is 2008 V70XC a good reliable model year?

[oregonxc]

Looking for new used car for my wife. She currently is original owner of 1998 V70XC, loves the car but the maintenance is killing us. Problems we have had with the 98 V70XC, it goes through brakes to fast ( typically 12k miles ), goes through tires to fast ( best is about 28-30k miles )recently had exhaust valve go out so replaced head, water pump, timing belt, plugs, wires, distributor, breather tubes system and heater core. After doing all that it was running great but then the radiator started leaking so dropped in new radiator, next the coolant tank cap cracked and started leaking blowing out radiator fluid and steam. Last week the fuel pump went out so installed a new fuel pump last weekend. It has 135k miles on it and the body, interior and etc is all good but now I am worried what will go next and I do not have any confidence in the car for long road trips so looking at buying a later model say 2007 or 2008 V70XC with low miles but before doing so I am hoping some owners of these model years can tell me if they are having any problems or anything to look out for. Thanks

[mbsl98]

It sounds as if you had a pretty unusual failure of the exhaust valve, with a big project to recover from that and do a lot of preventive stuff at the same time. We had a '98 XC, then an '07 XC and now an '09 XC70 with the T6 turbo 6 cylinder motor. Our '98 was an excellent car, and I sold it at 98k to one of my partners who still has it with about 130k miles to date and minimal problems, although I would expect it to have a radiator replacement pretty soon due to miles, and a fuel pump failure is not uncommon at that mileage. We moved to an '07 in August of '06, ran it for 40k and just turned it over for a new one because the huge discounts made the new car price so attractive. The '07 was a "perfect" car for us - it never had a single adjustment or repair/replacement other than the few things called for as scheduled maintenance. No brakes or tires or bulbs, etc. although I did put new wiper blades on it once, and had snow tires. With use of snow's, the OEM Pirelli's still had 7+/32nds tread at 40k. We fuly expected to keep it for a lot longer, and would have except for the "deals" last summer. Generally speaking, the '06 and '07 are regarded as the most fully sorted out XC70's, being the end of the model run and having enough time for Volvo to fix just about all of the original glitches. The '08 XC70 is pretty much a new car, based on the new in '07 S80 rather than on the S60 as in the past. The most significant complaint about the new version relates to a sluggish feel in slow speed acceleration/throttle response, which seems to be a result of moving to a higher HP non-turbo motor that has its power coming in at higher RPM's and therefore does not actually have as much power as the old at slow speeds. It does have plenty of power once it gets moving - both more HP and torque than the old ('07). Otherwise, it seems to be very well bolted together, with a few complaints about creaking either from a batch of defective front sub-frame bushings, or from mis-adjusted tailgate mechanism. The New S80 is getting very good marks from Consumers Reports and others for reliability, and it is the basis for the XC70 so that should carry over. The power complaints are completely solved with the T6 engine option, which is not available until the '09 model. With that engine, ours is hands down a faster, more secure handling and more pleasant road car for use in the New England mountains, byways and turnpikes, and both my wife and I love the new interior styling and think the seats are nearly as good (if not as good) as the '07's that set a standard for everyone. We only have 3k on our '09 so don't have any actual experience to prove durability, but fine so far, as expected.

[dlmielke]

I also have had ongoing repair issues with the '98 XC70. It seems like I never leave the dealer without dropping some serious money on that car. Since I passed it off at about 140K miles to the teens (for pretty much local driving), I don't worry about it as much anymore. The biggest problem with it right now is that the air-conditioning is non-functional (a leak has released all the coolant). Since Chicago isn't hot that much of the year, the kids can deal with it.
After having the '98, I was foolhardy enough to buy the '08 XC70 since I do really like the car (just not the cost of maintaining it). As pointed out by another member, the '08 is really like a whole new car - i.e. a whole new set of bugs to work out. I'm coming up on 2 years (early November) and am a bit over 27K miles. So far, so good. Knock on wood. Apart from already replacing the tires (!), I haven't had to have anything but scheduled maintenance. The car doesn't have quite the kick the '98 had with the turbo, but I am seeing improved mileage, despite the '08 being bigger and heavier. It's a bit more roomy, and has some great features added since my 10-year older model. I don't think you'll be sorry if you choose to get it.

[Dbone]

Could you please elaborate? If it has just been routine maintenance thus far how could it possibly have set you back large amounts of money at this point?

Are oil changes at a volvo dealership like 800 dollars or something?

Cheers


I also have had ongoing repair issues with the '98 XC70. It seems like I never leave the dealer without dropping some serious money on that car. Since I passed it off at about 140K miles to the teens (for pretty much local driving), I don't worry about it as much anymore. The biggest problem with it right now is that the air-conditioning is non-functional (a leak has released all the coolant). Since Chicago isn't hot that much of the year, the kids can deal with it.
After having the '98, I was foolhardy enough to buy the '08 XC70 since I do really like the car (just not the cost of maintaining it). As pointed out by another member, the '08 is really like a whole new car - i.e. a whole new set of bugs to work out. I'm coming up on 2 years (early November) and am a bit over 27K miles. So far, so good. Knock on wood. Apart from already replacing the tires (!), I haven't had to have anything but scheduled maintenance. The car doesn't have quite the kick the '98 had with the turbo, but I am seeing improved mileage, despite the '08 being bigger and heavier. It's a bit more roomy, and has some great features added since my 10-year older model. I don't think you'll be sorry if you choose to get it.

[OKCXC70]

Dbone,
I think dlmielke is saying the maintenance on his 98 V70 XC has been expensive. Probably most 10 yr old cars would be having the same types of issues with the associated costs. As far as the 08 goes, some say it is underpowered or sluggish but I disagree. Many like the T6 version that was available starting in 09. Both model years have had some of the same issues and you should keep in mind that because they have been written about here, these problems will be much easier for you to have fixed if they pop up on your particular vehicle. Not all the vehicles have had the same problems, or any problems for that matter. I've had a few issues that have been fixed by the dealer: rear view mirror wouldn't stay in place, one of the tires was out of round, rear hatch started squeaking and front subframe bushing were replaced. Other than those things, I have not had any problems. Some people have had some software problems that have been addressed by Volvo with updates. You can simply go back a few pages on the forum and check things out for yourself.
As we get closer to the end of the year, you ought to be able to find some good deals on 09 Model closeouts. I got $10K off when I purchased my 08 last December by buying off the lot. I got $9200 trade in for my 04 with 80K miles on it, so I ended up with a $43,000 car for nearly $20,000 off.

[dlmielke]

Yes, I was saying that the '98 (now 12 years in my possession) is the one that has racked up big bucks for repairs.
The '08 (not quite 2 years old) has had only routine maintenance....and tires.

[tenmiler]

I was worried when I bought this car new back in January 08, but I have to say that aside from my lament that my car isn't covered in the free scheduled maintenance (they stopped it with the 08 MY then started again for 09), it's been a relatively trouble-free car.

The only thing I do think the car is not great at is 1) creaking as mentioned earlier, although with enough lubrication of the rear tailgate, it seems to be minimized, 2) the BLIS false alarms are outrageous in rain, 3) the park assist goes a little haywire (false alarms) in heavy snow (I live in a Colorado ski town).

I've had nearly zero issues, and no major ones, but admittedly I only have about 17K on the odo.

The 3.2 was my only engine choice and it is not as much fun to drive mtn passes as the 2.4 turbo 5 was (I also owned an 04 XC70), but it's capable if not a bit strained. High altitude for me means turbo *does* have a positive effect with MPG.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd waited for the T6 or the XC60, but that car seems a bit over-priced.

If you can find a good used one, buy it. It's great in the snow and on ice, much much better than the previous XC's, IMO.