buying a 2004 S80

patricemariner · Post by **patricemariner** » 24 May 2016, 16:47

Hi, my name is Patrice.
I am 46 years old, from Brooklyn, NY and now I live in Cherry Valley, PA. I have a newly licensed and 17 year old daughter who needs a car. I currently drive a 2012 Volvo XC90 3.2 R-Design. I cannot afford another one, and after looking for a while, I decided on an old S80 for my little (not so little) Maryanne. This is a 2004 S80 2.5T AWD for 4k with 135k miles on it. Do you think this is a good deal? I can invest another thousand into it if needs be. I really just want to know if this is a good car for her.

oldironsights · Post by **oldironsights** » 24 May 2016, 18:31

Is the car in question up to date with all service & maintenance?
Being a car from/for the snow belt, is there rust beneath?
Do all systems function properly?
Do all tires match & have worn evenly?
These are complex cars & with age experience more failures & require more maintenance than newer cars.
Are you & she prepared for the upkeep?
The S80 sure is one of the safer & more comfortable cars available.

Post by **oragex** » 24 May 2016, 18:47

No, I would skip on it. It is a big car, not exactly the best choice for the city, even less so for a city like Brooklyn. It will get poor mileage and at 135K a S80 it's a big gamble even if it's cheap to buy. It is more a highway car. AWD is not really needed, 4 winter tires cost much less and are more effective.

If your daughter is not too tall, a 2005-2007 S60 is a much better choice, but don't buy anything with more than 100K miles on it. Ebay has plenty of original used parts for not much, a local mechanic can help installing them. Keep in mind, a 100K miles Volvo is mainly intended for those who can do repairs by themselves. Having it repaired at a Volvo dealer will double the purchase cost in less than two years.

patricemariner · Post by **patricemariner** » 26 May 2016, 21:55

oragex wrote:No, I would skip on it. It is a big car, not exactly the best choice for the city, even less so for a city like Brooklyn. It will get poor mileage and at 135K a S80 it's a big gamble even if it's cheap to buy. It is more a highway car. AWD is not really needed, 4 winter tires cost much less and are more effective.

If your daughter is not too tall, a 2005-2007 S60 is a much better choice, but don't buy anything with more than 100K miles on it. Ebay has plenty of original used parts for not much, a local mechanic can help installing them. Keep in mind, a 100K miles Volvo is mainly intended for those who can do repairs by themselves. Having it repaired at a Volvo dealer will double the purchase cost in less than two years.

Hi, I meant only to say that I am from Brooklyn. I currently live in Cherry Valley on Delaware, PA. She needs the car to get to school in Lehigh Valley, so it wouldn't be much stop and go. Second, she's 5'9", a little on the tall side. third, I would like her to have a big car with AWD so she can bang it up a little. If anything goes wrong, I can probably just find another Volvo

patricemariner · Post by **patricemariner** » 26 May 2016, 21:59

oldironsights wrote:Is the car in question up to date with all service & maintenance?
Being a car from/for the snow belt, is there rust beneath?
Do all systems function properly?
Do all tires match & have worn evenly?
These are complex cars & with age experience more failures & require more maintenance than newer cars.
Are you & she prepared for the upkeep?
The S80 sure is one of the safer & more comfortable cars available.

I actually used to be a programmer for Chrysler. I am friends with Cynthia (mydamnvolvo) she's active in the v70 and 960 forums. She has 5 volvos and said she'd be willing to help and teach me.

Post by **oragex** » 27 May 2016, 20:42

See now why you said 'not so little'

She's a nice tall woman, my fav height actually

Then the S60 is a little tight, I'm 6'1 and I'd like a few more inched to be fully comfortable. These days I was looking at the car dealers and found the Subaru Crosstrek to have impressive leg room for the driver

The AWD in those years were flawed with the Haldex failure, better if the owner had already replace it. If the drive shaft can turn by hand, the Haldex is already gone. Hopefully the timing belt was already replaced. The alternator and a/c pulleys will give up at about this mileage and start making friction noise. Test the PCV (Youtube) is not clogged and the transmission doesn't upshift too harsh 2nd to 3rd. Otherwise the 2.5t is a good choice.