5th Jun 2009, 14:14

I have a '98 Volvo S-70 with 195000 miles. The previous owner was anal about any repairs or anything like that. The car runs great; I could probably outrun a souped up Ford Crown Victoria - if you know what I mean.

20th Apr 2010, 07:05

Hi, I faced all kind of troubles with the S70 98 model, and I hate it because of the suspension system, and the leather seats are made from poor quality materials.

I don't have problem with light bulbs, but the light itself (inside) is matte instead of shiny... Poor quality, will never buy again a Volvo..

21st May 2010, 21:17

Good day all -- just went through all the posts on this section of comments, and am very sorry to hear of people's bad experiences.

I have posted often on this list about the great passion red 1998 S70 T5 SE that my wife and I own -- you can find my comments over a number of years that began on 04 November, 2005, with "Great car thanks to 1st-rate previous owners and overall excellent quality to begin with".

And I just want to re-emphasize that your own vigilance, holding to a reasonably regular maintenance sched, and good indie work are the keys to keeping your Volvo running -- and keeping you and your family happy.

It's true that you can acquire a lemon / pig / money pit if the gods of car ownership are against you, but it looks to me as though the 1998 S70 T5 in particular is damned good quality-wise and is certainly more than dependable. I suspect that Volvo must have paid more attention to design, engineering, sourcing of parts and production of this particular line than others -- the good results probably boil down to the teams who were on that line when the T5 units were being produced that year.

Of course I recognize this may not hold true for *all* 1998 T5 SE vehicles, but in our case, my sense is that $ spent so far are very much in keeping with average costs for many other vehicles -- if not better. As I am suggesting, this may be specific to the 1998 S70 T5 line. And I would say that performance, reliability, and downright enjoyability of this particular 1998 Volvo product are just about in the "outstanding" realm.

I hope other owners of this vintage have had similar experiences.

Best of the season to everyone.

Blueleezard.

22nd Jun 2010, 20:15

Volvo has always been a safe and reliable machine, and like all machines, maintenance is the key to longevity. I understand that parts do break down, but when you get over one hundred thousands mile mark you're doing OK.

30th Sep 2010, 21:16

That about sums is up. It is a pleasure to maintain Volvo's when you love them, and contrary to popular belief, the schedule needs to be performed less often than many other cars (including Honda and Toyota). Find a good independent mechanic or do it yourself, and cost is no more than their Japanese alternatives. Treat them well and they will do the same for you. The cars that you want to avoid at all costs are BMW and Yugo (in that order). Join the cult and never look back, Volvo For Life in more ways than one! When you get over three hundred thousand miles, you're doing great.

-Rob (Member Volvo High Mileage Club)

22nd Aug 2011, 09:11

I posted on 27th Feb 2009, 05:41, so this is an update. The car has now been passed to my daughter, it has hit 2 deer, and still changing the oil with Mobil 1 every 10K miles. Gets serviced every 30K miles at independent Volvo shop. Heater coil was replaced at 265K miles. Total mileage to date is 272,000 and still running strong!