What other cars would you consider...

**truberski** · 06-13-2005, 03:45 PM

I am curious what other cars folks are driving or would consider driving if they were looking for a XC70 like vehicle with better reliability. I need AWD/4WD, prefer a wagon (or SUV) and room for family of 4 (and dog and all our gear). Top of the list are Audi A6/Allroad, Honda Pilot, Acura MDX or Toyota 4Runner. A new/slightly used XC70 was going to be the car but current experience has me looking elsewhere.

**tgrumaj** · 06-14-2005, 04:13 AM

When I was looking we also considered an Audi Allroad (too expensive from my point of view vs. XC and less storage space) and the Suburu Outback (actually a very nice car with great allwheel drive system and reasonable price especailly used ....however we didn't like the styling or size as well nor did it seem as well made in terms of trim, seats, etc.) BUT still a good choice. We aren't SUV fans so the MDX and similar werent in the running. We wanted a true wagon. With all the sedans today offering AWD that's an option for us but still like a wagon. When you get it down to AWD full size station wagons the market gets pretty small! Mercedes has some wagons that carry the 4matic AWD system but they are few and far between on the used market.. Nerver priced one new. That was the only other one I could think of. I don't think the BMW wagons come with AWD as an option or at least I've never seen one. Likewise the Saabs. Good luck.

**TrueBlue** · 06-14-2005, 09:31 AM

Time to thump the tub!!

Buy British - oh dear nothing left - well by nearly British. OK I give up Buy Ford some of which are designed in the UK. It's time there was some fresh thinking and discussion, topics seem to have got stuck in a rut of late. Sooo:-

(1) Jaguar estate; Jag looks and style based on various Ford bits. Ads tell us they're good in the snow.

(2) LandRover new Discovery / LR2, proper 4WD, goes up mountains as seen on TV and lots of roooom for Kids and Kit. Reliability getting good. Lots of features most of which are useful.

(3) RangeRover Sport - lowered and styled Rangey, looks really nice for a SUV. Goes like a bat out of hell, doesn't wallow and pretty darned good at Off roading. As seen on TV racing a tank on an army test range. Pretty impressive.

Will you buy one... Nah - NIH.

**truberski** · 06-14-2005, 09:50 AM

Funny you mentioned British! I have always been a big fan of the Discovery and have a good friend that has two of them. The LR3 is a great upgrade but there was a big jump in price in the States from the Disco to the LR3. They need something between the Freelander and LR3.

The kicker is I would buy another XC70 tomorrow if Volvo would just provide better service and take ownership of the known ETM problem. It is the ideal car and there are good discounts right now, but this does not appear likely and I am probably headed to a used Allroad or new Outback.

At what point does Volvo lose the long-term reliability reputation they earned in the 70's and 80's? My first car was a Volvo and had over 170,000 miles when I traded it in.

Sorry for all the complaining....

**AWD*V70XC** · 06-14-2005, 12:57 PM

The question was .. What other cars would you consider ?... At this stage I would say - anything bar a Volvo at the moment. I think over the past two years, Volvo's customer care has become non existence, so if their don't care about me, I don't care very much about them. Time for a change ..... mmmmm.... I am certainly looking at other marques and looking at how their staff treat me when I approach them, with very interesting results.

**Desertxc** · 06-14-2005, 01:19 PM

Truberski: I just traded my MY 2001 V70XC for the same reasons you give for not wanting to buy another Volvo. Loved the car but with this ETM failure going on I didnt want to take the chance of being stranded on a lonely desert hwy in a 115 degree heat. Plus the front end need a complete rebuild the dealer stated all the seals were leaking etc etc. I took a beating on the Volvo got 13.5k on trade. My 1990 Nissan pathfinder held its value much better than the Volvo, If you are going to sell or trade do now, the value is dropping like a rock. 1500 dollars in the past month alone.

I bought a VW Touareg V6. last Saturday I know the 2004 had its problems but the 2005 Is much better. Best car for the Money. I paid about the same as a V70Xc actually 300 dollars less than I paid for my 2001 V70 XC. I am a old SLC born and raised boy, so in Park city this would be a great car. Ride an Handeling are Much better than the Volvo. gas milage is about the same and all the things that you have to pay the dealer to change with Vadis on the Volvo Such as door locks, seat heating etc you can do from a menu on the instrament panel.

I almost bought the Allroad but the dealer wanted too much for a model that is outgoing, would only come off 500 dollars from sticker and 12.5 for my Volvo.

I will miss some of the things about the Volvo but I wont miss driving a time bomb about to go off in the middle of nowhere.

**just66horns** · 06-14-2005, 04:17 PM

Your list is a good one. Maybe subaru as well, but the Audi could have some Volvo like troubles, as design and complexity are similar.
The Toyota you could probably buy used and it would outlast the rest from new.

**Bluegrass-XC** · 06-14-2005, 09:23 PM

My brother just bought his second Lexus LX300. It looks bigger than something I'd want to drive on a daily basis. I really didn't look at it very close so I really can't comment just yet, but the ride seemed smooth and it had amenities my 2000 XC doesn't. I'd have to actually drive it to form an opinion, but at this point - again - it's much bigger than anything I'd consider right now. I'll add to this after a test drive.

**chetcpo** · 06-16-2005, 06:25 AM

Well after owning my used 1999 XC70 for 6 months I have decided the time is right to trade it for something less scary. (in terms of repair costs) While under my ownership my 120k mile xc has been trouble free mechanically, you guys have scared the crap out of me with your testimonials of frequent expensive repairs.

So what am I getting? I'm jumping from a luxurious turbo AWD wagon to a sporty turbo AWD wagon. I'm going to get a Saab 9-2X Aero. As many of you know this is just a fancier, dressed up version of the Subaru WRX wagon. With GM's empolyee discount for everyone deal I get a whopping $6000 discount on it. Unless of course they won't take the Volvo on trade then I'll be forced to sell it myself. Last time I shopped it as a trade in I was looking at a Lancer Ralliart Wagon, but they only offered me $4500 for the Volvo so I passed. I'm at the point now where I might take that for it just for the peace of mind of a 4 year 50k warranty on the new Saab.

**Bud** · 06-17-2005, 03:36 PM

Originally Posted by Desertxc

I will miss some of the things about the Volvo but I wont miss driving a time bomb about to go off in the middle of nowhere.

Time Bomb .... best description yet.

Especially at night, on a remote hiway, in the Winter, a scorching desert highway, or an inexperienced or timid driver.

Prius and Ford and others seem to think that stalling is a dangerous issue worthy of a recall, too bad Volvo isn't concerned about it's customers more.

The independent who does work on my Volvo, NOT the dealer, swears that Subaru is the most reliable. He also mentioned that Audi is problematic and not much better than Volvo.

Another independent, who works on my mini-van, swears by Toyota.

These are both very experienced mechanics approaching retirement, I highly value their opinions.