Opinions - 2004 Volvo S60

Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Classic Goldwings

Help Support Classic Goldwings:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
mcgovern61

mcgovern61

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
10,965
Reaction score
229
Location
Kingsport, Tennessee
My Bike Models
Former '82 GL1100 "The Slug"
I am looking for any friendly or even critical advice about potentially purchasing a 2004 Volvo S60. It is loaded with lots of safety features and the dealers here cannot seem to sell it because it is stick shift! (Not a problem I say, but you would be surprised how many cars go for cheap around here because they are stick).

The car is for my 19 year old daughter who has been faithfully driving around the 2002 Hyundai Elantra to the point that it is time to replace it. It has a 5 cylinder engine, all leather, black exterior

The only thing I know about Volvo's is the safety features. Do not know anything about reliability. It has 136k miles on it and the dealer has lowered the price from $4999 to $2997 (not my doing, just watching over time). It has been sitting for more than 6 months on their lot and they want to get rid of it.

image.php


I am hoping you guys might have some advice?
 
I've no first hand knowledge. Maybe do a google search on the model and look for reviews and recalls?
 
I had a 240 about 15 years ago. Nice car, but replacement parts were very expensive...almost $300 for a mass air flow sensor! This was before Ford owned Volvo (I don't believe they do anymore), so things may have changed since then.
 
How long has your daughter been driving and can she drive stick? I want my new drivers to learn standard but not until they're COMPLETELY comfortable just driving. One son has been driving for a year and the other has his permit. After a year, I would say my son is not ready to take on shifting safely. Just my $.02, Dave
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=182388#p182388:3n1eg28x said:
mcgovern61 » Yesterday, 11:08 pm[/url]":3n1eg28x]
I am looking for any friendly or even critical advice about potentially purchasing a 2004 Volvo S60. It is loaded with lots of safety features and the dealers here cannot seem to sell it because it is stick shift! (Not a problem I say, but you would be surprised how many cars go for cheap around here because they are stick).

The car is for my 19 year old daughter who has been faithfully driving around the 2002 Hyundai Elantra to the point that it is time to replace it. It has a 5 cylinder engine, all leather, black exterior

The only thing I know about Volvo's is the safety features. Do not know anything about reliability. It has 136k miles on it and the dealer has lowered the price from $4999 to $2997 (not my doing, just watching over time). It has been sitting for more than 6 months on their lot and they want to get rid of it.

image.php


I am hoping you guys might have some advice?
Click to expand...
 
Gerry PM Mad Dog Tannen ( Marty) and see if he can shed some light for you as he loves his V70XC and has done quite a bit of work on it. :yes:
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=182389#p182389:2y6ghrgm said:
slabghost » Sun Oct 16, 2016 10:11 pm[/url]":2y6ghrgm]
I've no first hand knowledge. Maybe do a google search on the model and look for reviews and recalls?
Click to expand...
Thanks V! Done and it looks pretty good for this model (without the turbo). There were transmission issues, but they seem to only be related to the automatics.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=182391#p182391:8vnutunt said:
Steve83 » Sun Oct 16, 2016 11:42 pm[/url]":8vnutunt]
I had a 240 about 15 years ago. Nice car, but replacement parts were very expensive...almost $300 for a mass air flow sensor! This was before Ford owned Volvo (I don't believe they do anymore), so things may have changed since then.
Click to expand...
Thanks Steve! Did some quick pricing on normally wearable items, sensors, exhaust, A/C and it looks like most parts are about the same as we have paid for the Hyundai.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=182396#p182396:26v5w5f2 said:
D-50Dave » Mon Oct 17, 2016 5:59 am[/url]":26v5w5f2]
How long has your daughter been driving and can she drive stick? I want my new drivers to learn standard but not until they're COMPLETELY comfortable just driving. One son has been driving for a year and the other has his permit. After a year, I would say my son is not ready to take on shifting safely. Just my $.02, Dave
Click to expand...
Dave, she has been driving for nearly 2.5 years and has a good grip on most driving conditions including snow and rain. The clutch is hydraulic and a breeze to use. I will have to train her on starts and stops plus hill holding.
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=182399#p182399:icjqq4si said:
Ansimp » Mon Oct 17, 2016 7:12 am[/url]":icjqq4si]
Gerry PM Mad Dog Tannen ( Marty) and see if he can shed some light for you as he loves his V70XC and has done quite a bit of work on it. :yes:
Click to expand...
Will do! Thanks Tony!
 
Looks like a really nice car. I might even consider one like it and I'm not a big fan of cars smaller than a yacht .
 
My brother had a Volvo once... he will never again. Every time he took it to the shop and it needed something done, it came with a $1,000 plus repair bill. I think his was a 2000 model, but I couldn't say for sure.
 
Volvo is up there on my list of the last brands I'd buy along with VW. May be better now but a Volvo my dad had was one of the hardest cars to work on we ever had needing special tools and expensive dealer only parts for many repairs. Many of the newer cars are like that now anyhow but it's something to consider.
 
If it's cheap enough it could be treated as a throw away, but you have to able to drive your money out of it in miles barring major repairs. And the current trend is the disappearance of stick shifts, it's my understanding that only two manuf. now offer sticks and only on very limited models. The report I read said you can't even get a stick in a Ford 1/2 ton F-150 anymore. What's the world coming to ?
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=182428#p182428:1847e08o said:
backlander » Mon Oct 17, 2016 3:37 pm[/url]":1847e08o]
If it's cheap enough it could be treated as a throw away, but you have to able to drive your money out of it in miles barring major repairs. And the current trend is the disappearance of stick shifts, it's my understanding that only two manuf. now offer sticks and only on very limited models. The report I read said you can't even get a stick in a Ford 1/2 ton F-150 anymore. What's the world coming to ?
Click to expand...
Cheap enough is the key here. It seems affordable, but I will be taking a mechanical look at it tonight. They have good service records for the car. Inspection and test drive tonight before anything else. That will give me the week to review this information and decide if it is what we want for her.
 
Re : What is the world coming too?
Every year new cars become more complicated and can't be fixed by the average mechanic.
Transmissions are morphing into an assembly that cannot be fixed, just removed and replaced by a new unit.
On the other hand, cars are lasting twice as long, with trucks routinely going 300,000 miles without major mechanical issues. (Almost like Oldwings!)
 
Checked out the car tonight and of course there are pluses and minuses.

*Overall, the car is in great shape, but when I went to check the dipstick, the oil was 1.5 quarts low and from sitting, there was rust on the dipstick.

*3 bad tires, worn down to their wear marks. One tire is brand new. All 4 tires are different. When i took it out on the highway, there is real bad and loud tire noise and rumble in the wheel. Could be just 3 bad tires, but I would want the wheel bearings checked. The CV joints were good.

*Engine is smooth and quiet.....too quiet. It is very hard to tell when to shift as a result of not hearing the engine at all! This would be fine for me, but it will make it hard to teach my daughter to drive a stick if she cannot hear (or feel) the engine.

*Serpentine belt is shot and looks to be very, very old. Chances are, timing belts may be just as old.

Otherwise, everything works in the car and it is very comfortable. I can get the dealer to come down to $2600 and he will replace the serpentine belt, oil and antifreeze, but not the tires. 4 new tires installed are running about $400.

The big dilemma is can I teach my daughter stick on such a quiet car and the fact that the oil was down 1.5 quarts.
 

Latest posts

Top