I have a similar V50 2.4i with 200,000 km and I always seem to be dealing with one problem or another. They are nice to look at but not the same reliability as something like a Toyota from my experience.
In the couple of years I've had mine I have had problems with coolant tank, variable valve timing, fuel pressure sensor, crank sensor, driveshafts, PCV, radiator hose, air con, CEM, and this week the clutch.
Philia_Bear2.4i variants are super reliable
The only common thing on them is the pcv valve which failes and starts making a whistle sound, it's about $400 to fix with the updated design
The 5 speed auto just needs to have the fluid flushed (it probably won't have had it done)
Also the serp belts (2) and serp belt tensioners (2) need to be done every 6 years and or 100,000km when doing the timing belt and water pump
Thanks for the response - is the T5 known to be as reliable?
The T5 is exactly the same basic engine, but with a turbo - which these days also means extra hoses, oil leak points, pressure sensors, pressure relief valves etc.
Take Johna's experience above. The fuel pressure sensor is a cheap part and a 5 minute job. The coolant reservoir is a $30 part and 15 minutes, but needs doing routinely. I'm guessing that the A/C is probably a reshim of the compressor clutch or the low pressure switch leaking all of the gas out - both common problems which also needed doing at 200,000km on our cars.
I'm a middle aged Mechanical Engineer, and quite enjoy not only tinkering with my cars but probably more importantly enjoy getting them to work to their best ability. If you want to just get in and drive every morning, then any Volvo of that age is not for you. If you're interested in learning to service (change belts and oil, filters and brake parts) then there are endless youtube videos which will help enormously. There are plenty of people on this forum who have been there, done that and can help out with support and advice. For me, the issues John has mentioned aren't particularly "unreliable" - most of them are cheap sensors and solenoids which are common issues on any similar cars these days. The clutch is a wear item, and ours has done 200,000km without replacement yet. However the Clutch (if it's the dual mass variety) will be a several thousand dollar issue - not a concern if you are looking at an automatic, but the autos have other potential issues to be concerned about.
One comment I'd make is that even with the issues mentioned so far, I'll take a 2005 - 2012 Volvo over a modern direct injection, variable vane turbo, CVT or DCT vehicle. They not only have more reliability concerns but the issues are much more expensive to repair.
I would say, if you are not a hands on person, never done any mechanical work at all and are unable to go to a basic course and pick up skills then no to the Volvo's you want.
If you live near a good independent Volvo shop or some shop that knows Volvo and doesn't charge much over $120/hour and you understand that rate means more money in labour than parts cost sometimes then go ahead.
Other funky cars are like, Hyundai 2 door things or a Japanese car and these options will be reliable and very cheap to run.
We make it sound like Volvo is great here, we are all mostly certifiably crazy , are addicted to fixing them....
They are addictive tho.
Be honest with yourself as the alternative is much angst and regret over a sexy tailgate C30....
My daughters 2009 C30 T5 has been fantastic. It had only done 58000Kms when she bought it in 2014. Its done around 130000km now and only work its ever required is usual wear and tear items. She was a bit aggressive on speed humps so control arms needed doing ( around $260 for the pair and my mechanic charged me $80 to install) . Like any car brakes needed to be replaced but genuine volvo front brake rotors from local dealership were cheaper than generic rotors at around $130 each, used Akebono pads and they were around 120 for the pair from the states. PCV Diaphragm started to whistle at around 80000km so replaced that assembly with a generic ford part for around $90. Fuel pressure sensor replaced for $30 on ebay. Timing belt got done at 90000 as per normal service schedule. Oil & filter changes with Valvoline 0W-30 every 10000km have kept it happy. I should flush the transmission asap just in case but the car really has been very reliable and after 9 years of driving it she wouldnt swap it for anything.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3647333365498350/?mibextid=dXMIcH
Nice one.
Melbourne.
Lovely car. Shame its melbourne. Thats a melbourne price too. Same car in sydney would be 12k
2.4i for a first car would be great.
They're easy enough to work on and reliable enough. If you're a 'Volvo family', looking for a first car for kids, I'd be buying a 2.4i V50 or C30.
If you're not a Volvo family, I'd be buying a Corolla.
AshDVS2.4i for a first car would be great.
They're easy enough to work on and reliable enough. If you're a 'Volvo family', looking for a first car for kids, I'd be buying a 2.4i V50 or C30.
If you're not a Volvo family, I'd be buying a Corolla.
I'm the one buying and using the car. Not a volvo family but there's always a first :)
Ex850RI would say, if you are not a hands on person, never done any mechanical work at all and are unable to go to a basic course and pick up skills then no to the Volvo's you want.
If you live near a good independent Volvo shop or some shop that knows Volvo and doesn't charge much over $120/hour and you understand that rate means more money in labour than parts cost sometimes then go ahead.
Other funky cars are like, Hyundai 2 door things or a Japanese car and these options will be reliable and very cheap to run.
We make it sound like Volvo is great here, we are all mostly certifiably crazy , are addicted to fixing them....
They are addictive tho.
Be honest with yourself as the alternative is much angst and regret over a sexy tailgate C30....
A lot of great points. Do these cars need a lot of maintenance outside of the regular service? Or is it more keeping up with oil changes and things like that? And I live near the berry motor group which seems to have a lot of good reviews.
It's unlikely to be just oil changes. I mean, most older cars need stuff done at some level in addition to oil changes, but as people have already explained the level of ongoing maintenance is likely to be higher than something like a Corolla.
I bought my daughter a low km (60,000) 2008 C30 T5 about 4 years ago. As she is young driver, I wanted something that was compact yet safe in a crash.
The C30 has been fantastic and now over 100,000km. I took preventive maintenance, changing the oil and filter regularly and timing belt/water pump with the local mechanic and extra oil changes inbetween myself .
Apart from brakes and a fuel pump the car has been very reliable (touch wood). I know if something big goes wrong it may be expensive. But we will keep this excellent little car until then (and beyond).
Fuzz,
The real problem is that you're looking at a 10-17 year old car. If it's been maintained with 10,000km service intervals (15,000 is recommended but just too long if the garage uses cheap (discount...) oil) and whoever serviced it knew what to look for and kept on top of things like coolant reservoirs... then you could snag a peach which will run for another 300,000km with regular scheduled services. However you're more likely to find a car with another kind of "history"...
Our (free) S40 T5 AWD, apart from having a butchered air cleaner box (collapsed engine mount meant the monkey didn't know how to remove it), and a missing strut spacer on the left. When we got it running again, it chewed through tyres at an alarming rate and 3 alignment places couldn't sort it out. Even replacing the spacer didn't help. Eventually we worked out that it had hit a pothole / bump at speed in its past and the left lower control arm had a slight bend to it. Cheap fix (Ford replacement) and tyre wear is normal now.
The C30 T5 manual was an expensive car from a Sydney dealer with unknown history and 200,000 country kms. Apart from the A/C fault, timing belt time bomb and horrible wobble at speed (dealer fitted Dong Feng tyres...grrr...) and the rear washer spraying into the headliner (...grrr...), it's been a delight to own. It's effectively a luxurious and stylish Ford Focus RS for half the money. Are Mazda 3 and Ford Focus models unreliable as first cars ? No less so than the Volvo platform, but they too need regular attention. Most modern cars do. Look at the number of newer Kias and Hyundais needing replacement engines, usually because they tend to burn oil and nobody checks the oil level any more.
We sold our older 2003 S40 to a friend with 120,000km on it. We'd bought it near new with 30,000km (ie after only the second factory service) and it was a real gem. However our friend isn't a car guy and didn't know what to do when the coolant temp sensor failed, the cam phasers started spraying oil...as a "cheap car" he's not enjoyed the Volvo experience...and yes his other car is a Toyota.
Do you need to be a Volvo fanatic to own a C30/S40 ? Most first or second owners weren't. Do you need to be realistic about the level of care and attention (either time or money) any car should get ? Of course. The real problem is that these cars have had probably 2 careful owners when they were worth something, but they were always the "cheap Volvos" and the third, fourth and later owners were probably trying to "economise" on expenses. Finding a good one for the right money is the key I think.
