How expensive are volvo's to maintain?

Answer 1

Volvo and Saab auto parts are very expensive in the USA. Also, shop around on repair cost--most of the time the shops charge a premium price on those type foreign cars.
I heard a humorous story of a guy that bought a Saab.car and he ask his neighbor why they named a car a funny name like a "Saab"? The neighbor said, "You will understand after you take your car down to get it worked on!" LOL

Answer 2

All European cars are expensive to repair and maintain. The good thing about the Volvo is it has a very good reliability rating so it doesn't need to be repaired very often. With that being said I would be very cautious about ANY car with 210,000 miles. That's a lot of miles for a car no matter how old it is. All sorts of things start breaking when they get that much use. The Blazer will obviously be cheaper to repair. And since it's a 16 year old high mileage Chevy it will require a lot more maintenance then the Volvo so the repair costs over a three or four year period will probably even out between the two cars. I would look for a low mileage Volvo S60 or even a V70 AWD wagon. They aren't expensive to buy and they drive great. I loved my Volvo. Too bad some fool rear ended me and totaled the car. Of course since it was Volvo I never got a scratch on me.

Answer 3

I've had a few Volvos, a few BMWs, and a whole bunch of other cars - cheap, mid-range, and expensive.

My experience is that the maintenance expense is highly correlated with the relative expense of purchasing the car (i.e., more-expensive cars are more expensive to maintain).

A current parts example: a headlamp assembly on a new Volvo V70 is around $1,100 and for a BMW X5 it's around $2,000 (both are insane, I know!).

A general example: a high-school buddy who owns a repair shop tells me that if the same Bosch fuel injection part is to be replaced on three different cars (one a VW, one a BMW, and one a Mercedes) there will be three different prices for doing the SAME WORK with the SAME PART - the Mercedes owner will pay about twice what the VW owner pays and the BMW owner will be somewhere in the middle. Further, he tells me that this has been standard practice for decades.

All of this is separate from the fact that a particular make or model (or just your specific vehicle) may have unusual problems due to poor design, engineering, construction, or whatever - in which case, your maintenance costs will be higher than they would otherwise have been (e.g., assuming that you instead purchased a better designed, engineered, and constructed car costing about the same as the one you bought and providing the same useful value to you).

An example of the immediately foregoing is Volkswagen. They currently are making cars whose quality is not up to standard for the prices they are charging. They are simply going to cost more to own compared to like cars and it's because their quality control is terrible. Someday they'll fix this or the Japanese will finally eat their lunch.

All that said the principal long-term value in a Volvo is that you can generally count on putting 250,000 miles on the car without major repairs to the drivetrain. THAT'S a solid car! And they've been this way forever. Heck, until the late '80s the things were more like farm implements (e.g., tractors, combines, etc.) than they were like automobiles - slow, heavy, forgiving of abuse, practically indestructible, just plain solid.

The cars are also designed to keep their occupants alive in the event of a collision and the company is committed to remaining on the leading edge of that technology curve.

Answer 4

well i am master volvo tech,and from expirence i can tell u that,our vovlos like to be taking care with just a little regular maintance(oil changes extremly important) a very reliable volvo can really hit the shiter if you neglect it to long,and is hard to get back the way it was if you just let it go/so if you are not reliogous bout changing your oil when needed this is not the car for you ,but i promise you take care of your volvo and your volvo will defintiney take care of you,trust me i have 3,a 1995 850,2000 s-70,and my new joy 2007 s-60.

Answer 5

I had a 1976 244 and it was the best vehicle I owned. Now you know my age. Thinking of going back to Volvo and I am looking at the V70 or XC 70. Any advice? Normal wear and tear is no issue to me but I am looking for any obvious flaws I should be aware of.

Answer 6

Yes, the parts are more expensive...but its a good car. I have a 2000 S40, and I love it. Before that I had 1988 240, which my sister still drives. I love my car even though repairs can be pricey. But they drive forever and they are safe.

Answer 7

It depends on the model, year and do you have a good mechanic? They are expensive if you have a newer one(FORD). Older ones 1998 and older are better quality and you can buy after market parts.

Answer 8

I basically regret buying a Volvo if that is a good enough answer.

Answer 9

too much my freind has a volvo and he hats the dang thing becuse it is a forien car excuss the typing error
the parts to keep this car always going is going to put a dent in your wallet!!!!!

Answer 10

i mechanic for a living,,and there not all that bad,,the parts are a little higher for them,,when you have to buy them,,but they don't give that much trouble, i have about 25 of them that i service on a regular basis ,and they very seldom give any major problems,,and regular maintenance,,is no more than that of a regular car is,but you can expect to pay a little more for parts ,when there needed,,other than that ,there alright,,good luck hope this help,s.