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Anyone here own a Volvo S40? Mini Cooper?

post #1 of 27
12/29/09 at 4:47pm
Thread Starter 
I'm looking to buy a new car within a year or so. Does anyone here own a Volvo S40? How is the reliability?

I'm strongly considering this , along with a Mini cooper, which of course is a very different car. I really have no interest in BMWs, M-B, or Audi, but am looking for a compact sporty car, European.
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post #2 of 27
12/29/09 at 4:51pm
Sporty compact? I would urge you to try a VW R32. Fast as a Porsche and fun, fun, fun to drive a wolf in sheeps clothing.
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post #3 of 27
12/29/09 at 4:55pm
Thread Starter 
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Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy View Post
Sporty compact? I would urge you to try a VW R32. Fast as a Porsche and fun, fun, fun to drive a wolf in sheeps clothing.

I've thought about it and I like the performance/size but am not crazy about the overall exterior look of the car/shape.
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post #4 of 27
12/29/09 at 7:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by M. Charles View Post
I'm looking to buy a new car within a year or so. Does anyone here own a Volvo S40? How is the reliability?

I'm strongly considering this , along with a Mini cooper, which of course is a very different car. I really have no interest in BMWs, M-B, or Audi, but am looking for a compact sporty car, European.

I own a much older Volvo but i do know a lot about them. Are you looking at buying new or 2nd hand?
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post #5 of 27
12/29/09 at 9:54pm
Had one. Its a fun little car, and where I live the AWD was a great feature.
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post #6 of 27
12/29/09 at 10:37pm
Thread Starter 
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Originally Posted by Glados1984 View Post
I own a much older Volvo but i do know a lot about them. Are you looking at buying new or 2nd hand?

I was looking to buy new, although my philosophy about cars is perhaps unusual these days: I would expect to keep it for at least 6 or 7 years. A friend had a BMW 3 series that plagued him with maintenance bills and I would like to avoid that.
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post #7 of 27
12/30/09 at 12:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by M. Charles View Post
I was looking to buy new, although my philosophy about cars is perhaps unusual these days: I would expect to keep it for at least 6 or 7 years. A friend had a BMW 3 series that plagued him with maintenance bills and I would like to avoid that.

To be brutally honest, I'd probably avoid it. I mean, they're not a bad car, Volvo keeps some standards. But basically its a Ford Focus with some extra features, engineered harder. If you're willing to go second hand, take a look at the s60, slightly larger but better equiped and more 'Volvo'

If you're looking for something stylish, with performance and low mantainence, but also not the run of the mill GM/Ford etc. I'd actually reccomend the Lexus IS series. They've got a european feel but Japanese internals, so the reliability is a lot better.

some people dont like Lexus because they're 'not european' but that just means you get a bit better of a deal because they have to work harder against badge wank.

I wouldnt reccomend mini cooper. the internals feel so cheap!
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post #8 of 27
12/30/09 at 1:01am
S40 has good reliability these days, the first model year had a few issues, none too serious but the electronic key system did give fits. The S40 shares underpinnings with the European Focus. In US the Focus is a different car and does not share anything with the S40 but the Mazda 3 does. S40 in US uses only Volvo sourced powertrain. Rear seat legroom is better in S40 than in S60. S60 is currently out of production as a completely new S60 is on the way for spring or summer introduction. I was intimately involved with Volvo for last couple of decades but recently departed that job.
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post #9 of 27
12/30/09 at 1:19am
I've read recently Volvo is to be sold to China's Geely. If the deal goes through, would you still buy a Volvo?
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post #10 of 27
12/30/09 at 1:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by suitedcboy View Post
S40 has good reliability these days, the first model year had a few issues, none too serious but the electronic key system did give fits. The S40 shares underpinnings with the European Focus. In US the Focus is a different car and does not share anything with the S40 but the Mazda 3 does. S40 in US uses only Volvo sourced powertrain. Rear seat legroom is better in S40 than in S60. S60 is currently out of production as a completely new S60 is on the way for spring or summer introduction. I was intimately involved with Volvo for last couple of decades but recently departed that job.
Very interesting and helpful. Are there any plans to redo the S40? I'd hate to buy one only to see it completely redone next year. I suppose some changes might happen if the deal with the Chinese company goes through. So is the S40, or Volvo's other models, actually made in Sweden anymore?
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post #11 of 27
12/30/09 at 2:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by suitedcboy View Post
S40 has good reliability these days, the first model year had a few issues, none too serious but the electronic key system did give fits.
The S40 shares underpinnings with the European Focus. In US the Focus is a different car and does not share anything with the S40 but the Mazda 3 does. S40 in US uses only Volvo sourced powertrain. Rear seat legroom is better in S40 than in S60. S60 is currently out of production as a completely new S60 is on the way for spring or summer introduction.
I was intimately involved with Volvo for last couple of decades but recently departed that job.

Wow, didnt know that the US S40's are different! i'm not really one to give advice then, i only know the Euro-spec ones.

Yeah Ford's been looking to offload Volvo for ages. BMW was eyeing them up at one point and so was some sweedish family. Now that Saab has gone, i think the Sweedish government would be more willing to keep them viable. I pray the Chinese dont take over. If they do though, it might not be all that bad. In my job i met a guy who designs cars for Jaguar and he said when they were owned by Ford they would regulary have mobs of loud yanks trying to tell them what to do, but when Tata took over, the Indian managers would let them get on with it as they wanted to learn from them. I suspect the Chinese would be buying the company to learn its engineering secrets.
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post #12 of 27
12/31/09 at 3:46am
Volvos are made in Sweden or in Belgium now. There may be some incomplete vehicles final assembled in a few countries where tariffs are high for "imports". S40/V50/C30 is likely to get a re-do in a couple of years but I don't believe it is to be a big deal, I believe a minor re-style. The purchase deal may change that. The US cars are not really different but the model offerings are fewer in US as it is with Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, etc. In US they tend to import only higher line models and larger engines. The Focus in US is positioned differently than in Europe so the Euro Focus got larger and utilizes the platform that Mazda 3, S40-V50-C30, Focus Cmax use. The sport line of focus in Europe uses Volvo 5 cylinder turbo engine. Car business is complicated and sharing and exchanging of components is VERY MUCH WIDESPREAD!
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post #13 of 27
1/1/10 at 2:45am
2001 s60 owner here. had a c70 and a 960 before this. things had prob $1100 worth of work done in the last year, makes one consider those new 3 series that offer free maintenance for the duration of the lease. i will not be buying any more volvos after chinese hands takeover. shame, i really like the volvo brand.
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post #14 of 27
1/1/10 at 9:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by melwoesblvd View Post
2001 s60 owner here. had a c70 and a 960 before this. things had prob $1100 worth of work done in the last year, makes one consider those new 3 series that offer free maintenance for the duration of the lease. i will not be buying any more volvos after chinese hands takeover. shame, i really like the volvo brand.

the 960 rocks 2nd last of the RWD straight 6's

i wouldnt write off a Chinese hand over straight away. Wait and see what they do with the company. There's a good chance they'll give Volvo more independance, which is definatly NOT something that Ford did (hence why the 240/740/850/960 are better cars than anything after the S80). However if they move the factories to China and take over design, then yes its time to move to BMW/Lexus.
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post #15 of 27
1/1/10 at 12:15pm
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