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S/V/C looking to buy a newer volvo and need some opinions

hunterkent

hunterkent

New member
Joined
Jan 31, 2013
Location
salem,oregon
sorry if this is in the wrong section feel free to move it.

I currently have a 1991 volvo 940 turbo and am looking an newer volvos.
I am looking at stuff in the 4-6000 dollar range.preferably something that is 5 speed but automatic would work. i just want something tough that isn't going to be breaking every month. i have heard bad things about the s80. and the same about those little 1.9t things what are they c40s or something ? i just want something with a decent turbo engine. something fast and comfortable. basically the modern equivalent of my 940. heated seats,sunroof,cruise,leather,etc. what are you guys opinions and experiences. looking to buy something in the next year. thanks a ton in advance.PS Im kinda rough on cars AKA i drive em hard so the transmission is a big deal for me, it has to be tough.
 
You are looking for an s70 t5 (available in manual, but very rare) or an 850 turbo/r/t5r. Comfortable cars, quick enough in stock trim (or easily modded) and all the creature comforts you were listing. If you've got a 4-6k budget, then you will end up with a pretty nice example of those I suggested.
 
The 850/70 (P80 chassis) cars are probably going to be your best bet if you're looking for a newer Volvo that's still fairly tough/simple, but a lot of them are in major maintenance debt at this point so you'll probably have to put some work into whatever you buy to get it shipshape. Fortunately, they're easy to work on and they're good drivers once they're sorted out.

Don't buy anything with AWD.
 
good to know. a turbo 850 sounds like the ticket. I'm going to keep my 940, its just to damn good of a car, it would just be nice to have a super quiet comfortable "go out on the town" kinda car if that makes any sense. it would stay fairly stock with only cosmetic mods. i have heard the I5 burns up heads/valve pretty badly. is that a horrible fix. i have done the head and pretty much everything else on my 940 and it was super easy.....front wheel drive scares me.
 
Run premium gas and make sure the cooling system is good and you'll never have a problem with the head in a stock car.
 
cool. i am way over the top with maintenance anyway so thats not a problem....are parts still fairly affordable and easy to come by
 
My 93 940 has been a better car then my 98 V70, of course it didn't have a glovebox overflowing with service records like the 940 did. All comes down to how it was taken care of and driven by the previous owner, and service records.
 
good to know. theres lots of 850 on my local craigslist. looks like for about 2000-2500 i could get a nice turbo one. if the autos arent to bad and the heads are decent if ya take care of it im sold, to bad they dont have all the fancy "miles to empty" stuff on the dash and the fancy sound systems the s80s have.
 
Maybe Ca is just an extra abusive environment, but I don't see the 850/70 cars as tough or simple. they have all the electronc bloat of an Audi, just not as well executed, and by 15 years or 150,000 miles most feel pretty much wore out. Unless you are planning a resto? I drive quite a few at work, mainly soccer mom owned cars. Change the timing belt, driver seat, every rubber part, stru, and hub then troll the dice to see if the trans or engine goes next. I'd definitely steer clear of pre OBDII unless you have some fancy scan tool.
 
the more i look the more I'm considering just doing some nice stuff to my 940 to make it faster and handle even better. i know its a damn good car, and simple.
 
Yeah 850/S/V70 is your best bet, though S/V70 from 99-00 have more complicated (modern) engine managment, ETM, coil packs etc.. I love my S70...as mentioned good cooling system is a must and no worries, except 99-00 ETM problems, but that's fixable too. You can ge N/A B5244S with 170hp or 2.4T or a powerful T5... I wouldn't exclude 99-00 cause of ETM, Whiteblocks are great in them, and if you want newer, under the hood it's newer Volvo...on great 850 chassis/handling. Don't worrie cause of FWD, I did, S70 completely changed my mind, 850/70's are very well balanced cars, hard to understeer, in fact stock to stock 940 is more prone to understeer.
You'll enjoy 850/S/V70. My advice is to by solid car for normal amount and pour some $$$ in all maintenance parts, like radiator, alternator, stage 0, etc..
 
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I have always been more of a RWD fan myself but last year I found a 99 S70 T5 manual for a decent price and was sold almost immediately. The car was very well cared for with a lot of maintenance records. There are nice 850/S70's out there just keep looking until you find one that is clean and well cared for.

I would recommend that you look into doing the PCV system and timing belt water pump if they have not been done by the PO.
These cars are also getting more common in the local JY's so finding parts is a not going to be a problem.
 
boosted740 said:
I have always been more of a RWD fan myself but last year I found a 99 S70 T5 manual for a decent price and was sold almost immediately. The car was very well cared for with a lot of maintenance records. There are nice 850/S70's out there just keep looking until you find one that is clean and well cared for.

I would recommend that you look into doing the PCV system and timing belt water pump if they have not been done by the PO.
These cars are also getting more common in the local JY's so finding parts is a not going to be a problem.
Click to expand...

This, I bought my 2000 S70 manual, from embassy, all records from the day one....it's really important for these cars, I imediately knew what will hit me in cost, and it did, radiator, O2 sensor, Alt, ETM soon after...and all around 133k miles...but I knew the heater core was replaced, cabin fan and many many other things, relays, mounts etc...
 
You should look for a 2003- S60 T5 with a manual gearbox. 850s are too old now, S70s are not good; especially the interior.

If you look, you can find a really good condition S60 for that price.
 
S40/V50's are really nice cars. Get the T5. Automatic is really good, but manual is more fun.

You could get a higher mileage 2005 for 6k.
 
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