Volvo S 80

I'm looking at buying one, but i've heard it's a good model to steer clear off! Any advice would be greatfully accepted. it's a 99 model, auto and 1984cc so im guessing a 2L! Just done the 100,000k mark now. Any thoughts!

They're nice enough cars that drive well but the big snag with owning Volvo's in NZ has always been the lack of reasonably priced parts available immediately for them, the official importers and distributors are known to be very expensive even if they have got what you need and there is virtually nobody that competes with them.Good luck.

From what i read on here that seems to be the most common criticisim for them. However for a car only done 100k you would like to hope other then general servicing it might be a wee while before it needed parts. I hear that some of them have trouble with the throttle body and a few other lil hiccups. But perhaps that's more a luck game rather then a complete model widespread! mmmmm But thanks franc :)

if you over heat the swine your in BIG trouble ! the 5cyl eng crack heads & blocks on a over heat.

What likes been cooked!! those s70s turbos haul,less electronic crap to go wrong,had a 760 v6 done 300k miles,when the lids came off,there was barely any wear.

Leaving reliability aside they are not up to the competition as far as handling goes. They are quite a big car but feel even bigger and quite ponderous.

Mmmm all interesting thought's to ponder on. Doesn't sound that positive though. I might perhaps put some more serious thought in to it then.

resale value is poor, lovely car new !

I am employed by an outfit that operates a breakdown recovery service that covers a very large area and I'm afraid to say that Volvo's (particularly Asian import Volvo's) appear to be disproportionately represented in the breakdown numbers.

If in doubt grab an S60 instead. Still plenty of room inside but feels like driving a mondeo or similar medium car.
The S60 is a little more basic in terms of sophistication (which is good for reliability) but it still provides excellent safety and features.
I prefer the 2.4 and 2.4 Turbo engines if possible.

Parts are a bit pricy in NZ but an S60 is fundamentally very reliable so long as you use the correct oil in the engine (synthetic) and transmission, and service it (especially the transmission) on time.

When the cambelt change comes due I just order my parts online from fcp groton and they are delivered to my door for a great price a week or so later.

An S60 in good order for around 6K is a lot of car for your money. About the only thing to watch for is throttle body problems. Thats not the end of the world though as with a little research and care a throttle body failure can be fixed for hundreds of dollars not thousands of dollars.

You can also extend the life of the throttle body by cleaning and lubricating it every 6 months or so which is a nice easy job anyone can do in a few minutes.

Hope that helps.

BTW, you will love how economical these are for the size/power/age of the vehicle. Overall running costs are very reasonably and the high initial depreciation is an excellent thing when buying at this age/price. You should enjoy very little depreciation from here on in if you keep in in good order.

Incidentally. I have a feeling I looked in the window of the S80 you are looking at today.

Sounds very good advice jazz. (I'm actually on my profile now instead of the computer at work login so same person).
I've read back through several threads last year and seen you know your volvo's. It wouldnt happen to the the blue one in the mt that you were looking at! It was the k's and price that caught my eye, then not knowing volvo's i jumped onto some research. Seems it never hurts to ask around. What did you think!