Advice Please - 04 or 05 Volvo S60 AWD

twhman · Post by **twhman** » 22 Feb 2009, 06:11

Hello, I am new to this forum and need some advice. I spent about 2 hours reading posts on this board and I think I am more confused than I was before I started.

My wife and I are relocating back up to PA and will need a 2nd car for communting. We will be living out in the country down near a river so every way out of there is a fairly steep curvey paved road climbing up the "mountain". That is also to say home is a fairly steep curvey paved road down. So I was thinking an AWD car would be the way to go.

I have narrowed my choices down to two - a Volvo S60 or a Subaru Outback 3.0H. I had an Outback and put 205K on it before I sold it to my neighbor (who begged us to sell it to her) and it is still tooling around the neighborhood. I have said many times the Outback was nothing exciting - but it was the "best" car I have ever owned cause it always got the job done.

I love how the S60 sits and drives I find it very comfortable. I love the sexy body style. I think as used cars they are well priced having taken a large depreciation hit - I don't think the Outbacks take anywhere near as big a hit on the depreciation. But I am worried about the longetivity of the S60 and perhaps the increased ownership cost (insurance/repairs). After reading the forum I am a little concerned about reparis (however, I think the bad news tends to get posted on these forums far more than good).

I have found a couple of choices.

2004 S60 2.5T FWD - 72K - one owner at a great Volvo dealer in PA they want $11K. The car is immaculate with about 82K on it. One owner and the car was well maintained right on schedule by the owner at the dealership. However, it is FWD not AWD which kind of makes me question if this is the way to go given the commute I will face. However, from reading the forum it looks like the AWD can be an issue long term driving on pavement even after 2002.

2005 S60 2.5T AWD - 45K - one owner at a large independent lot that buys wholesale. The car looks basically mint and only has 45K on it. It is all wheel drive. They want about $13,000. Which is a little more than I want to spend but the mileage may be worth a few bucks more.

2004 S60 2.5T AWD - 72K - 2 owners at a small lot. The car is very nice It is all wheel drive. They want about 10K for it which is in my price range. It is all wheel drive.

So I guess what I want to know from you guys who know these cars is do I really want the S60 (which I love) as my daily commuter or do I go with the Outback (which does not excite me as much as the seductive looking S60 but I suspect may be "more practical" for my use). I talked to the Volvo dealer and they say S60s are 200K mile cars and very reliable - I want a car that will last till 200K if well maintained and not nickle and dime me or live at the shop. Is this the definition of an S60?

How about the AWD system the Volvo dealer says Volvo's is superior to the Subaru because of the variable split in the torque between front and rear where the Outback (unless you go to the VDC) is 50/50 pretty much I believe. Is the Volvo's going to have issues after a while driving on pavement most all the time?

If you guys think the S60 is the way to go - are there anythings I should be looking for on these 2 cars (or any others of this same vintage? They seem to be nice cars at fair prices - may be the economy is hampering used car sales too.

Thanks for the advice.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 22 Feb 2009, 08:40

Welcome to MVS!
I hear where you're at:
On one hand, the Subaru has been tried and true for you.
The Volvo is something new and can be potentially costly for you if things go bad. Seems the main consideration for you is, do you want boring but reliable or do you want sporty/fun and possibly less reliable. Just to add my $0.02 worth of an opinion- we have the brother to the S60- an '04 V70 2.5T and have had absolutely no problems with it (I chalk that up to regular oil changes as well as transmission flushes- easy to do, btw!) and that's at nearly 80K miles. I'm not saying that this trend will continue. I do need to point out that the AWD system in the S60 after about 2002 has been bullet proof as long as you keep the tire treads within 2/32 of an inch from each other and avoid using the "donut tire." That said, the other consideration would be (if this were me), how close will you be to a Volvo dealer if things do need attention? If there is none around- OR you can't find a good local independent mechanic who can work on these cars, OR, you can't work on them yourself- then I would opt for the Subaru- just to be on the safe side. Another note: from '05 and newer, there is much more dependence on the newer CAN Bus (computer network system within the car) on a Volvo than earlier models. With our '04, I can use an OBD-II code reader and deal with just about everything myself- an '05 isn't going to be as easy- for you or for an independent mechanic. That said, if my options were between an '04 or '05 S60 (FWD or AWD), I would personally buy the '04 (there is not much difference in the reliability between these two models- just, which is easier to deal with due to the CAN Bus) over the '05. Put the $$ you save by buying the slightly older car into an account specifically for maintenance costs for your "new" Volvo! Really, I don't see such a late model Volvo nickling and diming you do death (if it's been well maintained- so check service records carefully).
Others' opinions may vary.
-MIJ

twhman · Post by **twhman** » 22 Feb 2009, 11:09

MIJ, thanks for the warm welcome.

I sure do like the looks of the S60s - and I fit great in the car - the seats are awesome. I am glad you understand my situation - I really like the S60. I am glad the AWD situation is okay as long as the tires are kept within some reasonable tolorance.

I have two good options - 2002 LLBean with 72K on it or one of the 3 S60s.

I will pull the cheater spare and find a good full size tire that has about 60-75%% of the tread left. I never wear my tires down all the way and if I need the spare the 60%-75% tread on the spare should be okay for a few miles - certainly a lot closer the correct size than the donut.

There is a great Volvo dealer about 20 miles from my new place. They actually have the one S60 that is front wheel drive I posted about.

Thanks again for the welcome.

Wildman · Post by **Wildman** » 22 Feb 2009, 19:48

I have heard of subarus having problems with their AWD on dry pavement as well. Look at it this way, if you had to spend money on a Subaru because it breaks down, how would you feel about your "compromise" then? I say, if you are going to spend money on a car, you should like the way it looks and drives.

Post by **JRL** » 23 Feb 2009, 07:02

All are priced reasonably.
As I always say, buy the newest with the LOWEST MILEAGE that you can afford