Looks like the 2011 and 2012 models were auto/fwd/turbo only, which is exactly the combo I want. Having never own a turbo Volvo before, how much pain would I be in for from a reliability standpoint?
Looks like the 2011 and 2012 models were auto/fwd/turbo only, which is exactly the combo I want. Having never own a turbo Volvo before, how much pain would I be in for from a reliability standpoint?
They have timing belts, so factor that maintance into your plans. I know someone here bought one cheap w/a blown head gasket and I think the hive suggested an engine replacement would be a better route than just doing the head gasket.
SWMBO has a soft-spot for Volvos. If I ever see a unicorn V50 (AWD, manual) nearby for a fair price I'd probably buy it.
A friend of mine put +200k miles (long commute) on S40 R-type with a manual transmission. He LOVED that car and never said anything about it breaking.
Volvo White blocks (I5, trubo) CANNOT be overheated. They warp the blocks bad; it killed my best friends car with me tailing him.
Check parts availability. Their V70 was a 99 and had a large number of single-year only parts, including the fuel tank.
It's a European car, they are reliable as long as you don't defer maintenance, but you're not allowed to complain if you buy a basket case and try to get it caught up. 
The V50s ride on a variation of the Ford C1 platform shared with the Euro-only 2nd gen Ford Focus. Parts support is pretty robust and they are good cars overall. The transmissions are an Aisin-Warner that is sturdy as long as you stay on top of fluid changes. Timing belt/water pump service is the #1 thing that you absolutely positively cannot miss or skip. I think you still need to do the PCV system every ~100k miles with these too but I might be misremembering.
They do have a couple weird quirks though. Biggest one that comes to mind is that the sunroof drains clog due to a poorly-designed drain elbow thing and when they do, they flood the interior and submerge the ECU (and some other modules IIRC) and troubleshooting all that is Not A Good Time.
You're looking at FWD models so this won't be an issue for you, but I think the AWD models have a weird assortment of parts that are NLA already, like rear axles and maybe even control arms among some other smaller stuff. But I haven't heard about anything being tough to get for the front drivers.
I am clearly here only to enable, I know nothing about living with a Volvo.
FYI, My wife put the "Volvo" folder on the kitchen counter for me this morning because I was finally going to contact the the Bring.A Trailer people later today... just in case you might be interested in a 1998 V70R.
My dad dailies a red 2007 (I think) V50 R design, turbo fwd auto. It is a great car to drive but definitely has some quirks. The audio system is optical, and he's had some issues with decoder modules. Boost is pretty nonlinear in first gear and can make driving smoothly more of a challenge than it should be, but otherwise it eats miles really well. Extremely stable on the highway, fun in the twisties, and the engine makes decent noises even if power falls off well before redline. Pretty consistent 28-30 mpg average with it.
He has run into some of the parts availability issues, but so far he has always been able to find workarounds. He did just have to do the PCV system, and it needed rear wheel bearings abnormally early in its life, along with most of the suspension bushings. The headliner also needed to be replaced as it sagged badly in the California heat.
He loves it, and I always enjoy driving it when I'm out there visiting for whatever that's worth.
It's an automatic Mazdaspeed 3 that won't rust.
Service on these can be annoying because of the cramped engine bay. Oil filters and air filters are a pain. The AW55 transmission does have a dipstick but access is poor. At least the dipstick is not bolted in place inside an engine mount like GM did on some of their models. Power steering is electrically driven hydraulic, and IIRC the passenger headlight has to be removed to check the fluid....
Woody (Forum Supportum) said:FYI, My wife put the "Volvo" folder on the kitchen counter for me this morning because I was finally going to contact the the Bring.A Trailer people later today... just in case you might be interested in a 1998 V70R.
Definitely maybe. Ironic, because I have two doodles.
Pros: V70R is extremely rad looking, has more interior space than the V60
Cons: AWD, which I don't need in TX, AWD system has quite a few NLA parts from what I hear, V70 would be at least a decade older than a V50.
Low miles and or up to date maintiance and they are reliable cars. The timing belt water pump change is really pretty easy and inexpensive as there is access from the wheel well and just a few parts. I find the pcv replacement more difficult that the timing belt change on these 5 banger Volvos as it it scrunchy in there. FCP Goton has lots of parts for them. They do last a long time with regular maintenance & no overheating, and they make lots of grunt which matches the tall gearing well. The longitudal (right?) arrangement of the engine/transmission makes for a mac strut setup in the front that has very short control arms so the front camber curve is much less than ideal and the front travel is pretty short. The rear has really long lower arms and a very aggressive positive negative curve so the car has lots of built in bump steer weirdness and conflict between front and rear geometry that couples with a bashy ride coming the heavily sprung front end. I think the 'ride' is the worse feature of this era of FWD/AWD Volvos. IMHO they are not sports sedans/wagons. More of a GT flavor. Going down the interstate at 80 per nestled in the comfy seats is the strong suit, and if not a sports car they definitely go around corners allot better than a tall cross lifted thingy or an SUV.
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