaus
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Proud owner of a 220S. If I had more room, I would have more Volvos.

Thank you so much. That info really helps alot.
At your suggestion I did take a look at the s80, and based on the reports and customer comments Ive read Im even more impressed with it. I think I will focus my efforts on the s80 in the future.

Question:If I buy an s80 and purchase one of the code scannners, is there any reason to believe that i will not be sucessful in finding solutions to operational problems. Because Iam willing to aquire the tools.

What do you think the reputation of this car will be as time passes?

Thanks again.

I do not like the T6 engine! Just the reliable 5 cylinder model. Those twin turbos on the T6 create too much heat and melt computers in the engine compartment. Plus the V6 gets too hot, Volvo never had much luck with V type engines. The V8 is crammed into the engine bay and is a gas hog.

If you keep the Volvo simple, it will last a long time and be easier on your wallet.

Have fun shopping, and if you see a real nice S60 - think about it.

Klaus
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Proud owner of a 220S. If I had more room, I would have more Volvos.

Thanks again.
Im getting excited about this.
Im still struggling to understand just what the maintenance on the beast will entail.
I just read something about not having a really viable shop manual for the S80? Something about volvo's Vadis software system? Will the necessary information and tools be availabe for me to fix this car? I have no intention of turning over cash, to anyone, unnecessarily. I realize that sometimes you must. But...
Im definitely focusing, exclusively, on the 4cylinder engine. Nothing else.
I must be reasonably sure that I will be able to maintain this car without buying shares or sending someones kids to school in switzerland.

I see information on ebay, and also at "alldata". Are any of these reliable for the S80 or S60? Are there others?

Thank you so much!

You could try buying a 'pirated' CD at Ebay, but I suggest spending $25/yr at www.alldatadiy.com to get really nice and up-to-date info when you need it.

I also suggest spending a little extra money for a scanner. The PPC BSR scanner will read/reset ALL of the Volvo codes for most Volvo models since 2001. It might sound a bit pricey, but it will clear codes for the SRS, seats, and climate control; things that a cheap(?) generic scanner will not do.

http://en.bsr.se/products/ppc/

Read the following threads and remember that a dealer visit to che check codes costs an hour of labor:

http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/volvo/1383920/S80/memory_seat_issue.html

The 5 cylinder engines are DIY.

Klaus
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Proud owner of a 220S. If I had more room, I would have more Volvos.