Looking for the Gotchas when buying a 2008 XC90!

[have4volvos]

Hi All,

I have a 2006 S80 AWD that we purchased over the summer.It replaced a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I thought since we have a Suburban to haul things in, having two sedans would not be a bad thing. I am not happy with this car. It seems like Volvo, which rocked on both the '04 S60 and the '02 XC70 just did not get the S80 right. We are getting dismal mileage onthe 2.5 T engine and things just fall off the car! We lost a piece of trim the other day! I am thinking of bringing it back to the Volvo dealer and trading it in on a 2008 XC90 - the wife does not like the XC70 wagon shape and like the SUV shape of the XC90 better.
My questions are:

1) Does it make sense to look for the V8 instead of the 3.2? If the price was the same, which would you buy?

2) What major issues are there with these cars? I know about the older ones and the transmission issues - just like the driveshaft issues on the older V70XCs. What are the breakdown points of this vehicle?

3) Are there options to stay away from (HID lights, etc?)

4) How has the long term experience been with the 3.2 and with the 4.4?

5) Would you trade the XC90 in for a Lexus RX350 if you had the chance? Would youtrade a Lexus in for the Volvo?

Thanks a lot!

Joe

[OldMBGuy]

1. As an owner of a 2008 3.2, I am of two minds on the V8 vs. 3.2 debate. On the one hand, the 3.2 is a bit underpowered. It gets the job done, but only adequately. Coming from an MB R-320, I miss the torque. On the other hand, coming from said R-class, I also understand the value of reliability more than ever, and having had frustrating transmission difficulty with the 7Gtronic, I don't want to chance the V8, even though the the transmission failure reports are fairly sporadic for that model.

2. Thus far, there are no major issues with either the 3.2 or the V8 other than the rare transmission failures on the V8. Both have proven pretty reliable, and I hope for my sake that they continue to prove so. It would seem that the design is old enough that Volvo has managed to work the kinks out. That being said, it's still a remarkably nice and safe car. They do seem to eat tires though, and the fuel consumption isn't great, and given the reports on the forum, the 3.2 isn't any better than the V8 in the real world.

3. Didn't come across any in my research. The in dash NAV isn't very good at all, though the new portable one that the dealer can install is an improvement. Most of the cars didn't come particularly well optioned, so you're not likely to have a lot of choice on the options front if you are buying used.

4. The reports from the various forums are pretty good.

5. No way I would take the RX over the XC. It doesn't drive/ride as well and it's not nearly as flexible for seating or cargo. We need the 7 seat layout anyway.

[ARCHITECT]

1-Of course, if you are looking for more power. However V8s have been discontinued two years ago.
2-Few squeaks and rattles of interior plastics, comes and goes. Nothing to worry about.
3- Personally, I don't like sunroofs. Make sure to opt for the premium sound system.
4-Two years of ownership of an 2008 XC90 3.2 AWD, no problem what so ever.
5-Of course not, do you really mean it? other than the better reliability issue, the Volvo excells in all other issues.