donstruke Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 Haven't been on VS much since Jeremy bought my T-5R in 2005 and gave it a good home in Florida. But now I'm looking for a used car for my teenage daughter and my wife would l.o.v.e. her to have an S80. We agree the bigger and more tank-like, the better for a new driver. (I was thinking a 2000-ish Crown Vic/Grand Marquis/Lincoln but I was set straight almost immediately. Not only uncool but too grandparent-like. OK) So who will clue me on the major/minor problems to look out for in the 1999-2002 span of S80s? Without service records, how risky is it to buy one with 100K-plus miles? There are a dozen or so in my general area, none with under 100K) and before I get into compression checks, jacking cars up to see how much the wheels wave back at me, etc. what should I look for, other than things that are obvious (water in the oil, fluid leaks, and so on), in order to eliminate the cars not worth buying? I drove one last evening with 133K and when I popped the hood, it sounded like a sewing machine with all the clickety-clickety going on. How much to $ilence valve train noise? Of course I want to stay away from a T6 both for turbo maintenance issues and to not give my daughter 268 hp. At least not for her first car. Many thanks. Don Struke In Baltimore, Murderland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ihatespeedbumps Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 1999-2002 span of S80s? Pretty shitty years. All had 6cyl engines (turbo and non) and all had GM transmissions that are crap. 99-00 are the worst and 99-01 will have the dreaded ETM. They also suffered electrical problems and build quality issues. Go with an 03+ with the 5cyl engine ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donstruke Posted October 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 Pretty shitty years. All had 6cyl engines (turbo and non) and all had GM transmissions that are crap. 99-00 are the worst and 99-01 will have the dreaded ETM. They also suffered electrical problems and build quality issues. Go with an 03+ with the 5cyl engine Great advice. I appreciate it. Thanks! Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Moo Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 My s80 dealings have all been nightmares. Its at the point where I tell them that I'll provide them with a working part and the rest is up to them. I can't provide support when the cars systems refuse to communicate with each other because of bizarre engineering. My last two s80 transactions cost me hours on the phone and boatloads of postage sending parts back and forth hoping to find the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donstruke Posted October 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 My s80 dealings have all been nightmares. Its at the point where I tell them that I'll provide them with a working part and the rest is up to them. I can't provide support when the cars systems refuse to communicate with each other because of bizarre engineering. My last two s80 transactions cost me hours on the phone and boatloads of postage sending parts back and forth hoping to find the problem. Ouch, but more good info for which I thank you. Btw, I happen to have this photo of the 1999-2002 S80s as their owners see them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keaton85 Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Idono, that would mean you could actualy drive it! Haha It's not just the S80, the XC90s had the T6 with a 50k mile tranny I would love to get my hands on an 03+ XC90 2.5T some day soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Moo Posted October 24, 2010 Report Share Posted October 24, 2010 At least the other cars just have tranny problems. I've talked to two more people in the last couple days with the same problems, which I've made the decision that I will no longer have any sales involving s80's. It starts out with brake lights and snowballs from there. Shitty electrical, systems that won't communicate with each other and glitches all over. Even the dealers can't figure them out. its too bad because they are such nice looking cars. Its like hooking up with some hot chick, then you find out she's bi-polar and has gonorrhea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donstruke Posted October 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 At least the other cars just have tranny problems. I've talked to two more people in the last couple days with the same problems, which I've made the decision that I will no longer have any sales involving s80's. It starts out with brake lights and snowballs from there. Shitty electrical, systems that won't communicate with each other and glitches all over. Even the dealers can't figure them out. its too bad because they are such nice looking cars. Its like hooking up with some hot chick, then you find out she's bi-polar and has gonorrhea. Well, we've had four Volvos (wife now has an '08 V70 = very nice but must it rattle like it does with 40k? My MB has nearly 90K and the only rattle is the Glock in the door pocket. VOLVO + CHINA: I was at the Philly area 2011 S60 demo two weeks ago and asked a factory guy if there's any chatter about China messing things up, and his understanding is they're only providing money, not interfering with the product. We shall see. Re the demo, got to hammer the S60, a 3-series BMW and an Audi on an AX course as many times as you could go through the line. The Audi did not get off the line close to as well as the other two, and I torque-braked all three to about 3K rpm at launch. The BMW definitely had the handling trophy. The S60 was pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.