legacycentral bbs

AWD 6-Spd stick, 5cyl 2.5L turbo 300HP. Active sport suspension, pwr everything, leather, cold wx package, etc...

Came across a few of these on Ebay, trawling for wagons... Volvo was never really on my radar, but this car looks really sweet. Price seems to be on par with same-vintage Subaru Legacy GT.

Anyone have experience with newer Volvos? I know the old ones are bloody bulletproof.

This is an '04, they look identical up through 08/09 as far as I can tell.

I've always had a soft spot for the Volvo wagons (and some older models). I've heard bad things about the reliability on the newer Volvos, but only in a general sense and I've never worked on anything after the 240 myself, so take that for the little it's worth. There must be an owner's club or something online that you could look into.

Yeah, seems all the European manufacturers' quality is sliding these days.

I would also look into cost of repairs. I'm guessing anything designed before 2003ish wouldn't have benifitted from Fords economies of scale yet.

I also have a sweet spot for the old RWD Volvo wagons.

One thing to think about is where are replacement parts going to come from?

Ford is obligated to stock parts for 10 years (or make them if not available) after a model launches. Now that Volvo's sold, Ford's off the hook and I have doubts that the Chinese purchaser is going to go out of it's way for non-current (the 'R') models.

mike
/240 owner