A tech just shocked me with his 2nd gen XC90 thoughts

Post by **matthew1** » 18 Mar 2024, 19:08

Today I visited a decades-old indie Volvo shop and had a good talk with a tech with 15 years experience as a Volvo mechanic. It rocked me, because I thought SPA Volvos were more or less on par with P2 Volvos as far as reliability/repairs go. That is to say: not great, but not in the league of Italian cars. Boy, was I wrong…

I won’t identify the tech or the shop because he asked to go off the record with his name, so henceforth I’ll refer to him as “Bob”. The shop is in the Denver-Boulder metropolis.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/houst ... a-problem/

There's lots more in that post, with details.

Post by **Krons** » 23 Mar 2024, 07:05

See similar comments on the Facebook forums, SPA cars are not even close to the P2/P3 cars for longevity.

Seems the only 300k mile cars still built are potentially Honda/Subaru/Toyota, but they still need looked after and have certain models and drivetrains with issues.

Post by **matthew1** » 23 Mar 2024, 10:19

Mazda I'd add to that list, and maybe I'd remove Subaru. The boxer headgasket problem is serious and very common. It scrapped a good friend's 2006 wagon (hellish to ride in, in terms of comfort and ergonomics, so no great loss IMHO).

Thanks for your input, Krons. I left the shop feeling like I was in the movie Inception... everything I knew about all modern Volvos was suddenly turned in on itself. It was disorienting. I was going to buy a late-teens SPA XC90 after what would surely be me passing on the EX30 I'm in line for, if they ever actually make it to dealer lots

. I'd been tracking prices of pre-owned XC90s on the helpful Volvo CPO site.

Gah. Now what.

Post by **Krons** » 23 Mar 2024, 12:05

matthew1 wrote: ↑23 Mar 2024, 10:19 Mazda I'd add to that list, and maybe I'd remove Subaru. The boxer headgasket problem is serious and very common. It scrapped a good friend's 2006 wagon (hellish to ride in, in terms of comfort and ergonomics, so no great loss IMHO).

Thanks for your input, Krons. I left the shop feeling like I was in the movie Inception... everything I knew about all modern Volvos was suddenly turned in on itself. It was disorienting. I was going to buy a late-teens SPA XC90 after what would surely be me passing on the EX30 I'm in line for, if they ever actually make it to dealer lots . I'd been tracking prices of pre-owned XC90s on the helpful Volvo CPO site.

Gah. Now what.

Fair point on Subaru head gaskets…a “maintenance item” for them lol.

Post by **jimmy57** » 23 Mar 2024, 17:39

Engines with 10K oil service, any make, will have issues. 10K oil changes are the 4 pack a day smoker of automobiles. Some will never have issues and others will suffer, some sooner that others, from it. If you were to get your hands on one with 5K oil changes from a caring owner then the story gets way better. The A/C evaporators are not great either. Front control arm bushings get changed (or control arms) but that varies with use and roads and I don't think is any worse than most luxury brands where the bushings are thicker and yield to soften the blows.

Post by **Krons** » 24 Mar 2024, 04:08

matthew1 wrote: ↑23 Mar 2024, 10:19 I was going to buy a late-teens SPA XC90 after what would surely be me passing on the EX30 I'm in line for, if they ever actually make it to dealer lots . I'd been tracking prices of pre-owned XC90s on the helpful Volvo CPO site.

Gah. Now what.

Maybe be on the hunt for a low mile late P2 XC90? Only downside is the not so great fuel consumption.

Post by **matthew1** » 10 Apr 2024, 08:15

Here's a fix for the sunroof gasket I mentioned above.

https://fnfdesign.ca/products/volvo-spa ... gap-filler

: seal.jpg (187.33 KiB) Viewed 2360 times