2,002 Volvo S60 ??

[BobbyZ]

My brothers thinking about buying one of these and since my Volvo know how ends about 1970 I'm no help here at all.
It's a sedan with a bit over 100,000 miles, auto trans. They any good? Any major problems?

Don't want him to end up with major repairs like I maybe looking at with my 2,001 Outback. That goes in this week to check out the oil leak. It's only going to cost between one and two.
I just dont know yet if that's hundreds or THOUSANDS !

[Rydell]

The last REAL Volvos were the 940 series.It is said: When you just drive them they get old, if you take care of them they get stone old.I won't say that the S60 is a bad car, but the frontwheel drive and the totally filled out space under the hood can make repairs tricky and expensive. The toothbelt change is in sight.I'm in the car deal and repair business for 40 years. I'd take a good 940. You can do almost any repair(if necessary) with one hand in your pocket.;)

[Toto'sDad]

My daughter has one, and it's a really nice car. If it has 100,000 miles on it, the fuel pump has either been changed or it's going to need it shortly. I made the mistake of changing the pump out on my daughter's car, I would have been better off to have just had it towed to a shop and shelled out the money to have it done.

A part went bad that we had to order, and the car sat in my drive way as a bomb for a couple of days. We put some plates over the gas tank openings, and taped them and hoped it wouldn't spark off and blow up. The pump comes out from the top of the tank, and since it hasn't been disturbed for years, you are almost assured of having something break in the process. You have to fish some wires across from one opening to another further inviting an explosion. Believe me, if I had it to do over, I would have paid to have it done.

[rebelwoclue]

I have a 1999 S80 and it hasn't had anything major- saying that, if you do need to start replacing things like catalytic converters, shocks, etc. it won't be cheap. Good luck.

[jefrs]

We have plenty of them running around over here, some good, some bad,

Parts-wise at that age you'll be looking at stuff that wears out rather than cats and shocks - the brakes discs do wear out and cost more, a lot more, than on my Benz.

Cam belt? - if it sounds like a bag of nails, walk away.
The cam belt makers reckon their belts will last the life of he car, nevermind what the car maker says the service interval is.

[BobbyZ]

Thanks guys ! I may try to talk him into getting something like my 66 122s wagon. (a chimp with a visegrips can fix those things)

[macaroonie]

I have a 97 V70 wagon with 210000 miles on it that I have abused and neglected as I use it for work ( go figure ) no major issues other than brakes , rear shocks , tie rod ends 1 cat and 1 battery. Not bad in 8 years. Engine runs a dream. Its a 5 cyl 2.5 auto.
I'll have another one all day long.
I have had in sequence a 740 wagon , and a 940 turbo wagon. This is by far the better car.

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by Toto'sDad

Believe me, if I had it to do over, I would have paid to have it done.

My Dad took a '96 Saab in to let them (the experts) do it, and they messed it up. I think he could've done it better.

I think when Ford came in, the reliability actually went up. Yes, it is much harder to work on the newer ones BUT you needn't be under there doing something every other weekend - like the old, agricultural Volvos.

[BobbyZ]

Boris I like that "old agricultural Volvos." Other than the two SU carbs the b18 in my 122s and the B20 I'm rebuilding for it do look like something that came out of an M Farmall.

And yes the newer cars are pretty much trouble free. Heck about anything you buy today will do 100,000 miles or more with just oil changes.

I like to tinker with the old stuff. The new stuff I pay someone to fix most of the time.

[studio1087]

We put 120,000 miles on an 850 Wagon (no problems at all) and had no problem selling it for Blue Book.

We put 144,000 miles on a V70 Wagon (no problems at all) and no problem selling it at Blue Book.

We were stopped in traffic on HWY 94 near downtown Milwaukee and a daydreaming driver in a Jeep Laredo rear ended us at about 20 MPH. The grill, lights and front bumper came off the Jeep product. Our Volvo has slight scratches on the rear bumper facia. It was like a beer can (the Jeep) hitting a brick wall (the Volvo). Our two babies were in the back seat in car seats and they were fine.

Never hit a Volvo. Volvos are very safe cars. I like Volvo.

[Robbied_216]

Big Volvo fan here. I have a 1997 V70 wagon, 2.5L turbo, and it's fantastic. It's done 275,000 k's, and starts and runs great every time. I like to keep a close eye on it and replace bits as necessary. Last big one was the front shocks, which were a few hundred for the pair and 2 hours work.

It's my first Volvo and would own another in a heart beat... I actually find it fun and quite straight forward to work on.

[BobbyZ]

Update ! My brother took the car to a mecanic for a prebuy look over. Sounds like it's a ticking time bomb. Transmission's still got the junkyard marks, the engine may have been changed too, lots of bits and pieces didn't get bolted back in, wires aren't in their holders so they're rubbing, needs tie rods, inter cooler leaks and other suspension parts and a Carfax showed all kinds of funny milage numbers.

Mecanic sounds like he does a good job on a prebuy!

Oh and the dealer is going to pay them the 90 odd bucks the inspection cost. (I think my sister in law had alot to do with that)

[Robbied_216]

Wow! Sounds like a dud. I'm guessing the price was almost "too good to be true"?

[Bartholomew3]

Had a brand-new 1971 Volvo 142E with leather etc when I was pro on the road - biggest piece of crap I ever owned.

Rusting under the doors on the rocker panels by the 2nd year, blew all kinds of suspension bushings, fuel injectors leaked, poor handling in cross-winds, valves wouldn't hold their adjustment causing all kinds of tune-up work. Hopefully the new ones are better.

Get a Honda Accord - my wife and I had approx 7 of them with no major problems ever.

Japanese cars have a boring personality - it's called reliability...

[JurassicCactus]

I had a 850 that was one of the last models made in Germany. They made them in an old tank factory which is exactly what that car was. Reliable and comfortable.

[BobbyZ]

I don't think their a bad car but like the mechanic told my brother "it's been road hard and put up wet."

[BobbyZ]

Originally Posted by Bartholomew3

Had a brand-new 1971 Volvo 142E with leather etc when I was pro on the road - biggest piece of crap I ever owned.

Rusting under the doors on the rocker panels by the 2nd year, blew all kinds of suspension bushings, fuel injectors leaked, poor handling in cross-winds, valves wouldn't hold their adjustment causing all kinds of tune-up work. Hopefully the new ones are better.

Well first off name one car built in 71 that didn't rust? They used real salt on the roads back then and the only thing that rusted faster in the 70s than a Japanese car was a Chevy Vega.
(all chevy suck cause we had a Vega when I was a kid )

It also sounds like your machanic was an idiot. I have a 66 122s it ain't hard to ajust the valves. If you tighten the stop nuts they stay set. Just like the ones on a slant six.

Fuel injectors were a new thing back then so problems there are no suprise.
There's alot of 1800 Volvos with that system still driving around so it can't be that bad. If worked on by someone who can read a service manual.