2002 Volvo S80 SE 2.4 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Luxury cruiser

Faults:

In my 3 year ownership so far;

Oil leak.

Misfire.

Both repaired at a reasonable cost. The car is kept serviced on time, I changed the cam-belt and water pump. All oil changes confirmed to have been done since new (full verified history). No signs of rust whatsoever.

General Comments:

Bloody love this S80 - peak Volvo in my opinion. A 2002 model car, but the S80 had been around since the late 1990's, which was Volvo at the top of their game before they got too complex in my opinion. Stunning looking and a lot of car for the money.

Nice light silver/blue color. Original 5 spoke Volvo alloys, suits this car well. Large sedan, real presence on the road.

Inside has black leather / wood effect trim. Very comfortable car for long journeys. Ride is super smooth, especially on motorways.

2.4 petrol automatic feels powerful. 28 - 30 mpg on average taking it slow. Not great by today's standard, but acceptable for the type of car it is.

People complain these cars are expensive to fix. Yes they are, if something serious goes wrong. But is that any different from any other car these days? No. I admit however I do not do much mileage these days - if I used this car more regularly it would surely show some more problems, but it is an older higher mileage car now.

I got a great deal on this S80, for a very nice price it has been a great reliable second car to cruise in comfort. Love it, and plan to keep it for a long time, despite being over 20 years old now. If buying one for yourself, choose a nice car with lower mileage and full history, walk away from rough examples, these cars should be cared for!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th May, 2024

2002 Volvo S80 T6 2.9 from Mexico

Summary:

Safe, comfortable and reliable

Faults:

Rear position bulbs had to be replaced more than once, everything else works just fine!

General Comments:

A fine car with a very responsive engine, good handling that makes you enjoy the ride.

The only "problem" I had was getting familiar with the radio/CD controls, by the way, it has a great sound with ProLogic.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th February, 2009

2002 Volvo S80 Bifuel SE 2.4 petrol/LPG from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Excellent running costs and comfort. Mediocre performance, disappointing on poor surfaces

Faults:

Anti-Roll Bar replaced £42.00.

Unhappy with Tracking, had 4-Wheel Electronic Wheel Alignment done- occasioning a new noise when doing tight 180 turns. Seems to have disappeared though. Occasional strange thumps from offside rear suspension.

Front tyres v badly worn on inner edge- Alignment showed the combined toe-in was 3degrees and should have been maximum 1degree.

On rough urban surfaces, v lumpy. Speed bumps handled better in a Renault.

General Comments:

Bifuel is amazing. 210miles of motorway, Cruise set at 70mph turned in UK6.4p per mile of LPG (cost on 19th/Sept2006 39.9p per litre LPG). This beats the 1.9dci Diesel Megane by 2p a mile. Major savings.

Bifuel struggles occasionally at traffic lights. Gentle prodding of pedal required.

V big and heavy car, but still holds the line. Bothered by the suspension though, on poor surfaces. Should be a lot better. Bifuel has self-levelling suspension as standard- could be a reason.

Comfort-wise, v successful. 400miles still leaves you in the mood for dancing. The Sat-Nav is good. The TV is pretty cool. Take a break from driving, watch some tv, hit the road again. V good. TV not sold on the new S80- This may be a rare accessory in future.

Stability Traction Control v convincing. Well worth making standard in every car, as the EU is proposing to do.

BTW- In a Bifuel model, the gas tanks are placed under the rear seats and in the spare wheel pit. There is no spare.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th September, 2006

2002 Volvo S80 Elite T6 from North America

Summary:

Too much for too little!

Faults:

Problems persist with the exterior mouldings around the windows. It chips off like fingernail polish.

Difficulty seeing out of rear windows due to the size of the head rests (Elite model has the video screens on the back side of the head rests).

Problems with the radio fading in and out, although the problem never surfaces for the dealer.

Rubber mouldings inside the car pulling away from the interior metal around the door.

Fabric around the mirror on the passenger side is pulling away from the mirror.

General Comments:

Overall, the car is fine.

However, for the price, the quality and durability of this car do not match up. My old 740 is more durable than the S80 T6 I have now.

The leather seats are nice, but there are a few pressure points that will soon wear through the leather.

I wish my husband had consulted with me before he paid for the car in full.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 14th October, 2003

9th Jan 2004, 19:01

I also looked at the S80 Elite, and was excited over the soft drink cooler in the rear armrest and the twin T.V.s - but soon realized as the driver I would never get to enjoy either of these nifty features, therefore I bought another Ford product, a 2003 Town Car and have been very happy with it. It has no flaws in quality related interior trim and is much smoother riding than the S-80 I drove.

30th Sep 2004, 21:26

Regarding the previous comment, expect your transmission to fail before 100k miles, along with the suspension system, and don't be surprised if the engnine starts buring oil with a smokey exhaust after 100k miles, IF those issues wait that long. Also, the Town Car is actually MORE expensive to buy new than the S80. I find this interesting since the Town Car is an American car made with mostly domestic parts borrowed from the Crown Vic (aka generic Ford parts), yet the Volvo is foreign and mostly original to itself (no borrowed chassis, engine, etc...)

5th Jan 2005, 13:37

My Certified warranty DOES NOT COVER to my surprise a necessary software upgrade, even though it will be required to UNJAM a jammed pressure switch in the transmission.

Furthermore, Volvo charges the following when their certified warrantly does not cover this problem.

$ 90 - to diagnose the issue

$ 90 - to install software to fix the problem

$ 25 - for the software itself.

THANKS!