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I have nine year old German Shepherd who has arthritis and is having difficulty getting into the Tahoe. My sister has two Shepherds and a Dingo (Blue Healer). One of hers is 13. I searched for a long time for a low vehicle. Mini vans were not an option. The only two cars I could find were an 04 thru 08 Forester or Volvo V60. We decided on the V60, a 2016. A little nervous as we're in the boonies of Northern Wisconsin and the nearest Volvo dealer is three hours away. I'm rolling the dice on this one. Any other Volvo owners her?
My sister owned a Volvo years ago. Be prepared to do extra maintenance. The one my sister owned had a turbo. I'm sure it required 91 octane plus, but my sister just drove it until it died. That was the car I bought 2 new tires for her from Amazon (80k mile drop-forged Chinesium). She had been driving on a space saver that was showing the belts.
Watch the oil level. Our '10 wasn't factory equipped with an oil level sensor even though the dealer said it did. Fortunately it had a dipstick and it was needed. Car was bought practically brand new, well maintained and garage kept.
We decided on the V60, a 2016. A little nervous as we're in the boonies of Northern Wisconsin and the nearest Volvo dealer is three hours away. I'm rolling the dice on this one. Any other Volvo owners her?
A dealer?! Why would you ever do that? Thing must be well off warranty. Aren't there any competent mechanics anywhere nearer?
My sister ...had been driving on a space saver that was showing the belts.
Too funny, really. I saw a really small car the other day with a space saver tire on the front LH wheel - no hubcap so it stuck out like a sore thumb. I did a sorta double-take when I looked at both the tire/wheel & the car profile. The space saver (which appeared no wider than four inches) was the exact same diameter as the other three tires/wheels; therefore, the car profile was same. Just sorta bizarre.
Location: Spring, summer South Dakota otherwise Texas
Posts: 201
You may have bought the wrong car. One of our members has a Vista Cruiser for sale. It would easily hold you, your sister the dogs and weeks worth of luggage. Good luck with the Volvo
2006 V70R, 300 hp turbocharged, intercooled, AWD, Borg Warner M66 6 speed manual transmission, Brembo disc brakes, 4-C active suspension, in Sonic Blue. 1 of 377 imported into all of North America for the 2006 model year. Been in daily driver service since we ordered it and picked it up from the dealership in 2005.
I have done almost all of the work on it myself over the past 18 years and have learned a LOT from online forums such as swedespeed.com
One thing that is invaluable is ViDA and Dice (dealer vehicle communication tool / diagnostic program).
Last edited by Fun71; September 26th, 2023 at 08:20 PM.
I had a Volvo XC90 with the V8 from 2005 until 2016. Worked just fine mechanically. I can’t remember any big or weird issues. I changed the oil at 5,000 mile instead of factory 10,000 and changed the tires about every 14 months (heavy car >5,000 lbs) mostly because I used it in the snow. I think it might have chewed brake rotors a bit faster than normal, but again, heavy car. But super, super safe. More airbags than the UN.
My main complaint was they used an Optical Ring to connect all the radio/media components which was difficult to hook an iPhone into without a lot of fiddling. Proprietary, locked - just dumb, dumb, dumb.
Luckily, I’m a car guy who likes to fiddle. I bought a GROM device that emulated the CD player but actually connected to the iPhone. It worked OK until we sat in an Audi Q7 MkII (2017 model year, in May 2016). She said “It’s 10 years newer”. We bought the Q7 and traded in the XC90. The trade in about paid for the radio in the Audi.
The 2016 Q7 now has 95,000 mostly freeway miles on it & it’s in great shape. It’s also a heavy car, so I get tires about every 14 months & still change the oil at 5,000 mile instead of 10,000. It’s only weird thing was a water pump leak at 35k miles, but no other complaints. It chews up long distance drives in solitude and comfort. SF to LA is no strain. Nor is SF to Santa Barbara.
Olds content:
The 1966 Olds 98 reported 365hp from the 425 - more or less 7.5 liters. The supercharged V6 with 3.0 liters in the Audi has the same horsepower rating. Half the displacement with the same HP. Of course the torque curves are different, but Audi goes like a scalded dog. 0-60 in <6 seconds. All I need.
Of course the ‘66’s are more fun, but they’re louder too. I’ve looked over the Q7 water/sound sealing solutions to figure out how to retrofit the Oldsmobiles. I put a few extra seals on my Starfire, but concluded that a couple of extra seals can help, but there’s no comparing 1966 GM with 2016 VW for sound deadening, water sealing & quiet.
My brother drove a Volvo wagon into the ground. I’m guessing it had greater than 100k miles on it at death. And he’s not careful.
Net, net, change the oil, coolant, plugs and filters and my guess is you’ll be fine.
Have a couple Volvo here also 2002 v70 and 1991 940 models. V70 models up to 2008 is known for reliable
cars. When Ford was involved around 2008 the cars is known to rust more. We have also an Forester -06 here,
very nice car but a **** quality car , expensive parts and a lots of rust.
Don´t know Volvo spareparts pricing in US but a friend replaced one headlight here for 35.000 sek
( around $ 3177, v60 2019 )
They're fun cars, and the older ones are pretty easy to work on yourself. Can't really speak to the newer ones, but I hope the one you picked up gives you many trouble-free years!
I've had this several months. 5500 miles. And the big test. Taking four dogs in for yearly check up. There are two that don't get along in close quarters. So a 100 lbs, 65 and 55 lbs. Two German shepherds and the grumpy snappy blue healer. We call him a dingo because he has a short little dingo tail and an Aussie I talked to said it's not uncommon for blue healers to have some dingo in them. Wouldn't do a long ride like that but no problems.
As to the car itself, no complaints except the visor is crap. Too small for a guy with one eye trying to dodge glare. I used to work on cars and under the hood it doesn't look too bad. Been watching videos on various repairs and have changed oil twice. And I know everyone has an opinion on marvel oil but I've pulled engines that used it regularly and it's good for keeping carbon build up and sludge. New oil has their detergents but not the same things as old marvel oil. Anyway I'm hoping that will keep the rings free so it doesn't need a ring job. When I talked to a volvo mechanic he asked me the vin and then told me the rings will go. Wow did that crack me up. Don't know if he was new or what but even I know there's no guarantee I'll have problems. Funny. Personally I think the rings are going in all these new cars because of these ridiculous 10,000 mile oil changes. I'm planning on every 4000. Being an ex mechanic, and having dad and grampa who were mechanics one of the best things for an engine is clean oil and clean air.
Last edited by Cossack; January 30th, 2024 at 06:01 PM.
I had a Volvo XC90 with the V8 from 2005 until 2016. Worked just fine mechanically. I can’t remember any big or weird issues. I changed the oil at 5,000 mile instead of factory 10,000 and changed the tires about every 14 months (heavy car >5,000 lbs) mostly because I used it in the snow. I think it might have chewed brake rotors a bit faster than normal, but again, heavy car. But super, super safe. More airbags than the UN.
My main complaint was they used an Optical Ring to connect all the radio/media components which was difficult to hook an iPhone into without a lot of fiddling. Proprietary, locked - just dumb, dumb, dumb.
Luckily, I’m a car guy who likes to fiddle. I bought a GROM device that emulated the CD player but actually connected to the iPhone. It worked OK until we sat in an Audi Q7 MkII (2017 model year, in May 2016). She said “It’s 10 years newer”. We bought the Q7 and traded in the XC90. The trade in about paid for the radio in the Audi.
The 2016 Q7 now has 95,000 mostly freeway miles on it & it’s in great shape. It’s also a heavy car, so I get tires about every 14 months & still change the oil at 5,000 mile instead of 10,000. It’s only weird thing was a water pump leak at 35k miles, but no other complaints. It chews up long distance drives in solitude and comfort. SF to LA is no strain. Nor is SF to Santa Barbara.
Olds content:
The 1966 Olds 98 reported 365hp from the 425 - more or less 7.5 liters. The supercharged V6 with 3.0 liters in the Audi has the same horsepower rating. Half the displacement with the same HP. Of course the torque curves are different, but Audi goes like a scalded dog. 0-60 in <6 seconds. All I need.
Of course the ‘66’s are more fun, but they’re louder too. I’ve looked over the Q7 water/sound sealing solutions to figure out how to retrofit the Oldsmobiles. I put a few extra seals on my Starfire, but concluded that a couple of extra seals can help, but there’s no comparing 1966 GM with 2016 VW for sound deadening, water sealing & quiet.
My brother drove a Volvo wagon into the ground. I’m guessing it had greater than 100k miles on it at death. And he’s not careful.
Net, net, change the oil, coolant, plugs and filters and my guess is you’ll be fine.
Cheers
Chris
Yes sir change the oil it should be good. I was pleasantly surprised by the power in the volvo. The first time I floored it I was trying to tell how it felt compared to the Olds 330. The volvo is quick off the line and has good passing speed but is definitely faster off the line. First time I went to pass a line of cars I noticed it didn't have the same legs, still plenty of power.
It was mentioned that I should have got a Vista Cruiser. That made smile because I have the old family wagon in the back garage in dire need of restoration. A red 65. Someday I do hope to have it done.
September 26th, 2023, 12:47 PM
2002 v70 and 1991 940 models. V70 models up to 2008 is known for reliable
