Had to let it go....

Old Blue 66 · Post by **Old Blue 66** » 19 Apr 2010, 21:11

Ive had the S60 for 2 1/2 years. I really liked the car. But when it hit 100,000 miles, its needed something new every time I looked around. I was throwing $200 at it minimum all the time.

The killer was when I took it to a Volvo shop and they found the ABS control module was leaking. The part alone was $850 plus labor. Then when I asked him to take close look at the rest of the car (to find any other major problems before I sink that kinda cash into it) we found the rack and pinion leaking from two places. That was it. At 119,000 the car was broken beyond repair.

Very sad that the reliability of such a great car was so poor. Even after a trans software upgrade, it still shifted on the sloppy side so I dont even know if the trans was solid or not.

I was planning on running the car until 200,000 but we barely made it half way there. Really sad. Im a car guy through and through and really had a connection with my S60.

I drive a lot for work and went the sensible route. I replaced it with a Toyota Camry SE Sport.

Post by **E170_Driver** » 20 Apr 2010, 06:42

I hear your pain...on the way home last night I drove by the Volvo dealership in Louisville (around midnight) and boy those new V50/70s are surely nice, but the frustration over the company not offering a permanent fix for the ETM problem on my 2001 model casts doubt over how much they are staying behind their product; I realize that we are just numbers as customers and unfortunately the real concern many of us have are just met; just really love this car.

Jan

Post by **jblackburn** » 20 Apr 2010, 07:46

Mine's getting to be the same way - breaking every time I turn around. Every time I fix something, something else happens or I discover something else that needs to be done. It runs and drives great, and the interior/exterior are in great condition for as old as it is...I don't think I'm going to get rid of it, as I can't really sell it for much, but it either needs to stop breaking or I need to find a replacement daily driver (and discover some long-lost dead millionaire uncle and inherit a fortune) soonish. I'm not too far from 170,000 on mine, and figure it will be at 200 in 2 years. If it stays running.

I took a look/drive at some of the newer used ones on the lot in my first experience at a Volvo dealer. They're nice, sure, but they want WAY too much for a car I could get for much less from another company, with more reliability. They might not have that Volvo character, but at least I wouldn't be fixing something every weekend. And better fuel economy...WOW the new models with 6-cylinders have downright AWFUL gas mileage. The new V70's get something like 22 highway.

Old Blue 66 · Post by **Old Blue 66** » 20 Apr 2010, 08:18

E170_Driver wrote:I hear your pain...on the way home last night I drove by the Volvo dealership in Louisville (around midnight) and boy those new V50/70s are surely nice, but the frustration over the company not offering a permanent fix for the ETM problem on my 2001 model casts doubt over how much they are staying behind their product; I realize that we are just numbers as customers and unfortunately the real concern many of us have are just met; just really love this car.

Jan

And the fact that theses cars require so much "dealer" attention is crazy. Im still not sure why I had to pay for the trans software upgrade. That should have been a recall.

Like I stated earlier, I really liked the car. I enjoyed driving it and I was proud of it. Hands down the nicest car I had to that point. But the reliability factor really was terrible.

Post by **matthew1** » 20 Apr 2010, 13:57

jablackburn wrote:The new V70's get something like 22 highway.

I was surprised at this also. Economy is very high on my Wanted list, and this makes the new V70 unattractive to me even if I had money.

To illustrate this point, the new (not yet available) Hyundai Sonata Turbo sets a new standard: 274hp and 34mpg highway, according to preproduction testing.

With 274 horsepower on tap and an MPG rating of 34 on the highway, the new Sonata is going to be the car to beat.

Yes, you read that right. 274 horsepower, and 34 mpg from a 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine. The city rating for the car is 22 mpg, not great, but not terrible either. Most mid-size cars like the Camry, Fusion, and Accord don’t make that much power even out of their V6 engines, and yet the Sonata manages to do it… on regular fuel. If you are unfamiliar with turbochargers, you may not know that many turbocharged cars (though not all) require premium fuel to avoid engine knock. So achieving 274 horsepower (and 269 ft-lbs of torque!) while running on regular fuel is a pretty big deal.

http://gas2.org/2010/04/01/hyundai-sonata-turbo-makes-v6-horsepower-with-4-cylinder-fuel-economy/
more: http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/10 ... auto_shows

Old Blue 66 · Post by **Old Blue 66** » 20 Apr 2010, 14:17

matthew1 wrote:
jablackburn wrote:The new V70's get something like 22 highway.
I was surprised at this also. Economy is very high on my Wanted list, and this makes the new V70 unattractive to me even if I had money.

To illustrate this point, the new (not yet available) Hyundai Sonata Turbo sets a new standard: 274hp and 34mpg highway, according to preproduction testing.

With 274 horsepower on tap and an MPG rating of 34 on the highway, the new Sonata is going to be the car to beat.

Yes, you read that right. 274 horsepower, and 34 mpg from a 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine. The city rating for the car is 22 mpg, not great, but not terrible either. Most mid-size cars like the Camry, Fusion, and Accord don’t make that much power even out of their V6 engines, and yet the Sonata manages to do it… on regular fuel. If you are unfamiliar with turbochargers, you may not know that many turbocharged cars (though not all) require premium fuel to avoid engine knock. So achieving 274 horsepower (and 269 ft-lbs of torque!) while running on regular fuel is a pretty big deal.
http://gas2.org/2010/04/01/hyundai-sonata-turbo-makes-v6-horsepower-with-4-cylinder-fuel-economy/
more: http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/10 ... auto_shows

I think my new Camry has something like 260 hp with a V6. Nothing beats the torque of a bigger motor. And I run on 87 pump gas. 14hp is no big deal but the hwy fuel economy is impressive. For me that where it ends. Not a fan of the Sonata or the make

FCPEURO · Post by **FCPEURO** » 20 Apr 2010, 18:44

I have to say, I know how you feel. I love my S60R but I have already come to the conclusion it is not like the Volvos I had in the past. I know I will be selling it or at least trading it in at the 90K mark. That gives me 25K more miles so we will see how long that is.

Post by **matthew1** » 20 Apr 2010, 20:20

Depressing thread

. Just think of all the owners past and present who will never buy another Volvo because of idiotic policies like charging as much as a couple hundred for software upgrades. It's insulting because it's software.

They should give software upgrades away. Dealers could still make boatloads of money by pointing out (and doing the work) the various parts that need replacing. Like they do routinely, every day, when people bring their Volvos in for plain maintenance.

Perhaps the dealers would make more money by giving away software updates because people like me who usually stay far away from the dealer would be flocking to them to get their free upgrades.

XxJenoxX · Post by **XxJenoxX** » 20 Apr 2010, 20:34

Ugh, I'm dreading this with my Landshark. She's my first car, I've had her for 3 years or so, and she's got 211k on her! I drive her at least 40 miles a day for work, and an easy 80+ on the weekends, if I go hang out with my dad in the mountains.

Seems like I fixed the odometer and did $700 worth of suspension work, and now everything is failing on me. Figures, as soon as you put money into things that aren't all that urgent, all of the mechanical stuff starts to go out. I'm hoping to be able to afford some form of 850 or s70 with a turbo by fall, but I don't know if I could ever get rid of my Landshark. And I love money just as much as the next guy, but the only things that could drag me away from a volvo are way outside my budget anyway, lol.

Post by **matthew1** » 20 Apr 2010, 20:36

Old Blue 66 wrote:I think my new Camry has something like 260 hp with a V6. Nothing beats the torque of a gigger motor. And I run on 87 pump gas. 14hp is no big deal but the hwy fuel economy is impressive. For me that where it ends. Not a fan of the Sonata or the make

The Sonata info I posted was just an example of what automakers can do. I'm not suggesting anyone buy one, although the non-turbo 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE beat the 2010 Honda Accord EX and 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5i in a recent Car & Driver comparo test.

274hp @ 34mpg is ridiculously good.