2001 Volvo XC70 review from Australia and New Zealand

More like what's gone right with the car.

Gearbox replaced - $6500.

Alternator replaced - $700.

Timing belt replaced - $500 (no issue with this one)

Water pump replaced. Price included in above figure (no issue with this one either).

Front lower sway bar replaced, it just broke in half and no we didn't hit anything - $650.

Low oil pressure light showing - $1300.

THAT'S NEARLY $10 000 IN 12 MONTHS.

Run, don't walk away from one of these cars.

I've owned Alfas, SAAB's, Mercedes, Subaru and Toyota's and nothing comes close to this Volvo for sheer engineering incompetence. This is without a doubt the most disgraceful car I've ever owned. We drive everywhere with our fingers crossed. When we bought the car, it had slightly high K's and we fully expected to have to spend a little more $$$ to keep the car on the road. This wasn't an issue as all my family has owned Volvo's over the years and none had had any major issues. Ongoing maintenance is one thing. Continually breaking down is another. Volvo's are bullet proof I was told - WRONG.

We purchased this car to keep, not to sell. We use it to cart the kids to and from daycare. It doesn't get thrashed, quite the opposite. It's always spotless, fully serviced and kept undercover. The life of luxury if you're a car. This adds nothing to the cars longevity. On average the car breaks down and is back to the mechanic once every 6 weeks - and this is on top of normal servicing.

I'm at a complete loss. I now have to sell this heap of junk (at a huge loss of course) as I can no longer deal with driving my 2 young kids around in this car. I now also have to stand in front of whoever hasn't done their research on these cars and tell them what a great car it's been and how they'll get years of trouble free motoring from the car. What do I do if a young family wants to buy the car - just stand there and lie? (I guess the dealer did it to me)

To top it all off this car was actually purchased from a local Volvo dealer. Volvo can stop blaming the GFC for slow sales. It's selling a rubbish product like this car that is sending people over the road to Toyota, Lexus, Mercedes, BMW etc.

My experiment with Swedish cars is over.

Gavin Carlson

Brisbane, Australia

(I'll happily put my name to this review, they can sue me if they like)