Faults:

ABS flicks on and off.

Check engine light for evap system.

Heater core took a dump on us. Not hard to fix, just very frustrating.

General Comments:

Our last car was a '96 850 turbo wagon. My wife and I loved that car. Unfortunately my wife got into a wreck. With the insurance money, we set off to find another wagon. We found the V70R, took it for a spin and bought it. This is Volvo's upper trim level and most sporty car. All wheel drive, more horse power, the works...

We hate it. Not that it's a bad car, but our 850 turbo wagon was much more fun to drive. The handling is not as good in the V70. I could park the 850 like it was a Metro. I'm sure the AWD robs horse power, but the V70 feels slower. To be fair, I put an 850R ECU in the old car, and Volvo did market the 850 as a sport wagon. The V70 was made to be more subdued, even the V70R.

The layout and controls in the V70 are more difficult to use, and feel cheap over the 850 to me. On the plus side, the sound system in the V70 is amazing. The seats are very nice and plusher than our old car. Cup holders suck in both cars we had.

It gets my wife from point A to point B, but we don't plan on keeping it much longer. Don't fall for the hype. I did, and feel let down. We got the car thinking it was an upgrade over our 850. On the plus side, we got the car dirt cheap for a R model in good shape. I only put $200 into it on repairs I do myself.

Faults:

A/C stops working after 10 minutes. Found the fix online using plastic bread-clips on the A/C clutch.

Rear wiper motor doesn't work.

Some dashboard lights don't work.

General Comments:

I bought this car for less than $2000 USD about a year ago, and haven't had a minute's trouble with it. I do the minor repairs/maintenance myself and found a Volvo Tech that works out of his own garage on weekends to do the big stuff.

For maintenance I've replaced the timing belt and pulleys, brakes and rotors, front ball joints, tie rod ends, rear shocks, ignition switch, spark plugs and fuel filter. All these things were done rather inexpensively by myself or my mechanic. Lots of parts can be found online for these cars.

I don't understand why there are so many bad reviews on these cars. I have to think that a majority of the complaints are due more to crooked dealers/mechanics than poorly designed Volvos. Dealers are out to make money, ethics not withstanding.

Find yourself a trustworthy mechanic and these cars are a great used value.

Faults:

Things gone wrong with my Volvo:

Rear shocks went at 240,000 ($350 each!).

ABS module repair ($100).

Brake rotors front ($40 each).

AC condensor seized (from not using AC).

Motor mounts (upper and passenger side, $100).

Brake hoses needed replacing ($100).

General Comments:

Great car for the DIY'er. Volvo dealerships (stealerships) will take you for a very long ride in your Volvo.

This is a great car AS LONG AS IT IS MAINTAINED!

Very comfortable and reliable.

Not an off-road vehicle (more for gravel roads and muddy fields).

The turbo engine has more than enough power, and the AWD system gives plenty of traction in the snow.