Major Disappointment with Qualtiy with my 99 S80

[Paul Caldwell]

Just to pass on this information for other potential buyers.

I have owned this car now for almost 2 1/2 years. I was not the original owner and I purchased it with 11K on it. Since I have owned it I have had to put up with a litany of problems which I won't go into on this post as most were covered under warranty. However recently I noticed that the left side climate control dial backlight had burned out, one half of it. I went into the dealership and was told that the labor for the work was $120.00 and the bulbs were 9.00 apiece. I was amazed that this type of bulb would fail at only 54K but even more amazed at the cost ot replace it.

While the car was being serviced, the dealership called me to inform me that my serpentine drive belt was cracked. As this is the first car I have owned with such a belt, I didn't really know what to expect for wear, however I did expect more than 54K. I went out to look at the belt and saw only slight pops in the material on the ridged side of the belt and didn't look at the back side of the belt. At this time I didn't know that this was considered "normal" wear and authorized the repair. AFter the fact I found out that what matters is the back side of these belts. Again I probably had another 50K on the old belt, but the dealership, just took me.

I asked to have my brakes inspected and while there found out that for a front and rear brake job, the cost is 450.00. Again amazing. The parts are only 120.00 and the dealership is charging the rest in labor. Anywhere else in the world you should be able to get a brake job front and rear for around 200.00 max 250.00.

I contacted Volvo Customer Service BTW thats a joke, they don't care and have yet to even call me back after the original call.

As anyone who owns or has looked at this car knows, the S80 is not a cheap car, and for the price point I expected a much better quality vechicle. I would have to say that for sure I regret the purchase and if I had it to do again, would not purchase another Volvo.

Paul Caldwell
[email protected]

[merrick]

my 99 s80 has been back to the dealer over 10 times for stupid electrical problems. each time i go to the dealer they try to sell me more things than i need. they also always tell me upfront that my repair will probably won't be covered under the warranty. ( even the A/C) thanx for reading. it feels good to vent. also the dealer to stay away from is located in ramsey nj.

[kanc2001]

Ditto on the above statements. My little computer in the dash is constantly spitting out errors, rather it be a "alarm system maintence needed" " emissions system maintence needed" "fuel cap is open". There seems to be a ghost in the system. these errors are all random, never anything actually wrong. Just yesterday, when I got the alarm message, the sunroof failed to open?? I should've bought an A-6 instead of this s80, but the wife wanted the s80, and she's the boss. LOL!!

[V70]

Originally Posted by Paul Caldwell

Just to pass on this information for other potential buyers.

I have owned this car now for almost 2 1/2 years. I was not the original owner and I purchased it with 11K on it. Since I have owned it I have had to put up with a litany of problems which I won't go into on this post as most were covered under warranty. However recently I noticed that the left side climate control dial backlight had burned out, one half of it. I went into the dealership and was told that the labor for the work was $120.00 and the bulbs were 9.00 apiece. I was amazed that this type of bulb would fail at only 54K but even more amazed at the cost ot replace it. THE ONLY I CAN SAY AT THIS TIME IS BULBS FAIL.

While the car was being serviced, the dealership called me to inform me that my serpentine drive belt was cracked. As this is the first car I have owned with such a belt, I didn't really know what to expect for wear, however I did expect more than 54K. I went out to look at the belt and saw only slight pops in the material on the ridged side of the belt and didn't look at the back side of the belt. At this time I didn't know that this was considered "normal" wear and authorized the repair. AFter the fact I found out that what matters is the back side of these belts. Again I probably had another 50K on the old belt, but the dealership, just took me.THE SREPENTINE BELT YES SHOWS CRACKING AT 54,000 MILE BUT IT IS REPLACED AT 60,000 MILE SERVICE WITH THE SERVICE, SEE YOUR WARRANTY/SERVICE BOOK FOR ALL THE DETAILS ON TIME OF REPLACEMENT OF SUCH PARTS.

I asked to have my brakes inspected and while there found out that for a front and rear brake job, the cost is 450.00. Again amazing. The parts are only 120.00 and the dealership is charging the rest in labor. Anywhere else in the world you should be able to get a brake job front and rear for around 200.00 max 250.00. YES YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET YOUR BRAKES DONE CHEPER BUT IF THE RIGHT PARTS ARENT USED A THY FAIL DO YOU THINK AUTO ZONE WILL COVER PARTS AND LABOR FOR ONE YEAR WITH NO QUESTIONS.

I contacted Volvo Customer Service BTW thats a joke, they don't care and have yet to even call me back after the original call. DID YOU CALL VOLVO CUSTOMER SERVICE OR THE DEALER WHERE YOU HAD YOUR CAR SERVICED

As anyone who owns or has looked at this car knows, the S80 is not a cheap car, and for the price point I expected a much better quality vechicle. I would have to say that for sure I regret the purchase and if I had it to do again, would not purchase another Volvo. VOLVO CARS ARE LIKE ALL CARS THY BRAKE DOWN FROM TIME TO TIME AND IF YOU WAS TO READ YOUR WARRANTY/SERIVCE BOOK YOU WOULD KNOW YOU HAVE RIGHTS ,SUCH AS GOOD WILL ITEMS.

Paul Caldwell
[email protected]

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[V70]

Originally Posted by kanc2001

Ditto on the above statements. My little computer in the dash is constantly spitting out errors, rather it be a "alarm system maintence needed" I BET THERE IS A CODE IN THE DIM FOR A FAULTY ALARM HORN " emissions system maintence needed" I BET THER I A ECM 4308 OR ECM 4338 WITCH IS ALSO RELATED TO YOUR NEXT ONE AS WELL "fuel cap is open". THERE IS NO GOAST IN YOUR CAR THE DIM DOES NOT JUST SPIT OUT ERRORS CODES AT RANDOM THE S80 IS A VERY SMART CAR THE GAS CAP CODE MIGHT JUST BE YOU DID NOT TIGHTEN YOUR CAP TIGHT ENUF There seems to be a ghost in the system. these errors are all random, never anything actually wrong. Just yesterday, when I got the alarm message, the sunroof failed to open?? YES SUN ROOF IS IN LINE WITH ALARM SYSTEM AND IF THE ALARM IS NOT WORKING RIGHT YOU MIGHT JUST HAVE MANY SYSTEMS NOT WORK RIGHT I should've bought an A-6 instead of this s80, but the wife wanted the s80, and she's the boss. LOL!!

READ ABOVE MINE IS IN CAPS

[italian101]

I just wanted to put in my 2 cents. I purchased my '99 s80 T6 last year at 52K miles. I have driven it for a year and about 14000 miles, and i absolutely love my car. Aside from two headlight bulbs and windshield wipers, there has been nothing wrong. This car runs great, and is a blast to take on road trips, the most comfy car i have ever been in. It is not as sporty as some cars i have had, but definely very plush (i have owned a 95 BMW M3 and 00 Acura 3.2TL). I am very pleased with mine. I look forward to buying another one some day.....

Jake

[sonofabisket404]

OK, i Bought a '99 s80 t6, ive had it for about 2 months and Heres my problem list (mostly all fixed now)

) Emissions Service Required
) Head Light bulb was going on and off
) Brake Light bulb was going on and off
) Check Gas Cap
) needed a new Sway Bar 1 month after i bought it
) Flat Tire on the highway (the car had brand new tires too)

6 problems in 2 months, I'm damn near in the shop or under my car everyweek fixing something....

Does anybody know how much or what it takes to get the check gas cap warning fixed?

[adjutant]

I purchased a 99 S80 T6 14 months ago with 56K miles on it. In those 14 months it has broken down 7 TIMES, towed 5 TIMES, and made me miss Thanksgiving (missed flight waiting on tow truck) and my best friends bachelor party.

I have spent between 20-25 hours total on the sides of highways waiting on tow trucks and have spent right around 2K on non-warranty repairs and rental cars.

It was the 6th car I have owned in my life and has been the worst car experience I have ever had. My S80 was an absolute miserable failure as a car

[sonofabisket404]

my s80 has been good to be the last few months I must say though
1) Ive got it to go 140+ (maybe 150) miles an hour on i95 Noth
2) I can get it to go 40+ miles an hour in first gear under 6000rpm
3) Ive got it to burn rubber up to 45 miles an hour
4) Ive dragged and beat a GTI, a Focus, a Mustang, a Camaro, a Firebird, basicially anything Ive raced Ive beat in exception to the Porsche and the Corvette... hahaha

[rdollie]

I owned a '99 Volvo S80 T6 for 4 years. You can definitely embarrass many a proper sports sedan at the stop light rallies. However you will pay a HEAVY price in fuel economy (twin turbos can drink a lot when you stand on them all the time) and tires (you can burn the tires right off the wheel in the T6 if you leave traction control off.)

I had my car for about 70k miles as I recall. The first 3.5 years were very pleasurable. After I hit the 60k mark my extended warranty program did have to make a few repairs. However, the car never stranded me to the best of my memory.

Overall, I can't complain. Not only was the '99 S80 the first year for a new model, it was the first year for a new platform (and the first year for the T6 engine, CANBUS electronics, etc. etc.) If you buy a first year platform you are a voluntary beta tester whether the car is European, Domestic, or Japanese.

Now buying the same car several years down the road - um no, not for me....

Originally Posted by sonofabisket404

my s80 has been good to be the last few months I must say though
1) Ive got it to go 140+ (maybe 150) miles an hour on i95 Noth
2) I can get it to go 40+ miles an hour in first gear under 6000rpm
3) Ive got it to burn rubber up to 45 miles an hour
4) Ive dragged and beat a GTI, a Focus, a Mustang, a Camaro, a Firebird, basicially anything Ive raced Ive beat in exception to the Porsche and the Corvette... hahaha

[squintsf16]

I currently own a 99 s80 with 70k miles on it, and wish that someone woud steal it and blow it up. I have all kinds of intermittent electrical problems, both turbos were replaced at 54k miles, and the list goes on and on. I have called volvo cust service, and what a waste that was. The dealership is useless and I'm stuck with a car that is now worth nothing. My insurance went up because I bought a "safe" car. I tell everyone I meet not to buy a volvo, because if you do you will be sorry!

[rdollie]

I sold my '99 S80 T6 at just about 70k mile mark myself late last year (I got $18k for it which wasn't bad at all for a nearly 5 year old car - 43% residual value at 4.8 years of age.) I can tell you from experience (I've had several recent Volvos) that turbo failures are quite rare in modern Volvos (the Mitsubishi turbo is quite reliable.) My S80 was mechanically sound up until around the 60k mark when it had some issues (nothing that ever stranded me.) At the time I had a plan from Warranty Gold so I didn't worry about it. Once Warranty Gold went under I knew I had to sell as I just don't like owning any cars out of warranty coverage.

I can't talk to your other issues but I can say your insurance shouldn't go up after buying a Volvo. Call your agent and go through the list of safety items and make sure you get the discount for things like laminated glass, side impact curtains, anti-whiplash seats, etc. etc. Without doing this my insurance would have been about 25% higher but once I go through this process with my cars I'm always quite happy with my insurance rate.

Good luck.

-rollie
[email protected]

Originally Posted by squintsf16

I currently own a 99 s80 with 70k miles on it, and wish that someone woud steal it and blow it up. I have all kinds of intermittent electrical problems, both turbos were replaced at 54k miles, and the list goes on and on. I have called volvo cust service, and what a waste that was. The dealership is useless and I'm stuck with a car that is now worth nothing. My insurance went up because I bought a "safe" car. I tell everyone I meet not to buy a volvo, because if you do you will be sorry!

[squintsf16]

Replacement part costs are what caused my insurance to go up. I have figured out why volvos are so safe: they are always broken thats why!

[rdollie]

I guess it's all relative. What type of car did you have before?
I've priced Volvo parts before and they're no worse than an Acura, Saab, or Lexus and a small bit cheaper than Audi and BMW.

Originally Posted by squintsf16

Replacement part costs are what caused my insurance to go up. I have figured out why volvos are so safe: they are always broken thats why!

[C5RAP]

Pretty interesting, although expected.

The S80 is just a bad car.

We had a 2000 S80T6, bought it new. I'll tell you first that this was a very comfortable great riding car...when it moved on it's own power.

This had to be the wrost car I've ever owned. We spent thousands to keep this car on the road. This expensive luxury car left is stranded more times than I wish to count. I've had all the same problems that have been mentioned here and maybe a few more. When we finally dumped it off at Carmax, it had 65K miles on it and looked like new. We walked away with a check for 11K and and had to chalk it up to a very expensive learning experience. I didn't even want to give to to my teenage driver for a first car because I didn't trust it's reliability.

Sorry Volvo, I'll never buy another one and I'll make sure people I talk to know the truth.