Thoughts on Volvo

irBosOtter said:
Don't do it!

Biggest mistake of my life was buying a 2009 S40 T5 R-Design in 2011. Had 23 000km's on the clock. All good and well under motor plan, never had any real issues with it anyway while it was still under motor plan. (now there is plenty issues, started 5 days after motor plan was out lol )
And it has no resale value at all, none zero zilch. Maybe the V40 has better resale value, but I will never buy another Volvo in my life, that's for sure. Could not even sell this one last year for R100 000 when it was still under motor plan and had 70 000km's on the clock. (And still owed the bank R160 000 on the loan)

There's a reason they say "Volvo for life", once you buy it you cannot get rid of it unless you are prepared to give it away for free.

Edit: Ok, maybe no one wanted to buy it cause I did upgrade to a bigger intercooler, loaded ACT software and did decat and 76mm downpipe, 221kw and 464nm's.
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think this is luck of the draw, my friend has the same car with 200 000km on it with not one issue.
 
I quite like their buses and trucks. And this snowski is eye-catching.

snowmobile-jump-500-23.jpg


here is the latest one: Volvo Ski-Doo
 
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zululami said:
There is no better hatchback than a V40 on SA roads at the moment.
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Its like that hot chick of your dreams. Great look at, in bed and quite a head turner but demanding.

Costing you an arm and a leg to maintain. When its time to let her go you realise it wasn't worth it.
 
Just No. I Have one. Love driving the car, hate having it. Cant get anything for it. Costs me on average twice the monthly installment in maintenance. I have a 2008 S40 2.0D
 
werfie said:
Just No. I Have one. Love driving the car, hate having it. Cant get anything for it. Costs me on average twice the monthly installment in maintenance. I have a 2008 S40 2.0D
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Care to elaborate on what is so dear with regards to maintenance? Are you using the dealer?
 
Kix said:
Care to elaborate on what is so dear with regards to maintenance? Are you using the dealer?
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No. Not the dealer.

In the last 8 months Ive had to replace the A/C pump, boot lock mechanism and alternator. Add to that regular services and wear and tear like break pads and disks at prices inexplicably more expensive than other manufacturers and an upcomming cambelt service... it has cost me a pretty penny.
 
werfie said:
No. Not the dealer.

In the last 8 months Ive had to replace the A/C pump, boot lock mechanism and alternator. Add to that regular services and wear and tear like break pads and disks at prices inexplicably more expensive than other manufacturers and an upcomming cambelt service... it has cost me a pretty penny.
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Yikes. Mileage?
 
AntennaMan said:
Do you think your upgrades has something to do with the problems experienced when out of motor plan?
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Glad you asked this.

Not because it's relevant here, but because it's so often overlooked.

People tell me how unreliable GTI's are and if I'm not worried about mine. I've never seen or heard of a stock GTI giving major issues.

My own mechanic the other day told me I should consider getting a warranty now, because at my mileage they start getting dodgy.

So I asked him if any of those dodgy cars were stock and he just responded "yeah, good point".

My aircon failed at 98000km but this was a known problem if you were unlikely enough to get a compressor from one of the two OEM's that was dodgy. VW foot half the bill and SMG who I bought it from the rest. It's the only major issue the car has ever had.
 
I have a XC70 2.5T at 200 000kms, I spend my time between SA and Zim roads (35/40 000kms per year) and treat it very harshly (potholes at 120+) and never had an issue except me breaking the driveshaft a few months ago, but I guess that with any other car it would be close to a write off seeing the impact under (120 road going down and then up suddenly).

The services are a bit expensive but well under what having a less resistant car would cost me, no turbo issue at all so far and a pleasure to drive on long drives.

The petrol consumption is very good on highway, in town it's a nightmare at 14/15L/100kms.
 
Dealer charging R10k for a service and the guys happier they are getting cheaper, yikes.

I just need to man up and get my oil leak fixed, going to be quite expensive and a fair bit of work involved incl cambelt change. Cost R3k, lol.
 
airborne said:
Dealer charging R10k for a service and the guys happier they are getting cheaper, yikes.

I just need to man up and get my oil leak fixed, going to be quite expensive and a fair bit of work involved incl cambelt change. Cost R3k, lol.
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diy, admirable
 
You can get good second hand bargains on the Volvos. But there is a reason for that. Service and maintenance costs are far higher than for other vehicle makes, at least here in Durban (Volvo Umhlanga and Volvo Pinetown), maybe because the number of dealers is limited. Even when I send mine to an independent workshop they still have to buy most of the parts from the expensive dealers, because there is a limited availability of after market parts. And most of the independent mechanics seem more comfortable working on VWs, Audis, BMW and Mercs - maybe because they are more common than Volvos.
 
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