Buying advice for S80s

RichSad · Post by **RichSad** » 26 Mar 2010, 06:51

Hi, I may be trading my 1999 V70XC in for a S80 and would love advice on best years and engine options. I am a fan of turbo engines in general and have been looking at some late 1990s S80 T6 models. I am curious what are considered the best years for this model. Anyone who has owned both a s/v70 and can offer comparison's that is appreciated.

fleagle1 · Post by **fleagle1** » 29 Mar 2010, 10:21

I'm trading my 98 V70 XC for a 2001 S80 T6 this week. Obviously I can't give you advice on the ownership side, yet.

I specifically targeted the T6 model due to it's power. The 2.9 was too sluggish for me. My future car has some options I wanted, and 1 option it doesn't. It has the warm and cold climate packages. These give you the heated seats, and the sunshades in the rear. It has the 17" wheels but I would prefer the 16". They just look too big for the car and the pattern is intricate so cleaning will be a task. The biggest miss is the standard 4x25 watt radio. It doesn't sound very impressive and not as good as my Mitsubishi built SC-816. If you can, get the 200 watt cd-changer version. Another option I thought I needed but can live without is the navigation system. It's nice how it's integrated in to the dash and all, but not sure what it takes to upgrade the software. It's capabilities may also be limited compared to today's GPS technology.

jbrown122 · Post by **jbrown122** » 29 Mar 2010, 16:39

I wouldn't trade.
The S80 isn't a very good example of what Volvo stands for. It's a beautiful car, undeniably. But, has a lot of issues.
-ABS control problems (most Volvos from 96+ have that issue however)
-ETM problems (go to Don's ETM room for more info)
-Tranny problems (especially the T6)
-A number of different electrical problems (siren module, steering wheel module, etc)
-Bulbs always go out.
-Suspension problems.

However, my aunt has a '00 S80 which has been good, for 7 years. Except for the ABS problem.

There's usually always something with the S80s. They started improving in 02.
I would look at an 04+ S80 with the 2.5T and 5 spd auto.

Zap · Post by **Zap** » 01 Apr 2010, 02:33

Hi Guys, Greeting from Hong Kong.

I’ m quite happy with the on road performance of my 04 S80 T6(6.4km). But the only thing that bugging me is the clunking noise created from the front suspension and the high cost on maintenances from the local dealer.. In HK We just simply cant get any parts beside getting them from Volvo..

Post by **vegasjetskier** » 01 Apr 2010, 12:21

RichSad wrote:Hi, I may be trading my 1999 V70XC in for a S80 and would love advice on best years and engine options. I am a fan of turbo engines in general and have been looking at some late 1990s S80 T6 models. I am curious what are considered the best years for this model. Anyone who has owned both a s/v70 and can offer comparison's that is appreciated.

If you have to buy an S80, get at least a 2002 or newer. 1999 was the worst year and had many problems. I recently traded my 2001 T6 in for a Toyota Prius. This is why:

I wanted a Prius even before I bought the Volvo. What attracted me to the Volvo was its great safety features and plentiful interior room. I liked the T6 for its power. I overlooked the Consumer Reports' poor reliability rating, thinking that I could do the work on the car myself. I had no idea how expensive the parts were. I also assumed that a printed shop manual would be readily available as it had been for all the cars I had owned before. I should have done more research up front.

I could have bought a brand new Prius if I had put an additional $8000 toward it over and above what I paid for the Volvo. As it is now, including repairs I paid for and parts I bought (but not factoring in any value for my labor), I lost about $12,000 on the Volvo in 4 years. So if I had bought the Prius instead, I'd be $4000 ahead and I'd have a 4 year old car with 23,000 miles on it (and I would have saved quite a bit of fuel and had a reduced carbon foot print to boot).

What I really like about the new Prius (3rd generation) is the improved styling (definitely more mainstream than the 2nd generation), the improved safety, the great gas milage (at least double what I got with the Volvo and the potential for a whole lot more), the fact that it's a hatchback (allows hauling larger items than the sedan style), the fact that it has cloth seats (on the one I bought) versus leather (leather makes me sweat), and all the high-tech stuff that comes on it (touch tracer display, keyless entry system, Hybrid System Indicator, Bluetooth, XM). In addition, the Prius has very few maintenance items and few things to break compared to the Volvo: no camshaft timing belt or tensioner (uses a chain); no hydraulic power steering pump or rack (it's electric); no accessory belt or tensioner (all accessories are driven electrically); no starter motor (uses one of the motor/generators to start the engine); no GM automatic transmission to malfunction and/or require a rebuild/replacement; the regenerative braking reduces the wear on the brake pads and disks (some people have over 100,000 miles on them in their Gen II cars); and the oil change interval was just changed to 10,000 miles.

I am going to miss some things about the Volvo: the power of the T6 (about double what the Prius has, but there was very little opportunity to use it, whereas the improved milage of the Prius will be used every day), the dual climate control (my wife always likes to be warmer than me), and the power memory seats/mirrors (we will have to adjust those manually now). The Volvo weighs more than the Prius, so it might do somewhat better in a crash, but the Prius has some traction control features (that my Volvo didn't) that might help avoid a crash in the first place.

So far the Prius drives great (I only have a few miles on it as I just picked it up yesterday). It provides a ton of feedback through the Hybrid System Indicator to make you a more efficient driver. No problems with the brakes, either. I think the interior noise is about comparable between the Prius and the Volvo. I thought the Volvo sound system was great, but I have to say that the JBL 8-speaker audio in the Prius is better (it also has Bluetooth and XM built in).

RichSad · Post by **RichSad** » 01 Apr 2010, 17:42

Thanks for the feedback about the T6. Based on most of my research I think I am going to avoid it. It's a sharp looking car and I like the twin turbo/power idea, but as you point out how often do you get to use that. I've never driven a Prius, but the new ones do sound amazing. I've always had good luck with my Toyotas so the recent hoopla over the recalls wouldn't dissuade me from buying a Toyota product. My issue with figuring out what to do is my tastes and desires outpace the budget I have for this vehicle purchase. My current plan is to have a mechanic give me his thoughts on my current 99 V70XC and decide after I have a clearer picture of what it would likely cost to keep my current Volvo. I like the V70XC a lot. The stereo and comfort is great, it feels safe and sturdy, and it has some pretty nice pickup with its 5 cylinder turbo. The wagon layout works perfect for my dogs and cargo needs. Most of all I just plain like it. It's classy without being pretentious or greedy! But my mind has been changing so much on this issue that by next week I may feel the need to invest in a newer vehicle.

I would love to have some of the new technology like Bluetooth and all that. Satellite radio is not compelling to me (I'm a musician and audiophile and the compression they use to get the sound up to "the bird" destroys the musical integrity--I also used to be an Internet radio executive).

Post by **rwaltco** » 19 Apr 2010, 16:33

I've had an 740T5, 940, '97 850T5, a '99 S80 2.9 with currently 180,000 miles and it's actually been a decent car though too many electrical glitches. After reading an article from IPD the better choice is a 2005 and later S-80 T5. I drove a '04 T5 a week ago and the difference between '05 and '04 can be felt. '05 is smoother and quieter. The '04 had 60,000 and the 05 had 98,000 and still was a better car. So I bought the '05.

All in all, wished I'd bought a 2004 Buick LeSabre Centennial Ed. with suspension package. Comes with same equipment as S80 but just no problems runs on regular.