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I have to disagree with those who have lemon cars. First of all, the S80 is still one of the most complex cars on the road from a technology perspective and when it was rolled out in late 1998 it was easily the most complex vehicle around. It should be no surprise whatsover to find that the first couple of years were plagued with various types of problems (most of which rarely resulted in stranding you except for some of the early build 99s with tranny issues).
The fact of the matter is that EVERY auto company that introduces a completely new high end car is going through this issue. The Mercedes S class was plagued with electrical problems in it's first year a couple of years back. The new BMW 745 has horrendous issues. The fact is the manufacturers simply can't sit on these new designs for years before they can iron all the wrinkles out. If you buy one of these machines at the beginning of its lifecycle you are a voluntary beta tester.
Quality wise, the latest S80s seem extremely solid. In fact, in the latest J.D. Powers study that came out a couple of weeks ago, Volvo is now the highest rated European manufacturer and the S80 placed second only to the Lexus GS as I recall. In a similar manner, I wouldn't be surprised to see BMW take a small hit next year because of the newness of the 745 (and if the new 5 series with iDrive launches in the next 12 months the hit could be huge).
I own a '99 S80 T6 (and an '01 V70 T5) and had some minor issues (e.g., bushing recall, needed software tweaks) but nothing like some people have experienced. I would buy another one today if it's what I wanted - it's not though. Back in 1994 when I bought my first Volvo (850 Turbo) I viewed the 900 series cars as nice old man mobile. I've had my S80 T6 for a few years now and I'm 33. Now I sort of view it as a very nice old mans car - it's not a true sports sedan but then again in my book there aren't many sedans that are. I'm now looking forward to the arrival of the S60R (and if it doesn't live up to my expectations I'll probably hold out for the next Audi S4). As you see, although I don't want another S80 I wouldn't shy away from another Volvo for quality concerns. If you educate yourself on the market and these vehicles you'll probably go a long way towards having a better ownership experience(that's not to say those with lemons got what they deserved because they didn't).
By the way, if you do a search on any car-specific board, you will find enough problems to scare you away. It's the nature of these forums - it's a natural and easy place for people to solicit help for their problems. For every S80 owner (and the same can be said for all car models) you see reporting an issue there are multiple owners without an issue.
Best of luck in your decision!
-rollie
rdollie@att.net
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