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Volvo S80

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Comments

  • heywood1heywood1 Member Posts: 851
    Camrys are thoroughly reliable, uninspiring, and predictable transportation devices.

     

    If you're considering dumping your S80 after one problem in 10K, then it doesn't sound like you're willing to tolerate even one more.

     

    Toyota-thon ends January 3.
  • badgersbadgers Member Posts: 7
    Thanks Heywood,

     

    After 10 years of "problem free" experiences, the

    possible problems scare me. Are some of these things preventable or is just a matter of time?

     

    You are right on Camrys. Point A to Point B problem free and uninspiring. The S80 is more of a driving experience.
  • jarchdeaconjarchdeacon Member Posts: 22
    I have an 2000 S80 T6 with 76000 miles on it. I purchased the extended warranty from Volvo as the car approached the end of its factory warranty. It has been a good investment for us anyway ($100 deductible). My wife and I still enjoy driving our S80 today (it still feels / drives great). If you plan on keeping the car, you may want to look into the extended warranty as the S80 can be expensive to repair once out of warranty. We will definitely keep the car until it approaches its 100K end of warranty mileage milestone, but we may keep it even longer then that. This is our 2nd Volvo.

     

    BTW - I looked at the Toyota Avalon in 2000 when I was shopping for a new car; it just wasn't very interesting to drive which is why I opted for the S80 T6. I'm happy with my decision.
  • heywood1heywood1 Member Posts: 851
    '99 was first--and by far the worst--year for the S80. You might consider a newer, Certified Used one with an extended warranty. I doubt your current '99 will qualify for any extended warranty at this point.
  • esommeresommer Member Posts: 24
    Hi Lee, I too have the CD NAV system in my 99 S80. I'm having a problem with the system not being able to change between map discs without giving a message to reinsert the cartridge. When I do this it reloads the 3 discs I have and seems to work o.k. Have you ever heard of this problem?

    Have you updated your maps? If so, how? Thanks, Eric S.
  • jarchdeaconjarchdeacon Member Posts: 22
    I updated my 2000 S80 nav system CDs directly from the mfr since my local dealer at the time did not have more recent CDs.

     

      http://www.navteq.com/

     

    Personally, I've not driven out of one CD into another, so I don't have any experience with the message you are talking about.
  • jarchdeaconjarchdeacon Member Posts: 22
    Oh, and BTW, a single CD for one of the 10 regions is $129 on the NavTech site, but you can buy the entire set for $199, at least for the model year 2000 S80.
  • badgersbadgers Member Posts: 7
    I went to check out Toyotathon as you suggested Heywood and was pretty disappointed driving a Camry after driving the S80. Plus, of course, they wanted me to pay money to do it after trade.

     

    Can anyone quantify an average year of maintenance starting around $50,000 miles? I don't think I qualify for an extended warranty. My car was actually part of the early runs('98) Is $1,000/year a good estimate?
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    Couple of points:

    I have purchased an extended warranty at 49950 for $2200 - 4 years or 48K miles.

    Now, 3 years later @87K miles I did not break even yet.

     

    The cost of EW can give you a good estimate of your maintenance cost.

     

    The insurance company basically say that they will fix an average car for about $550 per year and still make money on it.

     

    The statement that you need to exhaust you bank account to maintain a Volvo is one of the modern urban legends.

     

    Insurance companies know better...

     

    $1000 per year on average should be plenty...

     

    And out of curiosity, I have quoted an EW for my current situation - 5 years old, 87K miles - the quote was $800 for 1y/12000 miles or $1300 for 24 mo/24000 miles
  • heywood1heywood1 Member Posts: 851
    I'd double that to be on the safe side, especially if you're having it serviced by a Volvo dealer. And my estimate does not include any catastrophic failure of any major component.
  • heywood1heywood1 Member Posts: 851
    I paid just under $2K for my EW three months ago, and I'm already half-way to the break-even point ($700 brake booster replacement, plus a few other minor issues). I have three years and 75,000 to go. Considering mine is a '00 T-6, I think I'm going to come out WAY ahead.....
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    Do not forget to let me know in three years.

    Do you seriously think that the insurance company, that has issued an EW policy to you is in charity arena?
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    All readers, just read the next posting from the same poster, look at the cost of the EW and ignore the "double" figure.

     

    Explain me, if I am a three years old, if I can get an EW policy for about $500 a year, why my repair costs should be more than that?
  • heywood1heywood1 Member Posts: 851
    I'm not sure if I completely understood your last two posts. (Joke? Not?)

     

    Repair costs can very well exceed the cost of the policy. Keep in mind, the insurance companies that offer EW's do so for many different manufacturers. It's a game of actuarial science. Also, any new model (like the S80 was in '99) takes a few years to establish a repair record. In the meantime, the price for the EW may be on the cheap side. But every EW sold to an early S80 owner is balanced by the virtually total profit realized from selling an EW to an overly cautious Honda owner.

     

    And I wouldn't be too quick to pooh-pooh my doubling suggestion. I just picked up my S80 from the dealer service department today. Here's a summary of the bill for transmission service, coolant flush, oil change, power seat repair, replacement of faulty horn, and replacement of leaky flame trap seal:

     

    $351.45 Labor

     125.34 Parts

      50.20 Fluids (trannny, oil, coolant)

      22.71 Tax

     

    $549.70 TOTAL (And it's ONLY JANUARY!!!)

     

    $202.67 of this was covered by VIP warranty. Balance due out-out-pocket of $347.03 was $100 deductible, plus oil/tranny/coolant changes.

     

    Sure, I could have saved a few $$$ and had the routine maintenance done elsewhere. But my dealer gives free loaner, and time is money.

     

    Point is, even routine maintenance on this car is expensive. If I didn't have VIP, I'd be GRATEFUL for annual average repairs of $1,000.
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    No it was not a joke. The question was - if I can get an EW that costs $500 to me, why should I expect to pay much more than that per year (of course, you need to factor deductible, etc., but there are no deductible policies that will not run you to the bankruptcy, less than $1000 per year.)

    Also, even if insurance companies issues their policies for the different brands of the cars, they factor car's reliability to the cost of policy, and they try not loosing money on any brands, i.e. policies for Volvo are more expensive than policies for Honda, the risks are calculated for each market segment, manufacturer and model, the payout/revenue ratios are constantly monitored, and rates are constantly adjusted. So, unfortunately, the Volvo owners do not benefit from the high reliability of Honda or Toyota.

     

    And lastly, the $347 is a lot of money, but I hope you do not drive so much that you need a transmission service done every year (Volvo recommends to change a transmission fluid every 52,500 miles), and I do not think that you power seat will need a repair every year. We were talking about the average yearly cost, but not the incidental cost that someone may acquire sometimes.

     

    And if you do drive over 50,000 miles per year, you have to live with the very high maintenance cost.
  • badgersbadgers Member Posts: 7
    Thanks for the input Heywood and Lev. I'll check on the possibility of a EW, but driving about $20,000 miles a year it may run out too soon to realize the payoff?

     

    The bottom line seems to be there's definitely a difference in the driving experience and there's a related cost for those advantages.
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    I have looked into my books and calculated the total cost of maintaining my 2000 S80 2.9 with 87k miles.

     

    Since the delivery in May 2000, I have spent just under $5400, which includes $2265 for the extended warranty, which will expire in October 2006 or at 95K, whichever comes first.

     

    It includes all the scheduled maintenance done at the dealership, set of new tires at 54K miles (they still should last for 10 - 15K), all the light bulbs and incidentals (windshield wipers, snow chains, etc.).

     

    So my previous estimate of ~ $1000 per calendar year holds water.

     

    I consider that I had average amount of problems (gauging the postings on this board).
  • heywood1heywood1 Member Posts: 851
    My 2000 is a T-6, which has a different transmission from--and a higher failure rate than--the one in the 2.9. Considering the replacement cost of a transmission is $4,000+, I think the extended warranty was a good buy. As I said, I still have nearly three years and 76,000 miles to break even on the $2,000 cost of the warranty (and I'm already 1/3 of the way there). Given the age of the car and the repair history of the model, I think it's a safe bet I'll have at least $1,300 in EW repairs during that time.

     

    But I love this car. Also, it's cheaper to insure (and more discreet) than a BMW or Benz, and the repair record of those cars isn't much better. And I intend to keep this car until it dies, so re-sale isn't an issue for me.

     

    In general, the maintenance and repair costs we're talking about here would give the average Camry or Accord owner a stroke. But the comfort, safety, and performance of the S80 is worth it, IMO.
  • badgersbadgers Member Posts: 7
    I received 2 quotes on the EW. They weren't as good as yours at 49,000 miles.

     

    I have the 99 T6, the Volvo dealer used a

    company called Universal:

     

    Comprehensive(bumper to bumper)$2,000 for 24,000 miles.

     

    Preferred: $2,235 for 36,000 miles

     

    Drive Train: $1,400 for 36,000 miles

     

    Do you have a better recommendation to contact?

     

    I'd love to get a 48,000 mile quote

     

    The real "bogey" out there for us T6'ers is the

    transmission.
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    Here is my actual policy

     

    Issued by Western General at Calabasas Volvo.

     

    3 years/48K miles, VIP Gold plus package (basically everything, covered by the original warranty minus software upgrades)

    Disappearing deductible - $0 at the issuing dealer/$50 elsewhere.

     

    $2165.00

     

    Purchased at 49,550 miles.

     

    I am not sure if it still available.

     

    My dealer does not carry it anymore.

     

    I had to buy Volvo VIP 7 years/100K extended warranty for my new XC90 for $2080 with $0 deductible.

     

    And do not worry much about your transmission. If it did not break yet, it most likely will not. The problem with transmission, as I have heard, was that some mounting holes were not drilled correctly on a limited number of transmissions for the early production cars, and that has caused some additional stress to the transmission and eventually - mechanical failure. But if it holds after significant mileage, the good chance is that yours was not part of that batch.
  • heywood1heywood1 Member Posts: 851
    Lots of Volvo dealers will try to sell you something other than Volvo VIP, as the profit margin of these others much higher. Try to get VIP if you can.
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    Problem with the Volvo VIP is that it's only applied to the new vehicles, or to the pre-owned vehicle purchased at Volvo retailer at the time of purchase. So my understanding is that when you try to get an EW for your old car you have no choice, but go aftermarket.

     

    Is it true, Volvomax?
  • badgersbadgers Member Posts: 7
    Thank you.

     

    I'll do some web searches for Western General.

     

    I hope you are right about the Transmission, others seem to have had trouble between 50-80,000 miles and I'm only at 48,000 and I was in the earlier runs(late '98)

     

    This is a handy site: www.alldata.com

     

    It shows all the recalls, bulletins,etc. on different vehicles. There's quite a list on the 99.
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    You may browse Extended warranties board here on Edmunds.
  • heywood1heywood1 Member Posts: 851
    I purchased my S80 used from a private party, and bought the VIP warranty from my local dealer. VIP must be purchased at least one month prior to expiration of factory warranty, and inspection of the vehicle by the Volvo dealer (one-hour labor charge) is required.
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    Thanks, It is good to know. What was the mileage, and what is the cost and the terms of the coverage?
  • heywood1heywood1 Member Posts: 851
    Mine was an unusually low-mileage car: 16,900 miles on a four-year old (2000) T-6. Car was put into service in October of 2000. I bought it in late August of '04, and found out I had ten days left from the day I bought the car to buy the VIP--just dumb luck. Mileage had no affect on the price of the warranty, as I got quotes from at least six different dealerships, and all they wanted to know was whether or not the car was still under original (4yr/48K) factory warranty by more than 30 days. I paid $2,015 for the VIP warranty with $100 deductible. As I recall, the $200 ded wasn't much less, and the zero ded was about $600 more. So I felt the $100 was the best deal.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Hi badgers - check out this discussion: Extended Warranties. It's over on our Smart Shopper board.
  • volvomaxvolvomax Member Posts: 5,238
    VIP can be purchased as long as the car is still under factory warranty by at least 1 month AND 1000 miles.
  • y2ktonyy2ktony Member Posts: 8
    qbrozen,

     

    I actually liked my 1999 S70 better than my 2002 S80. I did like the exterior styling of the S80 better, but that's about it. The S80 just didn't feel as solid to me, and the interior of the S70 just seemed to be of higher quality. In addition, I found that the S80 had blind spots which were annoying when backing up or changing lanes.

     

    I just leased a 2005 Mercedes E320 for about the same price as I could have leased another S80. I would have leased another S80 if the styling had changed, although the more I drive the Mercedes, the more I am realizing that it is a far better car in terms of features, handling, solidity and overall smoothness. But I think the ergonomics in the S80 were better, and nothing can beat the seats or stereo systems in any Volvo. I look forward to the new S80 redesign......but there doesn't seem to be a firm date on when that will arrive. If Volvo wants to remain competitive, they have to redesign the S80 or previous Volvo customers like myself will be looking elsewhere.

     

    Tony
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    Thanks for the comments, but I decided against the S80 after finally driving one. It was a nice car and had great power (T6), but I just found it WAY too boat-like for my taste. I actually found myself getting nauseous as it floated over the pothole-filled road I was test driving on.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    "but I just found it WAY too boat-like for my taste. I actually found myself getting nauseous as it floated over the pothole-filled road I was test driving on.

     

    And that is exactly opposite to my reasoning. I found a quality of the ride very appealing and have chosen the S80 over the S70 back in late 1999 despite of the 6-7K price difference.
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    Maybe you misinterpreted my statement to be negative, but what you just said is actually not the "exact opposite," because I never said the ride lacked quality. Just because something is soft does not, in any way, mean it is somehow bad.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    No, not at all. I did not think that your comment was negative. But apparently you did not like that particular quality, while I did. So our conclusions (reasoning behind the purchasing decision) based on the same quality of ride were opposite.
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    ah. ok. just didn't want anyone to think i was dissin' their car. ;)

     

    my mistake.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • diegosandiegodiegosandiego Member Posts: 1
    After looking at the BMW 5, Mercedes e320 and Audi A6, I've decided on the S80 Volvo for a luxury sedan. I am due to pick up a 2001 moondust exterior with leather tan interior from a luxury used car dealership. They are asking 15,900 for this car. It has 47k miles on it, good condition recently sold at an Volvo finance auction. Is this a good price for this vehicle? The manf warranty is good til Aug of this year. I want to buy an extended warranty for this also. He is quoting me 1600 for 4 year or 45k miles. Zero deductible. Does this sound reasonable? anything I should be aware of? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

     

    Jay
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    While you are waiting for some feedback here, you might also try asking in our Real-World Trade-In Values discussion. There is a dealer named Terry there (rroyce10 is his screen name) who will give you his straightforward assessment as long as you provide him all the information that is itemized in red just above the post box.

     

    Hope it works out for you - let us know!
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    I am not an expert in the used car market, but $1600 for the extended warranty sounds very good. I have paid $2265 for the similar terms (though I do not know what is covered by your policy) @49,950 miles.
  • heywood1heywood1 Member Posts: 851
    Is this VIP warranty? Also, you might consider $100 deductible. I don't think 'zero' is ever the best value for an EW.
  • heywood1heywood1 Member Posts: 851
    Is this VIP warranty? T-6 or 2.9? Also, you might consider $100 deductible. I don't think 'zero' is ever the best value for an EW.
  • tmarttmart Member Posts: 2,233
    The front end looks like a BMW or a Pontiac.
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    You can not tell really. It has a plastic cover over the grill. Remember, this is a spy photo. You can only see the overall proportions.
    It looks that the roof line is more rounded, like the new S40.
  • heywood1heywood1 Member Posts: 851
    Let's hope it's the disguise. If this car ends up looking anything like a Grand Am or Grand Prix, I'm buying a close-out '06.
  • qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,891
    I'm thinking that's just not a photo of the S80 at all. But I guess only time will tell.

    In regards to any spy photo when the car is so heavily desguised, how the heck does the photographer know what it is anyway?

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    The photographers are tipped on what car is tested.
    I do think it's a Volvo. It has a very typical back panel, and all the cars usually very heavily disguised either with the aprons or plastic applications, some times even with the plywood extensions.
  • volvomaxvolvomax Member Posts: 5,238
    It is not an S80. Its too small.
    More likely a new S60.
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    OK, I will keep looking :-(
  • ebechsteebechste Member Posts: 2
    I have got to tell everyone that my 2003 S80 T6 is the best car I have ever driven. I am at 20,000 miles with no problems (knock on wood). Would not recommend the GPS, only works in large cities, everywhere else is nearly blank!
  • lev_berkovichlev_berkovich Member Posts: 858
    Thanks, Edwin,
    It is nice to hear from a soul mate. I love my 2000 2.9 too.
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