Actually people die at suburban speeds on suburban roads - 24 drivers and passengers to date in Victoria for 2017. People tend to overestimate the speed at which a death or serious injury can and will occur.

Side impacts are especially risky, with a high likelihood of death or serious injury at anything over 50 where another car is involved, and from as low as 30 kmh sideways into a tree.

Head on crashes are likely to result in death at speeds over 70 kmh. Plenty of people with life changing injuries after a suburban frontal impact in the wrong car as well. The teen weapon of choice, the VN - VS Commodore was rated as having high risk of a serious head injury in an offset frontal suburban speed crash. It's why I got rid of my wife's VP as soon as I found out.

I agree high speed roads are very challenging. Volvo has said it's hard to protect occupants at much over 80 kmh.

The best advice for Emma remains to check howsafeisyourcar. It uses real world crash outcomes to provide safety star ratings, which often differ from the ANCAP test results, typically being lower for a range of reasons.
captain_anchovy;114651 wrote$1000 for a breather box ??
Labour is the killer. (Remove manifold, etc etc.)
Walking around wrecking yards, especially brand-specific ones is very informative.
Most jap/Aussie cars hold up pretty well in front end crashes, but far less so for side and rear impacts.
Meanwhile, Volvos survive front on hits only marginally better, but do far better job in side of staying intact for side and rear hits.

This is the difference between being designed to pass crash tests and actually being designed to keep the occupants alive in real world crashes.

I was unlucky enough to see the aftermath of the Barton Highway's latest fatal crash, and suffice to say that I've never seen a 240 banana'd like that - and a V40 or V50 is much safer than a 240.
captain_anchovy;114651 wrote$1000 for a breather box ??
Yeah its also the oil filter holder and some other stuff

They paid to much though
Part is $400aud shipped from the usa
Chris;114655 wroteActually people die at suburban speeds on suburban roads - 24 drivers and passengers to date in Victoria for 2017. People tend to overestimate the speed at which a death or serious injury can and will occur.

Side impacts are especially risky, with a high likelihood of death or serious injury at anything over 50 where another car is involved, and from as low as 30 kmh sideways into a tree.

Head on crashes are likely to result in death at speeds over 70 kmh. Plenty of people with life changing injuries after a suburban frontal impact in the wrong car as well. The teen weapon of choice, the VN - VS Commodore was rated as having high risk of a serious head injury in an offset frontal suburban speed crash. It's why I got rid of my wife's VP as soon as I found out.

I agree high speed roads are very challenging. Volvo has said it's hard to protect occupants at much over 80 kmh.

The best advice for Emma remains to check howsafeisyourcar. It uses real world crash outcomes to provide safety star ratings, which often differ from the ANCAP test results, typically being lower for a range of reasons.
Again
If you dig into the details and exclude the single vehicle crashes and people over 70 and crashes involving heavy vehicles
There are nearly zero deaths left

The lancers have a bad rep because of single vehicle events (trees) and driving by dumb people at high speed
The realativly low count of v50 in australia or any volvo for that matter also significantly limits the available data
Drive the lancer defensivly and not drunk and not tired and the advantage becomes pretty minimal

Yes a v50 is safer but not in any way that is likely to be effective over the life of the vehicle

Want something safe that a student can afford... there is not much on the market at the 4-5k range that does not have a stupid cost of ownership
Maybe a manual 09 i30 base model is getting close though

Why exclude single vehicle crashes? If we're talking crash protection not avoidance it's the outcome that counts. Even a dangerous car is "safe" if you never crash it and no-one ever crashes into you.

Last 12 months to March 17, in Victoria 187 drivers and passengers died. 43 were over 70, 44 involved heavy vehicles (mainly multi vehicle crashes with others killed rather than the HV driver). The last 2 categories may overlap (i.e involved both a HV and one or more older drivers/passengers).

The crash data on howsafeisyourcar is ANCAP if the vehicle is relatively new, real world crashes if there is enough data, otherwise has the status of 'not yet rated' or is completely absent if insufficient data. Hence 04 - 12 S40 has an ANCAP rating due to the recency of the last versions, V50 has 'not yet rated' as wasn't ANCAP tested and limited real world data, old S/V40 have a 5 star used car safety rating from real world crash outcomes.

I agree finding safe and affordable is very hard - on the data the best bang for little buck is the 97 - 04 S/V40, ideally Phase 2 due to side curtains and ESC.
@EmmaR I think the only thing I'd add is, whatever car you buy, take it for a real test drive. Most people seem to be happy to take a car around the block before buying it, then wonder how they didn't notice that clunk that only appears on the highway. Take it out, drive it for half an hour, stop at a cafe, have a coffee, drive it back. Spend at least 5-10 minutes driving it at 100-110km/h on the highway.
Reminds me of a news item from a few years ago. A Japanese gentleman was stopped at Alice Springs driving a car from a yard in Melbourne. When asked why he'd stolen it he replied that the nice man had said go for as big a drive as you like so he was in his way to Darwin.
Chris;114676 wroteWhy exclude single vehicle crashes?

I agree finding safe and affordable is very hard - on the data the best bang for little buck is the 97 - 04 S/V40, ideally Phase 2 due to side curtains and ESC.
Most single vehicle crashes involve
-booze or drugs
-lack of sleep
-speed
-cell phone use
Frequently in combination
These are easily avoided by anyone not being an idiot and can be ignored as the car driven is mostly irrelevent
If you hit a tree at 100+ your pretty much dead period regardless of vehicle

If you can seperate out the above then we get to real stuff
Drunks hitting you running a red light being one of the things that are a real threat

97-04 s40 are getting to be maitenance issues now
Buy a 240. Might not save you in a crash but you could die from some wacky Chinese so who are we to try and change when the clock stops?

I had a 240 all through uni and drove it from Campbelltown to UOW everyday.

I'm channelling turbobricks here when I say that FWD Volvos are lame and RWD is best.
Slowbrick;114726 wroteBuy a 240. Might not save you in a crash but you could die from some wacky Chinese so who are we to try and change when the clock stops?

I had a 240 all through uni and drove it from Campbelltown to UOW everyday.

I'm channelling turbobricks here when I say that FWD Volvos are lame and RWD is best.
Emma, this is Ryan /\ He's a nice bloke, but you will learn not to take him seriously.
Spac;114728 wrote
Emma, this is Ryan /\ He's a nice bloke, but you will learn not to take him seriously.
Emma, this is Nathan and he is also a nice bloke, but you will learn he has way too many broken FWD Volvos because they took all his money and now he doesnt even have $50. You dont have $50 do you Nathan?

Seriously though a 240 looks right at home in Wollongong. Just imagine it sitting there all nice and boxy near the beach. Sun going down just watching the waves. You are sitting there reading through some tutorials and stressing about getting through the next exam thats worth 80% of your subject score but it doesnt matter because your 240 is such a nice and calm place to be. You recline the seat back and close your eyes. This car has seen alot already and its ready to see a lot more you.

Compare this to a plastic and generic lancer/s40 whatever that is clinical and has no real stories to tell. It blends in with the rest of the world and doesnt really care. Sitting at the lights there are 10 others that look just like it. Theres nothing special about it. Yeah it probably drives nice enough, its probably safer if you ever needed it but its just sooooo average. It does average so well that its actually almost rewarded for it. Notice when people talk about an S or a V they only really mention its safety features because thats all there is. Youre young so get something interesting. Drive an average car when you get older. A Toyota Camry is a safe and reliable car but I wouldnt own one because its also soul sucking.

*Short Story*

My partner was once conned into buying a mid 90's Camry wagon by her family and friends. They said the same things about how its reliable and safe. It was most of those things but what it wasnt was inspiring. What she really wanted was a Nissan Stagea, Mitsubishi Legnum or a HZ Panel Van. Instead she took the average route and still 9 year later regrets that decision because now with a house and bills to pay its almost too late to go back.

*End Story*

This


Vs

This


I know which one id rather chill out in :D

I think 240s are much older than what OP had in mind.
jamesinc;114750 wroteI think 240s are much older than what OP had in mind.
True. They are just so charismatic!

Having owned two early 2000s Volvos I will say that the maintenance schedule is quite a bit more involved than a similar aged Japanese car. I do all my own work at home and even with me doing the work the cost of ownership was still a fair bit higher than the Japanese cars I own now.

Apart from the blandness compared to an earlier 240 the newer Volvo stuff is fine. Electrical problems may become the bane of your existence and if you arent doing the work yourself can become expensive and overwhelming.

If you are going to get anything newish then get a T5. The noise and power a T5 makes more than makes up for the bland exterior its housed in.

The general rule I apply to buying any car is the purchase price + ~$1500 to get it "right". With a Volvo I would make that figure +~$2500 to get everything right.

Mike's recommendation of something non-Volvo is perfectly valid too as if you are doing this as a money saving exercise then it may be a better idea to consider something more mainstream that wont cost as much to keep on the road. Volvo's arent bad cars but they do have their faults just like anything else. The difference is that if your RAV4 breaks tomorrow you can drive it into the shop and in about 2 days be back on the road. With your V50 the parts may need to be shipped from interstate or internationally.

I loved my V70 but I wouldn't own another one as a regular daily because everytime something broke I either needed to go second hand or import from the US to avoid the massive Australia Tax on parts. That being said when it worked it was a fantastic car.
Slowbrick;114752 wroteThe general rule I apply to buying any car is the purchase price + ~$1500 to get it "right". With a Volvo I would make that figure +~$2500 to get everything right.
This is a not a bad rule, especially when you're looking at Volvos 10-20 years old.

@EmmaR the reason @Philia_Bear advised against pre-2006 Volvos is because Volvos produced between about 2000 and 2006 with automatic transmissions have a poor reputation for having the transmissions fail.

If you're buying 2007+, it's worth getting the VIN for the car you're interested in, and either calling a nearby Volvo dealership or e-mailing Volvo Australia customer care (owners@volvo-customers.com), providing the VIN and asking if the car has any "software updates" outstanding. Often the cars that experience problems are the ones where those updates have been ignored.
When we bought a car for my wife 5 years ago, with similar wants -- safe + wagon + not too big, we chose an 06 Toyota Avensis Verso. It ticks the boxes, but isn't exciting. I used the Swedish Folksam data from real car accidents in Sweden to help make safety comparisons. I can't seem to find any of their stats past 2005 anymore, but below are the results for cars up to 2005. Maybe someone on here is better at internet searches than me.





Wow, my first ever car was a Citroen AX. Thank goodness I didn't crash it! I remember at the time thinking that it would fold up like a handkerchief if I had, and that seems likely accurate.
© 2013-2023 Oz Volvo. All rights reserved. | Forum Rules | Privacy Policy