Are Volvos Expensive To Maintain?

[FordFrk06]

i have heard that volvos have engine issues, in that once they get over the hill, everything needs to be replaced. i am not saying they arent reliable, but that they dont last as long as they used to. is this true? as a student who only makes $400/month, this is something i have to take into consideration before buying a car. i love volvos, but if they dont last as long as, say, a toyota or a honda, and arent as reliable, i wont get one. anyone have any bad experiences?

i should probably add that if i get a volvo, its gonna be either a 97 850 T-5, or a 98 S70 T-5.

[javadoc]

I probably have been spending a lot on my Volvo lately, but it's not maintenance persay. I'd say that on average, it's less than $100/mth including oil changes every 6mths. On any car, stuff is going to wear out like brakes, tires and shocks, however.

[the underlørd]

who did you "hear" that from?

[maiku]

i've had my S70 for nearly 6 months now

i've spent a ton of money on it.....

nearly all of the money was spent on mods

the only thing maintenance related were:

spark plugs

oil change

[FordFrk06]

my dad is a mechanic for the monroe fire dept. one of his coworkers (who specializes in toyotas when he isnt elbows deep in a diesel) says the engines have problems after about 150-175k. esp on the newer ones. i will probably talk to you guys more about it on sunday.

[the underlørd]

my dad is a mechanic for the monroe fire dept. one of his coworkers (who specializes in toyotas when he isnt elbows deep in a diesel) says the engines have problems after about 150-175k. esp on the newer ones. i will probably talk to you guys more about it on sunday.

specific problems?

[Nebor]

Just like basically every other European car, the engine, and drivetrain are pretty much bulletproof up to a million miles.

It's all the crap they put around the engine that gives you trouble.

I think it's silly to look at monthly repair\maintenance costs, but I've had 4 Volvos in my life, and my best estimate for repairs\upkeep is about $3k a year. Same as any other Euro car.

[javadoc]

Just like basically every other European car, the engine, and drivetrain are pretty much bulletproof up to a million miles.

It's all the crap they put around the engine that gives you trouble.

I think it's silly to look at monthly repair\maintenance costs, but I've had 4 Volvos in my life, and my best estimate for repairs\upkeep is about $3k a year. Same as any other Euro car.

That's outrageous. Let's see, in five years of ownership:

Timing belt: 300

Brakes (2x): 300 (each time)

shocks: 500

Tune-ups: 400

MAF: 300

Misc: 600

Whl Bearing: 150

Axle half: 150

Tires: 1000 (a few sets)

So that's.... about $4000 in 5yrs, not including about $100/yr in oil changes, which every car needs at some point. I'm sure I've forgotten something, and I'm sure if I didn't spend money modding the car, I could've saved on a set of summer tires also.

[USMC850T]

I have luckily (knock on wood) spend 0 dollars on unexpected maintanance so far. Probably 45 bucks on oil and filters over the past 6 months. My evaporator hemmoraged all my AC coolant and I said monkeyit - that's a savings of 1400 bucks. Before I bought the car I had new brakes, tires wheel bearings plugs and fuel filters put in by the dealer i bought it from.

A volvo part may cost twice as much as a domestic part, but it's most likely gonna last 5 times as long. Long run maintinance on them shouldn't be more than on a domestic.

My dad had a plymouth voyager that I inherited which went through a tranny every 60-70K. Think volvo's are expensive to maintain? Try buying a few of those wretched poking transmissions.

Nothing but good experiences for me so far with the volvo, bout to chip it though. I will be anticipating an increase in maintinance costs due to the extra power, IE more brake pads / rotors and other components as a factor of the power increase.

[James100]

Problems listed below happening recently and are fixed or fixing besides regular tuneups

brakes or tires '94 850 Turbo 150K

Blower motor for heater----Repaired

Headlight wiper motor

Vacuum elbows crack PCV----Repaired and still working on them and hoses

Oxygen sensor(Front)----Repaired

Brakes make on and off noise when stopping----Front brake repaired

Looks like I need a new heater core

Gas cap door will lock shut

Oil cooler lines start to leak

top of gas tank vent has small leak after fillup

wobble noise on one of the serp pulleys

New timing belt and tensioner--Repaired

Motor mount cracked--Repaired

If you have time and buy the parts online its not to bad but if you go to dealer its big bucks

Example: Volvo dealer wants something like $600 for brakes and rotors for him to do a brake job..I got brake pads and rotors online for I think $150 or so and did it myself. Saving =$450

[NINSXTEVAGN]

Problems listed below happening recently and are fixed or fixing besides regular tuneups

brakes or tires '94 850 Turbo 150K

Blower motor for heater

Headlight wiper motor

Vacuum elbows crack

Oxygen sensor

Brakes make on and off noise when stopping

Looks like need new heater core

Gas cap door will lock shut

Oil cooler lines start to leak

top of gas tank vent has small leak after fillup

well I got 2 volvos 1 is a 960 95 wagon. Non turbo. I bought it when it had 50k in 2001. Now it has 178k. I spend on keeping it running 5k. Thats is tube ups oil changes brake pads etc. I drive it hard atleast 80 to 100 mph.

The other volvo is a 245 1982 wagon stick shift. This has 340k on it. I did the tune upand other things. So this will take maintenance cost from the other to nly this one.

In the end you get what you pay for. Honda toyota againts a soccer mom in a suv who will win? Now even the odds a soccer mom in a hummer and a volvo who will win?

VOLVO 4 Life!

[TM850R]

So far in 6 months of owning my '97 850 R my car has had this done to it:

1. Ball joints / control arms.................$550

2. 2 new tires.....................................$180

3. Fuel pump (used).............................$90

4. Fuel filter.........................................$30

5. Plugs.............................................$100

Plugs cost so much cause the fuel pump failed

and that included an hour labor plus AAA tow.

I would done them myself if my car didnt break

down at the car wash.

6. Replaced rocker switch lights.............$40

7. Fog bulbs.........................................$30

8. Oil changes......................................$50

There are also some things that need to be done:

1. A/C needs fixin (hopefully not the EVAP)

2. Turbo seal and gasket (not right away)

3. Couple more rocker switch lights

4. Dash light and radio light

5. Wires, cap/rotor

6. Possibly something with my springs or anti-sway bar

I havent started to mod the car yet due to some matinence that needs to get done first. The RMS was done before I bought the car so thats one less thing I have to worry about for now.

[anarchyx34]

They're not too bad, but like any european car, it's not a free ride. If your income is that low, I'd suggest a 4cyl Toyota Camry. They never break and they drive really nicely. But there's a reason we all drive Volvos instead of Camrys. Camrys have abolutely no Darn personality. It's just an appliance (albiet a very refined, reliable appliance) and it's no fun, but it wont let you down.

My 850's pissing me off right now due to a steering rack failure. But them's the breaks when you own a 10 year old 140k mile car.

[burchs1]

Here's the deal:

The 850 and for that matter most of the Volvos with I5 engines are mechanically (engine) quite solid. Whoever said that the engines cause trouble after 150K is wrong. Now there are certain things to be aware of, you probably want to stay away from 1999-2001 models with electronic throttle controls, unless Volvo has actually provided an adequate resolution to that problem. I doubt a Volvo is expensive to maintain compared to other European cars like BMWs or Audis. If you are comparing a Volvo to a Honda, then there is no question that the Honda is cheaper to maintain. We've had a Honda Civic and a Volvo 850 Turbo for 5 and 6 years respectively. The Honda has had nothing but regular maintenance, there hasn't been a single part that has failed on that car, not one...do I enjoy driving that car no, but it never has any problems. My family has owned many types of vehicles Volkswagens, Chryslers, Toyotas. The Volkswagens were awful. The Chrysler minivans are notorious for transmission failures, multiple failures on the same car are not uncommon. Opinions will vary on what cars are most reliable, but if you look at the statistics..you will find that Honda, Toyota, and Lexus are consistenly much better than their competition, based on my personal experience and others in my family this is true.

Now back on topic. The Volvo 850 is generally a reliable car, you are unlikely to be left stranded, unless your fuel pump fails, which is something that is fairly typical during it's lifetime. Let me run down the list of things that I have replaced or had repaired on my 1995 854T that I have owned since 1999 (had 57K miles then), now has close to 120K miles....yeah I am below average in miles..and that won't change much as I am almost certain I will be working out of my house when I move to Amherst, MA this summer.

1) Brake Rotors and Pads have been replaced once

2) One Rear brake caliper was replaced (seized)

3) Headlight wiper motor was replaced (I no longer have headlight wipers or motors in my car, my choice)

4) Various motor mounts

5) Shocks/Struts, spring seats, sway bars, etc. were replaced

6) Fuel Pump

7) AC Evaporator

8) PNP switch ($100)

9) Upper windshield seal

Other things I consider regular maintenance items that I have replaced..hoses, timing belt, turbo oil return seals

Things you will eventually have to deal with or you should do at regular intervals:

1) Rear Main Engine Seal

2) Cam Seals, Crank Seals

3) Throttle body gasket, cleaning

4) PCV system should be cleaned or replaced.

5) Later models may have issues with the ABS module, but this can be rebuilt by Victor on the net for cheap.

(Note I have done none of things above, not needed so far)

5) Transmission flushes (I have done these multiple times since owning my car)

These cars deal extremely well with temperate climate zones, even if abused they are much less likely to rust than many other cars (hmm Hondas rust easily). The metal is a heavier gauge steel and it is zinc plated. I've had this car in Minnesota and Wisonsin and there has been virtually zero rust anywhere on the car..what little I had was taken care of when I had the car repainted (my choice).

Once any car is out of warranty and you need to pay for repairs beacause you can't do them yourself then any car will be expensive labor rates at good indy mechanics tend to average 70 and above per hour. Go to a Volvo dealer and you will pay upwards of $115/hour. Parts are expensive from the dealer..you can get parts at substantial discounts online..there are very good sources..and the used parts market is huge for the 850/S/V/70. If you are somewhat mechanically inclined you can do most of the maintenance yourself on the 850/70 series..at least older models, I suspect the newer models like most cars these days are crammed full of more electronics so your mileage may vary.

[anarchyx34]

One thing important to remember is that on any '96 and newer Volvo, if you have any computer controlled part of the car fail, such as ABS, Airbags, climate control, cluster, memory seats, transmission, check engine light, etc... You cannot scan the code yourself. Now granted, generic OBDII readers will be able to pull codes for most engine concerns, anything else must be done with a Volvo scanner or a really expensive scanner like an OTC Genisys, or equivalent. '95 and earlier have built in diagnostics that require no scanner.

If you really want a Volvo but you want cheap maintanance. A 940 would be better. It's not as nice of a drive, but it's a much simpler car and parts are dirt cheap and easy to fix.