S60r buying advice

[Sharkey R]

In the 2 years I've owned mine the only real issue I have had, touch wood, is a faulty headlight ballast. If you take your car to a specialist rather than a main stealer the running cost are cut by around 40%. No offence to T5 owners but I prefer the idea of having a rare car in a rare colour that will hold its value over time than a more common car that will depriciate quicker. Every car has common faults. R's need looking after but no more than any other high performance car. Don't be put off by the scary stories you hear about them.

[volvokid]

I wish we had specialists round here, even the main dealer I use and have a 200 mile round trip to get to isn't that clued up on them

[Jimmie]

Lee;
How many reviews have you read where the author including forum members have downed a certain vehicle as being troublesome. It is often only there opinion or hearsay?.
You as a mechanic should know that any motor etc will give you a problem if not looked after and serviced properly.
My R has given me no more problems than any other vehicle that i'v owned maybe even less.

[LeeT5]

Actually, i should have said read and heard about as one of the blokes who runs my local volvo independent garage has one and as much as he loves it, even he says they are one of volvo more unreliable cars.

I think 'Unreliable' is not the right word to use. In the two years i've owned my R, she's never not started and only ever brokedown once but i managed to restart and limp to the garage (fuel pressure sensor). In the grand scheme of things, i'd consider that Very bloody reliable indeed!!
What can let these cars down is the cost of some parts and unfortunately, wear and tear items will always need replacing.

In the last 2 months my car has cost me £4300, however, £600 of that was cosmetic and the rest were parts that needed to be replaced due to excess wear or parts not doing the job they're designed to do properly.

Other than the slight wear in the awd system (yes the Propshaft and angle gear have been replaced) she drives like new, with no knocks, bangs, rattles or squeaks. Everything works, not a bulb doesn't light and more importantly, everytime i turn the key she puts an wicked smile on my face! Priceless!!

Taking ALL i've just said into consideration, there aren't very many cars in or out of production that can do that without having to re - mortgage when it goes in for service or repair - i can tell you.

I can put up with all the little quirks and the odd expensive repair/maintenance bill that comes along because as far as i'm concerned, the S60R/V70R will always be one of the greatest cars that Volvo ever built. ALL cars have their faults, Volvo's included. To that end, i'll continue to spend money on my car and maintain her to a level that is more than acceptable cos at the end of the day, she's rare, she's fast, she's practical and above all she's worth it!

MRP....i'll give you first dibs on my R if and when i decide to sell. Don't hold yer breath thou mate cos you might have a long wait.

[LeeT5]

Yeah, but try putting that power down on anything other than a dry, flat, smooth road, and you'll have wheelspin, and torque steer galore. The R however, just gets up and goes.

I'll second that!

[LeeT5]

My 2k statement wasn't the best thing to say and leave it there. Yeah there was bushes and such that needed doing . I should have mentioned it got a replacement head unit too, so nothing was changed that you would really say is a typical r problem. The only thing I've had go wrong that is an expensive r part was my front shocks.

With respect Martyn, shocks are wear and tear items (even R shocks) so i wouldn't class that as a part that went wrong! ALL shocks wear out at some point, fact.

[LeeT5]

Lee;
How many reviews have you read where the author including forum members have downed a certain vehicle as being troublesome. It is often only there opinion or hearsay?.
You as a mechanic should know that any motor etc will give you a problem if not looked after and serviced properly.
My R has given me no more problems than any other vehicle that i'v owned maybe even less.

...And your point being? Why are you directing that question at me? I'm on my second R now and having owned them in total for 6 years, i know all about the running costs. Like people have said, there no more problematic than any other performance car with a £40k price tag.
If you wanna know what expensive to run is...then try running an Audi RS4/6 when your shocks cost £800 each, or a Range rover Sport (late shape), get a mirror knocked off one of those and you can kiss goodbye to £900!!
Like i said, in the grand scheme of things, running/owning an R isn't that expensive when compared to all the other high performance motors on the road.

Talking about reliability.....ask yourself this question; When was the last time you saw an S60R/V70R broke down on the side of the road or on the back of a recovery truck? The answer would probably be...never! Now ask yourself when you last saw a T5 or any other Volvo brokendown or on a truck? Answer would be .....can't remember.
Fact is, Volvo's are one of the most reliable cars on the roads and i for one can swear by that because of the job i do.

[LeeT5]

Lee;
How many reviews have you read where the author including forum members have downed a certain vehicle as being troublesome. It is often only there opinion or hearsay?.Not many!
You as a mechanic should know that any motor etc will give you a problem if not looked after and serviced properly.I totally agree.
My R has given me no more problems than any other vehicle that i'v owned maybe even less. Sweet. Same for me mate.

I'm basically saying that owning an R is not as expensive as you might think. Having a 4C chassis, Bi-Xenon lights, lowered suspension and AWD does complicate things but if it didn't have these then it would just be a T5. I agree with you Jimmie!!

[LeeT5]

S60 T5's dont come in the aqua colour like Volvokids (my favourite colour of the 'R's)

'Flash green Pearl' mate.

[M-R-P]

This has been fascinating.
Lee, not taking the bladder-contents, in all honesty, I meant what I said. The R is something I can only dream of owning. what youve mentioned about your recent service costs only reinforces my point though. I don't have an angle gear to worry about so there's one thing less to spend-on, my shocks cost me 190quid for the pair, and they're the best quality ones I can get without going race-spec and who's to say race/fast road shocks are any better for my purposes?
the R is stunning and fast but for me, who got a tatty old ex plod T5 for nowt, the ratio of smiles per quid makes the Boggo-T5 a better deal, by a long shot.
Like I said, enjoy your Rs lads. Because, if you were me, you would have had to scrap your car for the sake of shocks and disks,

[JUDGENINJA]

Talking about reliability.....ask yourself this question; When was the last time you saw an S60R/V70R broke down on the side of the road or on the back of a recovery truck? The answer would probably be...never! Now ask yourself when you last saw a T5 or any other Volvo brokendown or on a truck? Answer would be .....can't remember.
Fact is, Volvo's are one of the most reliable cars on the roads and i for one can swear by that because of the job i do.

....mine.... Twice!!! Total gearbox failure then Total engine failure...
Service history on my 850 shows a new turbo at 70k and gearbox at 100k
I blew the gearbox at 160k and the engine at 185k...

They are still reliable in comparison to what I used to do with it(120-150mph sustained for 15mins each day to work).

[Justin]

Its an easy choice really, If you want a tyre shredding nutter bus that won't handle well (especially in the wet and freezing conditions) is less desirable unless you want to willy wave down the pub about your BHP figure after its remapped, buy the 2.4 T5.

If you want the opposite with more power (that you can use like the Martini girl), a feel of exclusivity to it, and have a few quid to buy a good warranty, buy the R!

I've owned every model and variant and had 2 R's, i loved mine and had the angle gear go (50/50 bill with Volvo) and a turbo blow, i am still looking for a top spec one with low miles to garage for a few years.

[LiamT4]

I think 'Unreliable' is not the right word to use. In the two years i've owned my R, she's never not started and only ever brokedown once but i managed to restart and limp to the garage (fuel pressure sensor). In the grand scheme of things, i'd consider that Very bloody reliable indeed!!
What can let these cars down is the cost of some parts and unfortunately, wear and tear items will always need replacing.

In the last 2 months my car has cost me £4300, however, £600 of that was cosmetic and the rest were parts that needed to be replaced due to excess wear or parts not doing the job they're designed to do properly.

Other than the slight wear in the awd system (yes the Propshaft and angle gear have been replaced) she drives like new, with no knocks, bangs, rattles or squeaks. Everything works, not a bulb doesn't light and more importantly, everytime i turn the key she puts an wicked smile on my face! Priceless!!

Taking ALL i've just said into consideration, there aren't very many cars in or out of production that can do that without having to re - mortgage when it goes in for service or repair - i can tell you.

I can put up with all the little quirks and the odd expensive repair/maintenance bill that comes along because as far as i'm concerned, the S60R/V70R will always be one of the greatest cars that Volvo ever built. ALL cars have their faults, Volvo's included. To that end, i'll continue to spend money on my car and maintain her to a level that is more than acceptable cos at the end of the day, she's rare, she's fast, she's practical and above all she's worth it!

MRP....i'll give you first dibs on my R if and when i decide to sell. Don't hold yer breath thou mate cos you might have a long wait.

I can see you really like your R and want to make your point, which is totally fair enough, i'm the same with my 540i. I'm just saying what my garage has told me, and thats they tend to have more issues than most other volvos. What with the awd, and 4c chassis.

What you have to remember is that we're (well i'm not) saying that they are unreliable as a car, i do like them a lot as they come in great colours, have very nice interiors and they are a fanatstic combination of performance, grip and comfort, its just that i personnally wouldn't have one as an everyday car.

[MattM]

£4300 in 2 months is mega running costs! You could buy a decent spec 2.4 T5 for that :p

[LeeT5]

£4300 in 2 months is mega running costs! You could buy a decent spec 2.4 T5 for that :p

It was actually £3700 as i also had wheel refurb and front end respray which are actually not running costs. I agree, i could of, but then my R wouldn't be looking her best and that is unforgiveable!

[s_cowen]

when buying an s60R make sure you find one that's already had the angle gear done, one less expensive job for you, then all you need to worry about is the shocks, turbo, clutch & normal ware & tare parts. These bits normally get tired over the 100k+ mark depending how the car has been treat throughout its life but you have got to remember that once these jobs are done & if you use quality parts you could probably get a another good 100k out of them again!
I have just bought a full set of genuine Brembo pads & discs for mine & it only come to £230, That's back & front not too bad considering the quality. the shocks can also be bought in pairs for around £340 pound if you do a bit of shopping around instead of nearly £500 for one at Volvo. stay away from volvo if you can & try & find a decent indy Volvo specialist & you can cut your bills in more than half!

I find my s60r to be the most reliable car I have owned considering the abuse it gets & its never let me down once, touch wood.

[Justin]

I have just bought a full set of genuine Brembo pads & discs for mine & it only come to £230, That's back & front not too bad considering the quality. the shocks can also be bought in pairs for around £340 pound if you do a bit of shopping around instead of nearly £500 for one at Volvo. stay away from volvo if you can & try & find a decent indy Volvo specialist & you can cut your bills in more than half!

For comparison, the front discs and pads on my RS4 are £1200 to replace!!!!!!!

[s_cowen]

For comparison, the front discs and pads on my RS4 are £1200 to replace!!!!!!!

Wow & that's just the front!

[Santa]

Reliable or unreliable its usually how hard you drive the car......problem with the s60r/v70r is that without will power you can drive it hard and drive it hard often.

Punching gravity and friction in the face causes accelerated wear

[Justin]

Wow & that's just the front!

Exactly, its a 2k job to replace disks and pads! The R cars are cheap to repair in comparison....