Used s70 & v70 awd

[barrysharp]

Hmmmm, came across a report that listed risky used car investments at Reliability Risks (http://netscape.consumerreports.org/ntautos/crauto17.html#Anchor-Reliability-49575) and I noticed it included the S70 and V70 AWD. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

I also noted that the same report did not list any Volvo in the "Good bets" list. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

Do you think this is a reliable source?

[Gundo]

The link you posted is to Consumer Reports...which is a fairly reputable source.

[coastal]

And to counter..

http://xc70.com/cgi-bin....mmended (http://xc70.com/cgi-bin/ib3/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=1;t=776;hl=recommended)

Unfortunately the link Art provided in that thread is long gone, but the most important line was quoted in my reply. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[wiz]

To add to coastal's link, the Volvo V70 variants will be a CR "recommended" automobile when the May 2003 car issue is published.

The ranking is based on MY2002 data, which apparently shows that the electrical problems that plagued many of the MY2001 cars have been eradicated.

[dtlayman]

We have a 2001 V70.  What specific electrical problems have been reported?

[wiz]

The data in Consumer Reports is grouped under the single heading "Electrical".  Anecdotally, most problems appear to be headlights burning out on a frequent basis and wiring harness problems, some of which were insulation issues due to melting.

[barrysharp]

...on the electrical issue -- and I don't know how much this might apply to XC70s, but on my S80 MY2000 one of my headlights burned out at around the 20K mile mark. This seemed kinda premature to me so I called my Service Dept and they said to bring car in and they would replace bulb. When I got there they also indicated they would replace both bulbs and install a new headlight wiring kit issued by Volvo. Apparently the wiring kit added some ballast to the headlight circuit to lower the possibility of headlight bulb burnout -- at least this was the explanation given to me. The whole thing took about 15 mins and I was on my way again. The S80 is at around 33K today and all is AOK.

[wiz]

Volvo appears to be a bit on the dodgy site with respect to wiring harnesses. Several years ago I had a 740 spontaneously go on fire and it was a wiring harness problem. A year later Volvo issued a recall on the car for the issue - once again is was an insulation (lack of) problem.