I post this in the RWD & FWD also, but really want the best advice.

I have a 1990 740GL REX, and am looking for a 2nd brick to fill my driveway. It will either be a 1998 S70, 1998 S90, or a 1996 960.
I love all bodies, and am in love with all 960's and S90's. But this vehichle will be for my wife, and she likes the S70 more.

I understand the S70 is FWD, and the other's are RWD.

Which would be the best buy for the money right now? I will do all the maintenance myself, when needed. So I am not worried about any labor cost. However, I want the same value for the money, as I am getting with my 740. I have put over 60K miles on it in about 2 years, and love believe there's another 202K left on it.

Please help, this will be a quick purchase within a couple of weeks.

Thanks all ! ! !

Have not really heard much positive about the fwd Volvos except of course safety. Too many electrical problems -98-01, alignment, and they are very difficult to work on. Stay with what you know
jr142

... I love all bodies, and am in love with all 960's and S90's. But this vehichle will be for my wife, and she likes the S70 more.

Did you include your wife's body in the mix? Cause if she's the one whose car it is, then why are you picking it out for her? This sounds just a bit patriarchal to me. Give her information, to be sure (as long as it isn't too bias) and let her decide. Then live with and don't look back!

You apparently feel comfortable witih most repairs on either RWD or FWD, otherwise this wouldn't be an issue. Regardless, there will likely be some on either that you will have to defer to the technician.
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John Shatzer, '97 V90 @ 115K

Unless there are folks with fwd cars who read this forum you are not going to get too many recommendations for them. I have only had one volvo so far, got it at 16k and it now has about 185 on it. Done most of my own maintenance since it has been out of warranty. Overall it has been a reliable and reasonably economical car and it is still a blast to drive.

I have driven the s70 a few times, had them as loaners when this one was in the shop. They are nice cars to drive, have about the same room inside, but everything I have read on this board (in the awd forums and here) leads me to believe they are much more maintenance intensive then even the 6cyl cars. Problems with the evaporator are what comes to mind. And I just dont like the 5cyl motor. It is unbalanced, very buzzy when cold, somewhat better warmed up. The 6 on the other hand is so smooth, you sometimes dont notice that it is running. DIY maintenance on the 6 is decent, you have good access to most of the engine, really cant say for sure its the same on the fwd cars. I would suggest you peruse back on both these forums for a few months to get the gist of what folks are saying about both vehicles. If you decide to go for the fwd car, dont say we didnt warn ya.
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97 S90 with 184K miles still going strong

Well...here's the deal...what'll you pay, where do you live and how good a driver is your wife?

Re the '96 960,for one with over 75,000 miles, which would be just about all of them, you shouldn't have to pay more than $3500 for one with a very good body and interior and a recent documented timing belt,tensioner and waterpump change. It may need another $1500 to bring it into shape, even with you doing the work -- e.g. tires, battery, PNP. Folks are asking too much for the '98's I've tracked online. And by the way, what's wrong with a '97.

Second and third points, my wife is 50 years old now and a pretty good driver --she's driven rear wheel drive cars in her day and did OK with a '92 Mustang 5.0 with a 5 speed for a year or so 'til the clutch became a pain in commuting to Boston. I also consider myself a good driver. After we'd first got our 960 and with a couple months under the belt, in late October/early November we both kicked the rear end of our 960 out a couple times on wet, slippery New England exit ramps ... we both steered out of it, though in my wife's case, she dragged along a curb in the process and scraped up both alloy wheels on the driver's side. And this was with good, farily new all season tires on. We immediately went out and put on good quality siped snow tires and I added two 75 lb solid cement blocks over the rear axle on the trunk shelf under the radio speakers. Made a world of difference.

Other than that, these are great cars !!!

'97 960 110K; '96 Converse 965 w/ 2000 Ford 302 V8 & Tremac T-5; '93 940 175K

I just picked up a 1997 V90 (thanks bricksters for pointing me in this direction) and the ride is absolutely a dream, especially on the highway. My wife was skeptical and the ride made a believer out of her.

Quote: "I will do all the maintenance myself, when needed."

That's all the reason you need to stay away from the FWD cars.

Both the '96 and the '98 would be magnificent vehicles.

Jeff Pierce
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'93 945 Turbo ( one kickass family car ! ) 197K miles, '92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver) 170K miles, '85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow 225K miles, ’95 Lawn Chief

Quote: "I will do all the maintenance myself, when needed."

That's all the reason you need to stay away from the FWD cars.

Both the '96 and the '98 would be magnificent vehicles.

Jeff Pierce


Jeff hit it dead on with that. Glad I read through all of the responses because I would have stated the same thing.
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94 940 106K ,98 V90 96K

Personally, I think the 960 is challenging enough to work on.
If the FWD are worse, then no thanks!
The 960 is the last and best of the real Volvos anyway.

Dan