1998 Volvo S70 T5 from North America - Comments

At 30,000 miles I had to have the complete rear brake system replaced. They covered that.

At 61,000 I had both front bearings fail and they had to replace my right axle. They also suggested that I have them clean the throttle body for $89 which I agreed too.

I got my car back and a week later it failed on me. Had it towed to another dealership who asked if someone had worked on my car.

This guy said that whoever worked on it failed to secure a large hose and it fell completely off. Now they have to re-calibrate everything, but they will have to charge me $78!!

To the credit of the second dealership, they called the first dealership and had them bill them and not I. But to as for this car - it's been a total piece of crap.

You will never - ever find a single Volvo in Texas that can stand 2 summers in a row without the lining on the walls of the doors coming loose. They say it's because of all the environmental wacko movement over in Sweden that they can't, won't or refuse to use any glue that can take the Texas summer heat.

I have had 2 sets on my car.

I am so sad to say that this will be my last ever Volvo. After 3 of them in a row I cannot see why I should get or recommend you buy one. I thought they were better cars. I was wrong. Steer clear of them until they start getting the message that we will not buy products that cannot go at least 100K without a major repair. Is that too much to ask?

My factory warranty ran out at 30K so I had the remainder of my VIP (Volvo Increased Protection) to cover me until 74K. On the night that I was left standing on the side of the road for 2 and a half hours I put some thought into how I would go about finding my next car.

It drove up in a wrecker. I though "who better to ask that the guy that drags these junks back for repair day after day?". So I asked the man what cars he tows the least for breakdowns... his answer was the Honda Accord. In his words, nothing goes wrong with that car.

After looking over your review, I can understand that you would be upset over the fact that your vehicle has had these various issues.

I am a teenager living in Canada, and am working to purchase my second Volvo, and I would absolutely recommend these cars to anyone. One thing has to be understood about Volvos, and European cars in general. They are not built to the spec of high strung Japanese import cars. They are designed to be long lasting, heavy, well built family work horse vehicles, not vehicles with a 5 year "drive them hard, park them wet" shelf life.

Along with more robust parts, comes heavier maintenance and the need to pay attention to overall care of the vehicle. Euro car maintenance is expensive, should you stick close to the dealership. However, look in the Yellowpages, and you'll quickly realize how many small independant Euro car mechanics there are in your local area, who charge significantly less to service your car.

In addition, although it is unfortunate that most interiors do not hold up well to Texas summer weather, one has to understand that Volvo's are European designed vehicles, and that what works for the consumers in the southern part of the USA isn't necessarily what works for most European car companies.

Bottom line is, if you are looking for bland reliability, and a simple, easy to drive, cheap vehicle ownership experience, purchase a Honda or Toyota. However, if you are like me and appreciate the heritage, craftsmanship, safety, solidity and quirkiness of European automobiles, put Volvo close to the top of your list.

I hate to break it to you, but for $89 to clean your throttle body they simply sprayed aerosol can of throttle body cleaner in it. Takes 5 minutes and the can costs a few dollars.

Volvo switched to an environmentally-friendly glue in the 90's. It's true it is not as effective as a glue and stupid problems arise like the one you mentioned, which is incredibly common on the S70/V70. Calling environmentalists "wackos" because they are aware of our environmental problem is going too far though. God forbid we treat our environment like we actually appreciate it and want to keep it around for the future.

You only had one major problem, and it was a first dealer's fault.

Oh, avoid Volvo dealers, find a good independent mechanic. You will have a lot of money left, and much less problems (It seems to me, that Volvo dealers break down your car instead of repairing or maintain it).

1998 S70 T5 190K, bought used, runs like a scalded dog and gets 27 MPG. The best thing about Volvo is this; you can pretty much do all of the maintenance and repair yourself. There has never been a more user friendly European auto manufacturer than Volvo, and the vast majority of Volvo's run for next to forever if maintained properly. I would recommend Volvo to anyone seeking superior value.

Hi there,

Every manufacturer puts out a "Monday" car. In the old days people would ask for a "Wednesday" car. I like Volvo. I bought my son a V70 wagon and my daughter has a S70 sedan. She is the envy of all her friends, so much so, she has the biggest petrol bill! I have had a 240 GL wagon from new, 21 years ago, that has done over 600,000 km's and my wife has a 21 year old sedan 400 km's. They will both be put out to that place in heaven that trusty old friends go to.

I am looking at a S70 T5 for my wife. The thing to watch out for in the Volvo T5's, unless you have had one from new, is how the previous owner drove the car. The real problem is that the Turbo is too good for the transmission. But, if you don't "Hoon" the car it should have no issues. One final comment about servicing. There are good dealers who do not charge as much as other good dealers. Also, there are mechanics out there who would service your car as if it's a piece of Japanese Crap.

Have a good day.