2001 Volvo S60

I've been offered a low mileage (140K) model. Very tidy but I have no knowledge on the reliability reputation of these cars, costs of service and repairs etc. Can anyone help?

Google it. You will just get biased opinions on here. Volvo's are generally very reliable, parts can be expensive in this country but easily sourced internationally and much cheaper.

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/2001-Volvo-S60-Reviews-c6010

http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/volvo/s60/2001/single-page/

I owned one for a year and it was surprisingly reliable, however when I sold it, mine was the cheapest on trademe by a significant amount and it took several weeks to sell. Buy it if its cheap enough but resale is poor.

Yes as above, they go alright, trans can become an issue when older, if its cheap enough then all good, depreciation is the biggest factor, very hard to sell and low prices.

the biggest problem will be automatic transmission failings.
only bullet proof automatic transmissions who can take the abuse they get from people who think the wof is all the service there car ever needs are .
The 3 speed and 3 speed with overdrive aisin transmission fitted to every 1990s+ - toyota . its why these are bullet proof . my 95 has 320.000+km and its got a trans service i expect the transmission to run flawless for a further 100.000km aisin 3 speed is bolted to the 4 cilinder 1.4 16 valve engine.
Now to the next problem finding places who can professionally repair cars and have the correct tools for volvo will be another big problem.
as you need special scanner like vida for volvo or autologic that cost 10 of tousends of $ and then knowing what your actuarly doing with the expensive equipment as its of no use when they got no clue of what the tool tells them ,
Volvo programming is to shut down the car when a malfunction is detected , ford programming is to keep the car going no matter what till the bitter end .
these are the 2 most extreem differences in existance for electronic controlling of vehicle functions that i know off

As above, get the transmission very carefully checked over. The only way to make those transmissions last is to do very regular fluid change, filter flush servicing. You MUST use the correct Volvo fluid as well, this is actually made by Castrol and can be ordered in cheaper than you can get it from Volvo.

Incidentally, the transmission problem isn't Volvo's fault, the transmission is made by a Toyota subsidiary and caused real headaches for the many manufacturers they sold it to.

The only other real concern with them is the throttle body with early ones. The throttle position sensor has little carbon track type contacts inside which wear out. Repair is possible but can be very expensive if you don't go about it right.

You would also want to be aware that unlike most other European makes in NZ, there isn't as much competition when it comes to third party parts importers etc. So parts can be a bit more expensive. That said you can order parts in directly from overseas very easily, and that's what I did for any scheduled services etc.

Lastly, the timing belts on those have a 10 year lifespan (which in my opinion is very optomistic) make sure it has been changed and if not, change it immediately. Make sure you do the waterpump, coolant and tensioners at the same time.

Best of luck with it, they are quite a nice car.

Large euro saloons don't hold value well so don't spend too much. Only issue I've heard of is the rather weak auto so check it well and if keeping for a while worth getting auto serviced.
Bound to be a euro workshop in your town, my local Audi man can scan Volvo on his generic scanner. Plenty of specialists for parts.
Generally considered well made reliable cars world over.

lots of them have auto problems and change into limp mode