volvos expensive to work on??

White850Turbo · Post by **White850Turbo** » 28 Oct 2005, 09:46

We've owned auto's from Japanese, American, and now a Swedish company. We pretty much were GM followers for a bit of time. My dad had a Camaro and my mother, a Malibu. As my dad has said, those cars left him broke and late for work. He then got in to Japanese cars, Nissan's in particular. His 300ZX was anything but reliable; had electrical demons out the wazoo, one blown headgasket, oil pump problems, etc.; a big money pit. After that, he thought he'd try his luck w/ GM again and bought a Chevy S10. It is even more of a money pit than the Nissan and we still have it; my mom drives it. He picked up for himself a 1999 Honda Accord V6 and bought my younger sister a 1997 Honda Civic EX. Needless to say, they both cost quite a bit in upkeep. The Accord has had transmission rebuilt, A/C problems, various electrical problems, 3 broken motor mounts in 100k miles, and is starting to eat oil even though the oil has been changed religiously. The civic likes to die at random points, the A/C doesn't work and no one can figure out why, it eats oil, among various other things.

Now for the Volvo, I bought this car based on the advice of friends and have owned it for nearly 2 years. I don't, for a single second, regret it. The only things that have gone wrong with it that are not regular maintenance items are the auto tranny and the throttle position sensor. On the tranny, I was told by the guy that re-built it that it appeared the most stress was put on it due to the previous owners habit of not coming to a complete stop before moving from reverse to drive and vice versa. I do all of the maintenance on it religiously and baby it. Parts are rather expensive, but not unbearable. My dad now says that he wishes he had bought one of these cars as well

.

Post by **dosbricks** » 28 Oct 2005, 21:25

turbotim2 wrote: Here's my big question to foriegn car makers: Why would you make an engine with a timing belt that if that belt breaks, will cause so much destruction in the engine... this is absolutely unnecessary and really just makes business for dealer service centers.

Because the most efficient design (power to weight ratio) is an interference engine. How well do chains hold up on a DOHC engine at 6000 RPM?

In relation to the question this long running thread posed, Volvos are fairly cheap to work on if you do it all yourself.

turbotim2 · Post by **turbotim2** » 31 Oct 2005, 09:08

My problem isn't with timing belts, there are many engines that utilize timing belts that will not self destruct when the belt breaks.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 31 Oct 2005, 10:36

White850Turbo wrote:We've owned auto's from Japanese, American, and now a Swedish company. We pretty much were GM followers for a bit of time. My dad had a Camaro and my mother, a Malibu. As my dad has said, those cars left him broke and late for work. He then got in to Japanese cars, Nissan's in particular. His 300ZX was anything but reliable; had electrical demons out the wazoo, one blown headgasket, oil pump problems, etc.; a big money pit. After that, he thought he'd try his luck w/ GM again and bought a Chevy S10. It is even more of a money pit than the Nissan and we still have it; my mom drives it. He picked up for himself a 1999 Honda Accord V6 and bought my younger sister a 1997 Honda Civic EX. Needless to say, they both cost quite a bit in upkeep. The Accord has had transmission rebuilt, A/C problems, various electrical problems, 3 broken motor mounts in 100k miles, and is starting to eat oil even though the oil has been changed religiously. The civic likes to die at random points, the A/C doesn't work and no one can figure out why, it eats oil, among various other things.

Now for the Volvo, I bought this car based on the advice of friends and have owned it for nearly 2 years. I don't, for a single second, regret it. The only things that have gone wrong with it that are not regular maintenance items are the auto tranny and the throttle position sensor. On the tranny, I was told by the guy that re-built it that it appeared the most stress was put on it due to the previous owners habit of not coming to a complete stop before moving from reverse to drive and vice versa. I do all of the maintenance on it religiously and baby it. Parts are rather expensive, but not unbearable. My dad now says that he wishes he had bought one of these cars as well .

Wow, I find all the problems you had with your Nissan (formerly Datsun) and Hondas hard to believe (although you did say "Used" for the Hondas), but then my positive experiences with Japanese models have been with brand new Mazdas and Toyotas, absolutely the most reliable cars built, bar none (at least as far as the comman man can afford). Your Chevy stories are spot on. But if he had tried a Saturn, he may have had better success. I guess that's why we all add, your mileage may vary (YMMV)...

LauraF · Post by **LauraF** » 08 Nov 2005, 23:04

Hello.Do you think a 96 850 GLT wagon can go over 240000 miles? I am looking at one that is 183000 and was maintained by the volvo clock. Have records looks fine but how long will it last? Thanks. Laura

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 09 Nov 2005, 12:49

Personally, I'd stay away from it since it's the 850 series. I would maybe have gone for it if it was an older series. But, if you are handy with cars and/or have access to reasonable car repairs/ service, then you'll probably be OK. The 'maintaned by the clock' is a plus, obviously. Do they have repair records available (so you can see how many parts a have been changed out since the 125,000 mi. 'hit-the-wall' (ETM, O2 sensors, MAF, front struts, broken odometer, CPS, A/C components, etc.) period?

clt850guy · Post by **clt850guy** » 09 Nov 2005, 17:08

Let me put this as simple as I can

NO AUTOZONE/NAPA/PEP BOYS PARTS!

buy reputable parts from reputable sources. The good people of IPD will help you make good choices.

Run good parts, and your Volvo will be more reliable than a Toyota or Honda.

Caleb

Jorge S · Post by **Jorge S** » 29 Nov 2005, 09:06

I bought a 98 V70 GLT with 53k miles and was super happy with it for a year. Then, as they say, the wheels fell off. I'll just list the repairs which were all replaced: brakes, rotors,cv boots (R/L), inner tied rod, ABS sensor, rear main seal, air pump/relay/solenoid, 70k maintenance items(cap/rotor/plugs/air & fuel filters/timing belt), moonroofseal, and now I'm hoping the MAF sensor is the root of a disabling/stalling problem. With still only 74k miles will it end? I'd sell it but I still owe more than I could sell it for. I hate cars.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 01 Dec 2005, 10:35

Volvo's are OK for the mechanically inclined. I have a 95 850 GLT that just hit 140K miles. Have had it since 100K. It had every service imaginable done on it because it was the dealers sister's. I also have two Honda Accords. The 96 has 240K on it with the only repair a new starter and exhaust. I drive it 100 mi plus every day. The Volvo is driven only around town fortunately. On a Volvo, anything can break. I have been able to fix some things and do some of the scheduled maintenance. I can see how some people love the car. But it is expensive to maintain compared to a well cared for Honda or Toyota.

Post by **Volvo_240_Atari_2600** » 18 Feb 2007, 18:56

Somewhat new here and I have to say the same.
I bought my 89 240 GL wagon exactlu three years ago this week.
It had 124k on it at the time and since then I have had both ball joints and tie rods replaced (recently) for about $350.00 +/- and I am pushing 193k

Went through 4 new tires twice since I bought her. One starter when we fled from Huricaine Francess... We ended up in Macon Ga for the weekend and I had to replace it there.

AC is original and had it refilled a year ago and still blows cold.

Replaced the blower motor and that was costly since you 240 owners know what labor is involved for that.

Still have not done brakes on it as about 20k ago the Pep Boys by my office said I needed new fron brakes. I later went to my local Volvo Mechanic "Maitland Imports" and they said I was at 50% life on the front and 75% life on the rear... Not to mention they are so honest there I only did one ball joint as the other was changed a year ago and the same time Pep Bows said I needed brakes, they said I needed both ball joints.

I also replaced the windshield washer motor and the battery two years ago and I do a regular oil change wvery 3k.

To sum things up... It is the most reliable car I have ever owned. I too will say "Volvo for Life."