Volvo - too pricey, no longer competitive?

[Champ324]

I'm on vacation and late in posting this, but a few weeks ago I read a piece written by a well respected auto reviewer/writer who pointed out that more recently so many other major selling cars (sorry, I don't recall exactly the brands he listed) have almost identical safety, updated technology and entertainment features of new Volvos, and are selling at much less cost that in the future Volvo dealers may face significantly lower sales due to the competition.

I'm on my fifth Volvo, have a good handle on both their benefits and warts, and doubt that I'll ever switch. But I am curious how others feel about whether, for example, a 2016 Honda, Subaru, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Dodge, Jeep etc. might end up being viewed a smarter purchase for someone who had been seriously considering a Volvo. I've driven some of these cars as rentals and have found some to be truly solid, attractive performers, but still.......

Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you.

[brentcd]

I always read certain car magazines, on and off line, and I rent A LOT of cars for work (average 100 per year). While I see the Volvo sticker prices escalating, so are everyone else's. I do rent WAY too any Altimas and Chargers for my taste, but do get lucky from time to time and very few of the cars I have ever driven match the solid and comfortable feel of my '12 XC 70 T6. Now I have owned mainly Volvo and Saab cars most of my life so I do have certain biases, or rather, my own preferences in what I want a car to feel like and do.
There are SO many subjective factors in driving a car it is certainly complicated. I have never driven anything Asian, except a couple of Infiniti models, that I would seriously compare, and only a couple of "American" (all of the U.S. nameplate passenger cars today find their design in Europe) cars that almost come close. Mercedes are the only cars I have driven that do compare.
Of course, we all have points that impress us, and I see a lot of car buyers doing NONE of their own comparing - they tend to go off a tip or two and lay down their money. Sad.
While I can't think of a car I would compare directly to a respective Volvo that actually costs less, I know of lesser cars with great marketing.

[Champ324]

This is just a quick thanks to those of you who responded to this thread, which I started over six months ago. In general, and for the most part, it appears that respondents, especially those of you who've owned Volvos for years, seem to be happy with the quality of your purchases. That said, however, there also seems to be a fair amount of dissatisfaction with the direction in which Volvo's management is going in terms of increasing the costs of these vehicles beyond the budgets of many interested buyers (e.g., the new XC-90), as well as ridiculously high depreciation rates for trade-in Volvos, many of which have been pampered by their owners. And that is a shame.

Like a few of you who graciously shared your opinions, I too have considered several other top-ranked makes and models, including Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Audi, Acura and so on, but still come back to Volvo for the usual reasons - exceptional engineering, safety, comfort, reliability and so on. And also like some if not most of you, my previous Volvos all had well over a hundred thousand (in one case, over 225,000) miles before trading them in. In addition, I've had them either dealer or Indy serviced (I never touch them myself; I had a wrench in my basement once but couldn't sleep until I got it to hell out of the house :-)

The one I have now is a 2012 XC70, and like all the others I've owned, I absolutely love and will continue to be thrilled with everything about it......that is until about the ten year mark when the nickle and diming starts and then turns into quarters and half dollars. Then I'm not sure what I'll do. So far I have a pretty good handle on the types of warts that likely will erupt and I'll do what I am able to prevent or fix them.

Or who knows, probably just wishful thinking on my part (and those of you I'd heard from), but maybe by then Volvo leadership will have read threads similar to this one, and have gotten the message that it may not be a bad idea to consider the views and opinions of the largest segment of their stakeholders - Volvo loyalists who truly would prefer not to abandon ship and turn elsewhere, but will if the costs of these remarkable cars become prohibitive.

[Forkster]

I always loved Volvo's - go back to my military days from 1980's-1990's where Volvo provided a significant discount to active military members - that's how they hooked us in and still do!

And I loved my local dealership. Family oriented. Always willing to help out to resolve issues that were actually fixed - and if they couldn't fix it, you didn't pay for it.

Let fast forward to 2015. A new Volvo to meet the needs for the average family in my city is half a year's salary. Half. And the dealerships...well... just see my posts.

Volvo is moving their cars more upscale luxury as the most expensive - and it's a quandary for current owners. Most of us bought them as safety-focused practical, durable, and moderately priced european saloons/sedans, wagons, and SUV's. And they were generally more expensive than local domestic brands, but cheaper than Mercedes/BMW - safety came with a price and we were willing to pay for it.

And the irony is that most people view Volvo owners as University profs or scientists. Every movie out of Hollywood and TV land has the scholastic and practical minded casted driving around in a Volvo to help anchor the typecast. Today, a University prof can barely afford a 3 year old Volvo S60 and the supporting maintenance and repair bills that go with it, let alone a new one.

Volvo will be challenged how it can differentiate itself as a desirable European brand - most new cars are just as safe as a Volvo. Volvo's also used to look a lot different from other cars - remember those boxy 240's? I sadly no longer have one in my driveway because new it was too expensive and not built for a taller Bavarian family. And the price for service and maintenance is super expensive. Which is sad because they're amazing vehicles - they're pricing them out of the everyday person. Maybe they just want to sell them to the 1%? Maybe they want to compete head to head with Audi, BMW, and Mercedes? Maybe Greely wants Volvo to be a expensive luxury brand? Maybe it wants to be the 'entry brand' for Luxury?

[XCovlov70]

Totally agree with all your comments Champ324.

When we learnt that our 5 year old XC70 had lost 80% of what it cost while the price of a new replacement with the additions that we had installed in the current one I though Volvo was having a laugh!

So far we haven't covered the mileage that you wrote about, but the way the car is running and with the TLC that it gets there should be no reason to stop us reaching it as other Volvo's have been with us for 10+ years before changing.

As for the Volvo 'Saviour' (AKA XC90) as one salesman said: "It's a status symbol for the majority of owners"

While being 4 Pot, overweight, under powered, car with a few more gizzmos than it's predecessor I can understand his comments as well.

Bit like a Range Rover (AKA 'Chelsea Tractor'!

[gorj]

I believe this question has been on the mind of Volvo purchasers over the years. I bought my first Volvo in 1967 when I was in my third year of college. It was dealer demo and it was the most expensive thing I had ever bought in my life thus far. But it was so much more car than the '59 Opel I was driving. Since that time and until the present day I have driven a Volvo. I have only purchased two from a Volvo dealer, the very first one and another. I generally do not like dealing with auto dealers. The only time any of my Volvo's have been serviced by a dealer is for warranty work. I have generally purchased a Volvo with about 25 to 35 thousand miles on the ticker. Every year when a new model comes out I read with eagerness about its features and such and then cringe when I see the sticker price. It is true that all cars in the Volvo class have become pricier.

Every time I consider purchasing a new Volvo I do some test driving on other brands of cars, like Nissan, Toyota, Acura, Infinity, Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, and even some upscale domestic brands. But it seems I always return to the Volvo, my latest one being an XC70. In my opinion, the XC70 may be the best Volvo I have ever owned. That said, I too am concerned that Volvo is becoming so technical that only computer tech mechanic is able to service them, and too expensive for many to purchase. I recently took my XC70 to the dealer for warranty work on the transmission and they did a software update! I just hope there is no Microsoft software installed or I might have to pull over, turn off the car, and then start it up again.......!

[waydowneast]

New to this forum. Just bought a 2009 XC70 3.2 red exterior/black interior from the local independent shop that's been servicing my 1997 BMW 5-series for the past 10 years. The bimmer needed too much work, so i sold it and bought the XC70 that was among several European/Japanese used luxury cars on his lot. I've also had a 1991 Volvo 240 5 speed sedan since 2006 that was a "hand-me-up" from one of my sons after he bought a Prius. This now has 132,000 miles on it.

I have been scanning this forum to get educated more about the XC70, and this thread caught my eye. Here is my own opinion, based upon an experience we had about a year ago.

Last fall, armed with a special offer through my credit union, my wife and I went to our local Volvo dealer and test drove a 2014 end of model year Volvo XC60 SUV. The one-time Volvo/credit union deal, combined with the Volvo/ local dealer end of year discounts, got the MSRP down from $45,000 to a tad over $36,000, plus sales tax of 5.5%. You know, the XC60 we drove was a nice, solid car, and the huge discount was appealing, but there was nothing about it that was particularly exciting or appealing. For that amount of money, even with the heavy discounts, it did just not seem worth putting out that much money. So, we called it a day, and wound up doing nothing until forced to with the recent demise of the BMW and subsequent purchase of the 2009 XC70, which we both liked when we test drove it.

Whither goest Volvo in the USA? I do not know, but from what i have read recently, Volvo sales are thriving everywhere else in the world except the USA. I have also read that Volvo's new car sales in the USA represent only three-tenths of one percent of total new car sales of all brands sold in the USA. Clearly, whatever models Volvo is putting out are not overwhelmingly appealable to new car buyers in the US. All the points made in this thread are valid. Yet, many Volvo dealers seem to be shying away even from used Volvos that are more than three or four years old. Hey, if the local Volvo dealer had had a six year old XC70 on its lot when I was shopping for one, I would have gone to look at it. The recently overhauled XC90 is horrendously expensive for even the above average buyer to consider. When i was closing the deal on my XC70 at the local indy, someone came in with a brand new XC90. Total cost - $67,000. I do not think the new XC90 is going to save Volvo in the USA at that price. Another reasonably affordable 240-like Volvo might.

[XCovlov70]

When I look back and work out how long I have owned and been driving Volvos it's 44 years.
I started off with a 144S that was Twin SU Carbs on a 2ltr Cast Iron Engine Block and was very reliable and solid.

5 Years ago this coming December we bought our second XC70 which we call 'Flamenco Red' cos that's the colour and I have to admit that in all the ones I have owned and driven I feel this is the best, with my 2ltr 360GLS coming a close second, because that used to go like a bat out of hell if I needed it too!

Just out of curiosity when we visited the dealer a couple of weeks ago to have a recall implemented my good lady inquired about buying another new XC70 even though the number of new colours were not in anyway appealing to us, while the price nearly provoked a cardiac arrest!

We both nearly fell off our chairs when we were advised of the part exchange value as Flamenco Red had lost over 80% of it's value.

So considering the price for a new XC70 while the offerings in what you can get are not that appealing, while reading about some of the distances that Forum Members motors have covered with the reliability, safety and comfort that has been built in, we will not be joining the folks who are paying higher prices to watch the depreciation drop away rapidly once again.

Interestingly in the comment from 'gorj' about software updates, I really ask myself the question everytime someone talks about them as my philosophy is.....
"If it ain't broke then don't fix it!"

So in 5 years 'Flamenco Red' has been steered clear of software updates as I don't wish to find that when I put my foot on the brakes we go faster thanks to one of them thar Software Update thingy's!!!

[Rabid Koala]

I have had three Volvos, the first being an 82 DL that made me swear off of them forever. That car was a pain, it had been somewhat abused prior to my ownership, but little things kept breaking and it was terribly expensive to repair even using my labor. The second, purchased when my daughter was starting to drive was a 95 960, a bit quirky but 1000% better than that old DL. It survived two teenage drivers and a lot of our miles. We finally gave it to our son who used it as a trade in on a Honda Civic. We just purchased a used 06 XC70 because we wanted a station wagon, not a SUV, for hauling our dog and other such duties. So far, so good, with a lot of maintenance done in my driveway with FCP Groton parts.

Would I ever buy a Volvo new? No chance! Too high a price, the depreciation is steep, and the dealers, well forget it! Same would go for a used car from a dealer, no way.

Our trusty Toyota Avalon, bought new in 06, is due for replacement this year and I will buy another Toyota, but likely a different model, maybe a Highlander. The Avalon has been insanely reliable and remains as solid as it was when new at a bit over 120K miles.

[saabdrvr]

I'm on vacation and late in posting this, but a few weeks ago I read a piece written by a well respected auto reviewer/writer who pointed out that more recently so many other major selling cars (sorry, I don't recall exactly the brands he listed) have almost identical safety, updated technology and entertainment features of new Volvos, and are selling at much less cost that in the future Volvo dealers may face significantly lower sales due to the competition.

I'm on my fifth Volvo, have a good handle on both their benefits and warts, and doubt that I'll ever switch. But I am curious how others feel about whether, for example, a 2016 Honda, Subaru, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Dodge, Jeep etc. might end up being viewed a smarter purchase for someone who had been seriously considering a Volvo. I've driven some of these cars as rentals and have found some to be truly solid, attractive performers, but still.......

Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you.

At the end of the day, if you purchase via Volvo Overseas Delivery or Military Sales program, you'll save a ton of $, and then you would really be hard pressed to find other brands that are in the same category. We just purchased our 2016 Volvo XC70 loaded up (only options we did not get were rear entertainment and remote start) for just over $38K.