Volvo owners good expereices -- bad experiences?
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WannaBeDrifter
MR staff member
Yeah I would like to get some feedback to! Thx
VanClyde
Moderator
Depends.. what year you looking at?
I'm a fan of old redblock volvos.. i've had 240/740/940's and they're damn reliable, could fix it with a hammer (except the fancy regina)
same with whiteblocks volvo (my 850/S70 experiences were really good).
If you do basic maintenace yourself, it doesn't really come up as "expensive" in my book.
I'm a fan of old redblock volvos.. i've had 240/740/940's and they're damn reliable, could fix it with a hammer (except the fancy regina)
same with whiteblocks volvo (my 850/S70 experiences were really good).
If you do basic maintenace yourself, it doesn't really come up as "expensive" in my book.
Marek
Active member
Volvos are über reliable and fun cars.
Parts being expensive are a myth, same as Mercedes (for sure, aesthetics are expensive *like any brand*). Brakes, timings belt etc etc normal ware and tear parts are pretty damn cheap.
There are two things to always keep in mind with a brick (no matter it's age):
You always get your spark plugs at the dealer
You always get your ignition wires at the dealer (if you're going for a ignition wire generation and not coil on plug).
For anything else in the parts departement:
AutoLectra
Toni Frisco
AutoCamping
Have a garage friend who has access to WorldPac
Become a member of Club Volvo Quebec, pay 36$ to have a lifetime VIP membership and even certain Volvo Dealers offer up to 25% off on parts/labor, plus you get two kickass stickers. (and there are a bunch of affiliated privately owned garages, carparts, tuners that offer the same deals)
Turbo or Not, you always put supreme, it will love you back: trust me.
As mentionned above, anything Volvo with 3 numbers you can do the majority of work yourself with basic tools (only specialty is having a Torx bit set), redblock powered bricks are made the simplest way and there is nothing that can take you more than 4-5h to do on it (4-5h is pulling the engine out and slapping in the new one).
If you're going old school, I suggest staying away from anything that has the PRV motor, that bastard son of a 2.8L V6 that the Delorean had sex with is just odd, you'll never remove the oil filter the same way, you need to cover your knucles and elbow with vaseline to even access the f*cker and it's a pita every time.
If you want ultimate smoothness and solid power, check out any generation of volvo 960/S90 with the i6 whiteblock, 200hp, 200+tq Twin Cam engine.
You want something a bit more ''alive'' any Volvo 740Turbo, 940Turbo will be plenty of fun, you can easily attain 300hp without hurting your wallet or killing someone.
Any Volvo thats powered by a redblock can be turboed for about 5-800$ and they love boost (NA engine has a higher compression). 240's are simply awesome to turbo or to actually do a turbo swap from above mentionned series.
Most of the RWD came with factory lockers which is always pleasant, mostly came with automatic transmissions, AW70's AW71's AW72's (Aisin) which are shared amongst many manufacturers, support good power and you can easily mod them to be more ''spirited'' (stiffer springs in the valvebody).
If you find a Manual one it'll either be an m46 (4spd plus 5th OD electronic) or an m47 (full 5spd) m46 will resist until 300hp, m47 will slip in 3rd at 275hp.
You can get an adapter plate for the bell housing and put a World Class T5 if you're a bit crazy you can put a T66 after spending some time in the tunnel with a sledge hammer.
FWD: I am not the biggest fan of these, but: they are fast out of the box, hella comfortable and easy to work on in comparison to other FWD platforms. Labor times for most major things are fairly low and parts are fairly cheap as well. I will always say that they are more expensive to maintain than RWD because: there are more parts, it's logical.
Whiteblock motor (which is the most common engine in these) varying from 2.3 to 2.5L turbo to NA over the years, were developed in in 1992... So it is the same motor even in a 2014 C30 2.4i, basically a killer motor. Only flaw on it, is owner neglect, it is an aluminum motor so you need to be religious about the oil changes.
Certain models sport newer versions of the i6, which comes either NA or Turbo (lot's of fools say it's bi turbo, it's not it's a sequential turbo setup, you're balls are probably bigger than the two little turbines). Great engine, mixed reviews, bad ones are mostly because of people who do not respect preventive maintenance and bitch about a ''shitty motor yada yada bla bla bla''. Speaking of that motor, stay away from the 1999 2001 s80, it has a GM tranmission which is knows to be... GM.
The 8 is great, only two models rock it, the XC90 and the newer gen S80, load's of fun, very butt clenching power band and funnily it's actually very fuel efficient.
Anyway, I could keep on writing babbling about this all day but in the end, it's a car, treat it well it'll treat you well, be more specific about which model has caught your eye and I'm sure even more people will chime in with their experiences.
easy as hell to work on
thats the i6
don't know many brands that look this good 20 years into their life when they are driven daily
they barely have stretched their legs at 220 000km
tightly knitted community, spread out all over the world
And just to give an idea, I overboosted an engine which had around 395 000km, at 23.5 creeping to 24psi the head gasket blew, you can see where it's messed up.
All in all, it took less than 2h hours to replace the head gasket and it was good as new.
anyway, fun as shit, cheap as f*ck, cost nothing to insure. load's of pleasure to drive and safe as hell. driving from Montreal to Virginia or beating the shit out of it like an old prostitute that owes you money: you can't go wrong with Volvo.
please be more specific about the models you guys are looking at, feel free to join our Facebook Group for questions
https://www.facebook.com/groups/clubvolvoquebec/
visit our forum, www.clubvolvoquebec.com
Matt01
New member
Theres no secret that I loved my old 850 Turbo Wagon.
However I bought the first year- first gen AWD 850. Mine had the low pressure 2.4 turbo engine. These cars are especially problematic compared to the FWD variants. The AWD system on this gen is primitive and prone to failure, aftermarket is very minimal, and parts are difficult to find. Sometimes I had to buy for V70 AWD because the 850 AWD wasnt listed, the fuel pump and sending unit are separate and very difficult to change ( I dropped the rear subframe 2 or 3 times haha something I want to forget) The gas lines around the gas tank were a nightmare..
However I brought that car from like 239 k to over 300k and that engine is fantastic -- and quick. I only had to do basic maintenance stuff to it since I owned it. I still want one again. You have to know where to shop.
However I bought the first year- first gen AWD 850. Mine had the low pressure 2.4 turbo engine. These cars are especially problematic compared to the FWD variants. The AWD system on this gen is primitive and prone to failure, aftermarket is very minimal, and parts are difficult to find. Sometimes I had to buy for V70 AWD because the 850 AWD wasnt listed, the fuel pump and sending unit are separate and very difficult to change ( I dropped the rear subframe 2 or 3 times haha something I want to forget) The gas lines around the gas tank were a nightmare..
However I brought that car from like 239 k to over 300k and that engine is fantastic -- and quick. I only had to do basic maintenance stuff to it since I owned it. I still want one again. You have to know where to shop.
Marek
Active member
Indeed, AWD is the only subject that I have avoided since I have very basic experience with it (other than trying a few different models and loving it). When I ran shop, very often I would see drive shaft carrier bearings going out, Volvo always wanted like 1500$ for the new carrier (which was rebuilt lol fail), but keep in mind it was on cars that had 300 000km on average... So really not that bad.
Like Matt said, the fuel tank was kind of built around the driveshaft, very smart for a perfect balance, but a PITA if work was required, and that went on all the way until the 2000 XC/V70R, BUT most people just cut out a whole in the trunk's floor to access it in a few minutes (specially guys that tune those and often play around with fuel pumps etc etc).
Either way, it really all depends of the model you will get and like every manufacturers there are ups and there are downs, just seems that with time I have come to realization that there are less downs with Volvos (AND MERCEDES W124's SORRY IT CAME OUT ON IT'S OWN) than other manufacturers.
If you're NOT going to do stuff on your own, bring it to someone that knows what he is doing, for the love of god do not bring it to a shop where people will learn how to work on swedish cars with yours as a guinea pig.
Forgot to mention another really cool detail: you can mod the living shit out of your volvo, slam it to the ground, be straight piped, turbo sticking out of the hood. YOU ARE INVISIBLE TO COPS! Light up the rear tires on St-Catherine on a saturday night in summer and cops pull over the Subaru STI that's in front of you. It's amazing it's like the camouflage of cars.
A lot of people have told me seeing all the volvo's I had that ''I have money to maintain these luxurious cars bla bla bla'', no, not that much monies but: I take care of my stuff, I will be the nut pressing his car against a wall and burning out the tires on cruise control, or drifting like a madman at 150 on back roads in winter with my windows opened, no pants, listening to ABBA but I am also the guy who will change his synthetic oil at 4999km and flush the motor every two changes.
If I had a Lada Niva 4x4 or a Dacia 123 or a Ferrari F355 I would maintain it the same way, beat it the same way and enjoy the fuck out of it just as much.
Janno
New member
Question for you guys:
I was looking for a daily wagon, and saw that V40's are very well priced. Small, turbo engine, and the car drives very comfortably.
I've also heard they are the worst volvo ever made.
Is it really that bad? I was looking into getting a Jetta or Passat wagon 1.8T, but these V40's seem very interesting.
I was looking for a daily wagon, and saw that V40's are very well priced. Small, turbo engine, and the car drives very comfortably.
I've also heard they are the worst volvo ever made.
Is it really that bad? I was looking into getting a Jetta or Passat wagon 1.8T, but these V40's seem very interesting.
VanClyde
Moderator
Marek
Active member
V40 are very decent cars, very hard to tune however since they run a pricey Siemens ECM which requires a wizard to run higher boost.
However the newer generation v50 which is the same body type is available with the legendary t5 and in awd and in manual transmission. You can't really go wrong with that combo.
The v40, keep in mind in which year it came to North America, was available in Europe as of 96... Using a Mitsubishi motor 1.9 or 2.0 t, we never got the 2.0 which actually has the easily tunable ECM.
Other great platforms are 98 v70R, loads of power, leather and suede...
However the newer generation v50 which is the same body type is available with the legendary t5 and in awd and in manual transmission. You can't really go wrong with that combo.
The v40, keep in mind in which year it came to North America, was available in Europe as of 96... Using a Mitsubishi motor 1.9 or 2.0 t, we never got the 2.0 which actually has the easily tunable ECM.
Other great platforms are 98 v70R, loads of power, leather and suede...
vovlo is one European maker that does not focus on performance like the German ones, nor cost like the French ones. it charges you a premium but don't give you the performance that German can offer, what is the premium for? i assume it is for reliability. for safety? not really, you pay extra for the package to have their safety features, the base price does not cover this.
Well british and italian luxuries are the fancy toys for rich boys, they don't need to be compared with volvo.
Well british and italian luxuries are the fancy toys for rich boys, they don't need to be compared with volvo.
Broody
Well-known member
Volvo pas axé performance? Ils ont vendu des tonnes et des tonnes de Volvo T5, alors que chez BMW ils devaient vendre 10 320i et 323i pour deux 330i (à peu près de puissance égale à une T5 mais sans potentiel tuning facile) et une M3.
Marek
Active member
LOLOLOLOLOLOL most btcc races won by... Volvo, how many group B? Damn... Read up a bit before making a fool of yourself. What did BMW come out with in 1990 when Volvo was dropping turbos in 75% of their cars and Mercedes was building super sedans?
The Brits... Lol, the Brits the Brits the Brits... Build amazing suspension that are used on other cars and their own aren't even worth a mention.
Show me cars that have good power less than 3L and over 250hp? Don't even drop something like an Ariel Atom.
Volvo have always been way ahead of their time, just like MB.
Also read my previous comments, how many cars can easily be doubled in power for less than a 1000$? Oh wait, a properly engineered car that's... Overbuilt.
/thread.