Considering a used Volvo ~ how wise is this?

[Brian_]

Hey all, potential first time Volvo owner here (I'm a mid 40's guy who's alternated between IT and MC Mechanic as my jobs since ~1995). I'm looking for a vehicle to leave at my folks place in Montana so when I visit, I'm not using their only means of transportation. They live in the middle of the Castle Mtn range (central MT, about half-way between Livingston and Great Falls, look for Showdown Ski Area and you're within 10 miles), so mountain passes, snow, ice, and mud are prevalent. They're pushing 70 and I've found that I'm getting called more and more often as the only child, plus they are my one main holiday every year as I try for 3 weeks of skiing. It doesn't really Warrant owning a car out there as they have a newer Subi Outback, yet I'd like the freedom to leave their place overnight to hit up Other ski areas and not leave them without a vehicle and rentals are, well, they simply aren't available without incurring 2 3-hour long drives (and, frankly, I'm a little frightened of my folks driving these days).

So, that's where I'll be with any used car... I've been looking mostly Domestic SUVs (ugh, I hate em) and Subarus when a V70XC crossed my search. That piqued my interest enough to search around. I can't seem to find any Huge red flags (well, OEM parts costs and "Volvo Specialists" shop rates both being expensive ~ I've worked around those in the past), but am sorta running into the end of the generalized and easily found knowledge. Looking for the next step with this post.

Just due to finances (looking to stay around $2k purchase and $1k parts ~ but half that will be snow tires since I live in Georgia and won't be getting those with the car), seems like I'm limited to about 2004 and older vehicles based on local searching. I understand that's mostly the P80 and P2 chassis. I like both, the P2's styling is a little nicer to my eye but I don't find anything wrong with the "They're boxy, but they're good" earlier styling, it could easily grow on me . AWD is a primary need... I was able to drive my FWD TDI Jetta nearly everywhere with top shelf snow tires, but I did get stuck every now and again and I'm looking to mitigate that chance as much as possible. Looks like the 2001+ require premium fuel and that's Absolutely a mark against... that stuff is NASTY when left to rot until sold in the 900pop farming town where I'll get most of my fuel. Too many years as a MC mechanic has frightened me off from anything that requires premium (from a rural living perspective). I'm sure the computer will change the engine parameters around if lower octane fuel is detected, but I'd Rather have a vehicle designed for 87 (well, 85 when you get up in elevation). But are there any really convincing arguments on either side of the platform divide?

Is an older Volvo reasonably well suited to a lot of sitting and spotty use? I'm sure my folks will run it the ~40 miles to town and back once a month for me to help keep fluids moving, but it'll only be driven daily for a week here and there. How bad is the engine sludge issue (one car I found needed a new "flame box", reading the write-ups shows that the passage to the oil pan is often clogged). I haven't seen that there are any real "Gotchas" (like Subi head leaks, just a universal problem), but all that means is I haven't found them... I'll go through the car top to bottom and front to back before making the 3,000 mile drive out there, but want to plan expenses as best as possible.... or simply discount the vehicle if it's not up to the job.

How do the cars handle age and miles anyway? I'm not afraid of high miles (have a 1997 Toyota T100 truck with 200k and a 2001 TDI Jetta with 300k, have taken several motorcycles over 100k), but some vehicles just don't age well.... actually, that's my biggest issue with Domestic makes.

I'm sorta excited about the idea of a Volvo and hope it's a viable solution. They seem to tick the main boxes of AWD, some of the best fuel economy reports for AWD/4WD out there, usually with heated seats, not a damn SUV... lol, yes, I really do hate SUV's and cross-overs, preferring a wagon (or 'Avant' as Audi calls 'em), and just for my own personal satisfaction, something a little different than the norm.

Cheers and thanks!

Brian (sorry for the wall of text )

[850 LPT]

Hi Brian, welcome to the forum.

Let me take a stab at your questions. I gather that for financial reasons you want to try and stay with P80 cars with AWD.
Right off the bat I would tell you that the AWD systems in these cars by design do not last like in other cars of that era. To Volvos credit, it was their first attempt at this.
The early AWD systems perform really well, but past 100k you are looking at potentially very expensive repairs.

Just to give you an idea about what I experienced with mine:
At 130k the prop shaft (driving the rear wheels) had to be rebuilt, cost $425
At 140k the angle gear (transfer case) was shot, cost $1500 (new Volvo part)
At about 145k the Viscous coupler broke, I'm replacing that with a good use one for $300

As long as you factor stuff like this into your budget, you're okay.

There are other things to watch out for though, because at this point, finding a P80 car that has been well cared for is a real challenge. In general these cars require more maintenance and repairs compared to say Japanese cars, and people are at some point not willing to keep investing. That's why most of what you see out there for sale is complete junk.

Somewhere here on the site is a buyers guide that talks about the details in what to look out for, I'll take a look and post later.

If I were you, I would up the budget a little and look into P2 cars past 2003 (you'll want to stay away from 2001-2002 models mainly because they have serious tranny issues). The AWD systems in these cars are more durable though.

Hope this helps a little, just ask away if you need further clarification.