Rant

[AlanS]

So I have a friend...a Volvo fanatic (multiple Volvos- xc70, s60's ). I told him I was looking another XC70 for the wife. Found one locally from my mechanic- 2005- 125,ooo miles. New brakes, tires, PCV system redone, multiple other odds/ ends. $5000. I know the history of the car, which is a rarity. Friend went ballistic..."How can you get another Volvo? I am done with them. My S60 rear emergency shoes delaminated, costing me $1000 in repair of the damage done. They are so unreliable and not what they 'used to be'". A real tirade. "Just get a Honda or Toyota and be done with repairs, etc." Makes me think, wonder...am I being sold the Volvo hype these days (not this particular car...just the hype. Have any of you given thought to your 'next' car? New or used, will it be a Volvo? All I have right now is $5000-ish, to replace my wife's S40 (giving that to our son).

[MacNoob]

You want minimal maintenance and cheap operating cost? Japanese is the way to go. If I could get an AWD Honda Accord wagon, I'd be driving one today.

Closest is the Subaru Outback. I really WANT to like Subarus, and check them out every time I shop for a new car, but there is always something horribly disappointing about them. Last time it was a new Forester with 4 speed auto, mushy brakes, terrible seats, and interior assembly quality on par with a Lada.

For the same price I bought a used XC with warranty left and been very happy with it for 5 years so far.

[8pack]

I have a 2007 XC70 and a '13 Outback wagon. The 2010-14 were a serious step up from the prior generation. The prior generation are too small for my liking. The Subaru and Volvo have basically the same cargo space. I think ours rides largely on par with the 2007 Volvo. I have the 3.6R and it is way peppier than my Volvo.

In terms of repair and maintenance, no comparison. I would buy a Subaru with 125k miles before a Volvo if I was looking for reliability and lower maintenance costs. The AWD on the Subaru is also heads above the Volvo. Don't get me wrong, the Volvo is great in the snow and the AWD has never left me stranded, but the Subaru is definitely more sure footed.

If you want something with more luxury, is a little harder to turn your own wrenches on and don't mind the added repair and maintenance cost the the Volvo is the ticket. I am still planning to keep my XC70 on the road to 200k. Has 165k on it and I am driving about 800 miles a week right now. At that point I will be making the decision on what to get next.

[Rabid Koala]

I have recently ordered a new Toyota Highlander for our main car, it will replace a 10 year old Avalon. The Avalon was almost trouble free in 125K, it was one of the best cars that I have ever owned. For our second car we bought an 06 XC which now has about 134K on it. So far, so good, but it is a car that I can tinker with as necessary and one that fills a completely different role in our household. I like Volvos, this is my third, and I am able to wrench on them with good results.

[getspooled]

On our 5th Volvo now with my 2006 XC70. Previously had a '03 V70 base, a 2001 S80 T6, and two 850 turbo sedans. I've also owned a couple Toyota trucks, and a couple other imports. Sure, the imports are low maintenance but what always comes to mind is that I enjoy driving a REAL car, not just one made to satisfy the masses. I cut my teeth wrenching on our 850s over the last 17 years so I have a special attachment to them. I learned that if you stay on top of, and better yet ahead of regular maintenance then having a Volvo is no more trouble than any other car. Granted you need to put in the time working on it yourself. In my 1997 850, I had replaced virtually every rubber hose in the engine bay possible to prevent having problems. It ran like a top till I sold it a month ago and was a blast to drive, solid and fast. I had a lot of fun putting many Honda drivers in their place!

[Forkster]

I sold my XC70 and bought a 2015 Subaru Forester 2.0T Limited. I had my XC70 8 years relatively issue free - 90% of the maintenance I did myself. Some of the maintenance issues with Volvo's do smack of poor quality design - run great when new, but after 5-6 years, starts to get expensive. Control arms bushings, engine mounts, and wheel bearings start to wear out at 5 years and by 10, you're into springs, struts, DEM's, DIM's, ignition tumblers, 4th set of sway-bar end links, fuel hatches, weak seat belt retractors, PCV replacement, MAF sensors, O2 sensors, bushings, 2nd set of engine mounts - you begin to think Volvo did that on purpose to push us towards a new Volvo.

Sube Foz is a great replacement for those who love their XC70. Sure, it's no Volvo, but it's not going to drive me nuts with electrical glitches and stupid maintenance issues at 5 years old. I plan to pass the Foz onto my son in 5 years and maybe then get a new Volvo if they start making them again for Bavarian's ... or maybe I will look into a Subaru Outback.

[Astro14]

Volvos are durable.

Look at the paint, and interior on a 10 (or in my case, 14) year old Volvo. It's usually great.

But durability and reliability are not the same thing....

For me, as a DIY, the Volvo has been a great car. I fix everything that goes wrong, at reasonable cost, and save a ton of $$ on depreciation, taxes and insurance. My wife's XC, as well as my V70, were bought 9 years ago for about $12K each. Cash.

I've out a few thousand in parts & my labor into each one.

Looking in the driveway, we each have a safe, reliable, luxury car to drive that looks practically new.

But if you can't DIY, the maintenance cost would make owning an older Volvo impractical. You're better off with new and you're better off buying for reliability.