Volvo

[liv2ski]

My 5 cylinder drinks a quart between 5k mile oil changes.

[GimpToo]

We have 13 S60 T6 …. and, it's red!

[CallMeAl]

We have 13 S60 T6 …. and, it's red!

I'm waiting on a response from the seller of a red 2012 S60 T6 about 2 hours away. It's not the reddest red available, but still red.

I'm also waiting to hear back on a local high mileage 09 XC 3.2 NA. The SS forum's collective opinion is all over the place on this motor. Some say it's a time bomb, others suggest that catastrophic engine failure occurs in early in the motor's life if it's going to happen.

Anyone have any real life experience with the 3.2?

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

My 5 cylinder drinks a quart between 5k mile oil changes.

Mine did also. Started after 60K miles. New BMWs drink that much. I didn’t think of it as an issue.


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[MyNameIsAugustWest]

I'm waiting on a response from the seller of a red 2012 S60 T6 about 2 hours away. It's not the reddest red available, but still red.

I'm also waiting to hear back on a local high mileage 09 XC 3.2 NA. The SS forum's collective opinion is all over the place on this motor. Some say it's a time bomb, others suggest that catastrophic engine failure occurs in early in the motor's life if it's going to happen.

Anyone have any real life experience with the 3.2?

Mine was that red also. The color held up surprisingly well for a red. I still see my old car fairly often since I sold it to a guy whose apartment building I have to drive by a lot.


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[MontuckyFried]

I'm waiting on a response from the seller of a red 2012 S60 T6 about 2 hours away. It's not the reddest red available, but still red.

I'm also waiting to hear back on a local high mileage 09 XC 3.2 NA. The SS forum's collective opinion is all over the place on this motor. Some say it's a time bomb, others suggest that catastrophic engine failure occurs in early in the motor's life if it's going to happen.

Anyone have any real life experience with the 3.2?

The 3.2 NA is bomber. SLOOOOOW, but quite reliable IME. There IS a sorta catastrophic possibility, being the READ (Rear End Accessory Drive) unit, which is like a second chain that runs the alternator and some other odds and ends. The SI6 (short inline 6) is a really quirky setup I've never seen before. The READ unit depends on oil lubing everything, SSOOOOO my running theory is that people burn them out prematurely by starting the car and instantly driving right off. I've always been religious about 5K oil changes with good quality synthetics AND upon starting the car, letting it do its high RPM startup thing. Only takes about 20-30 seconds, but Volvo programmed it the way they did for a reason. I believe it's for the sake of lubing up that READ before you do anything. I mean, letting a car warm up a bit is good for ANY car, but I think this is particularly true for these SI6's.

Now if your READ system fails, it is fixable and can be rebuilt, but prohibitively expensive for what are now older, not very valuable vehicles. And most shops won't want to touch it, even though the rebuild isn't really that bad. Just that most mechanics don't know jack about them.

Personally, I think the issue is way overblown as it's not super common, but being a possibility, listen for a loud ticking or maybe a grinding sound on the right side of the motor, like a timing chain sound. I actually just saw my old car the other day when I replaced the new owner's hood strut's for her. The ol' girl's over 230K now and that engine is still silky smooooove. Runs like new, no oil consumption issues. Great motor! I would absolutely recommend it with the main caveat that they're pretty pokey pulling these heavy boats around. The T6 addresses that for sure.

[CallMeAl]

Got a reply from the seller. Sounds like a promising scenario as far as negotiation goes. He moved to Texas and the car is parked in his mother in law's garage here in MT. Been listed for 5 months in a somewhat rural area with very little interest, according to him.

It's a 2012 S60 T6 AWD, all options, AT (only bummer) w/115k on the clock. Assuming it's in "very good" shape with adequate service records, what's it worth?

[MontuckyFried]

Got a reply from the seller. Sounds like a promising scenario as far as negotiation goes. He moved to Texas and the car is parked in his mother in law's garage here in MT. Been listed for 5 months in a somewhat rural area with very little interest, according to him.

It's a 2012 S60 T6 AWD, all options, AT (only bummer) w/115k on the clock. Assuming it's in "very good" shape with adequate service records, what's it worth?

Nice. FWIW, I just recently sold my 2013 S60 AWD but it was in T5 flavor. Very similar mileage, maybe around 112K? Was in absolutely beautiful shape for the most part. I listed it for 10, ended up getting 9 cash from a really cool, no nonsense buyer. Sold pretty quickly, so I think 10 was about the right number. Being yours is a T6 but also a year older than mine, I'd imagine you should expect to be in that same ballpark, give or take a few grand.

[MontuckyFried]

My 5 cylinder drinks a quart between 5k mile oil changes.

In your car's defense, it DOES have some miles on 'er. Haha. The T5 in my C30 (that apparently came from a '12 or '13 S60) doesn't seem to be consuming anything in between changes. Speaking of which, it just did another successful 5K miles post-op, so it's oil change time! BRB.

[GimpToo]

I'm waiting on a response from the seller of a red 2012 S60 T6 about 2 hours away. It's not the reddest red available, but still red.

I'm also waiting to hear back on a local high mileage 09 XC 3.2 NA. The SS forum's collective opinion is all over the place on this motor. Some say it's a time bomb, others suggest that catastrophic engine failure occurs in early in the motor's life if it's going to happen.

Anyone have any real life experience with the 3.2?

GOOD LUCK! Our red was Flamenco, and has the protective coating which we added when buying as CPO with 8,000 miles - it was an executive car that was hardly used! Still shiny!

[gravitylover]

Quite a few of those have popped up in my search/price range and I am curious. But, per SS, it does sound like the T5 is the most likely to have oil consumption issues, no?

My C30 had 108k when I got t-boned and it didn't burn a drop between 6k changes. I did 33-35k/yr though so the engine internals were pretty well settled and regularly exercised. My old Outback used to burn a qt every 1200 or so until it started seeing that same 112 mile round trip highway commute when it pretty much cleared up all by itself. I think the piece of shit lump in my minivan is the only one that doesn't drink oil but it does 1k/wk. I do believe rings and seals like the exercise. That said, don't worry just take it out and flog it properly once in a while and it'll be fine. That and change the damned oil trap, nobody ever does and when the PCV isn't working right it fucks up Volvo T5s pretty bad.

[MontuckyFried]

That and change the damned oil trap, nobody ever does and when the PCV isn't working right it fucks up Volvo T5s pretty bad.

True. I'd almost consider that "routine maintenance." When I did my head gasket and total front end refresh on mine, I went ahead and swapped out the oil filter housing and EVERYTHING associated with the PCV system. Really pretty easy, so I'd suggest making that part of ones 100K servicing when doing the timing belt and all that jazz.

Seems that when us Volvo nerds take care of such things, the T5 is actually a fantastic motor. While underwhelming in a hudge XC70, in my S60 it actually had PLENTY of power. That thing actually moved surprisingly briskly! Pretty impressive overall performance actually. My C30 scoots pretty great too. The Pilot Sports helped a ton, but it still has a hard time holding traction when dropping the hammer and rowing through the gears. It's FWD form factor seems to be its main limiting factor in putting the power down to the road. Would LOVE to do an AWD swap someday to fix that!!!

[CallMeAl]

Welp, struck out on the T6 S60.

Drove great, but was a little rougher than I expected. It needs new headlights, windshield trim, front tow hook cover, driver mirror, and had some slight body damage on the rear quarter and some interior stains that weren’t disclosed before I drove out there.

In all reality the $8k asking price is probably fair to somebody, just not me. The search continues!

[MontuckyFried]

Welp, struck out on the T6 S60.

Drove great, but was a little rougher than I expected. It needs new headlights, windshield trim, front tow hook cover, driver mirror, and had some slight body damage on the rear quarter and some interior stains that weren’t disclosed before I drove out there.

In all reality the $8k asking price is probably fair to somebody, just not me. The search continues!

Bummer. Yeah, all that really indicates it was not well maintained. And being a Euro car and all, you want to buy that's been well taken care of. Any chance you can up your budget some to get yourself into something like this beauty?...
https://www.swedespeed.com/threads/2...lestar.672531/

[CallMeAl]

That is a nice one, but a bit out of my budget this go around. Trying to keep it under $10k- and I assume almost every used euro needs $1-$2k off the bat.

It’s at the hig end of what I’m looking to spend, but the low miles are appealing.

Hoping to look at this when the owner gets back to town:
https://bozeman.craigslist.org/cto/d...684843175.html

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

$8K is not fair for a car in that condition. When I sold my T5, it was immaculate and had just had the timing belt, oil trap, thermostat, alternator, and accessory belt changed out. I sold mine for $7K. Interior was spotless and everything worked.


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[MontuckyFried]

That is a nice one, but a bit out of my budget this go around. Trying to keep it under $10k- and I assume almost every used euro needs $1-$2k off the bat.

It’s at the hig end of what I’m looking to spend, but the low miles are appealing.

Hoping to look at this when the owner gets back to town:
https://bozeman.craigslist.org/cto/d...684843175.html

Low miles and interior looks nice. Exterior looks pretty rough for the price IMO. Too bad it doesn't have heated seats like mine does though! The heater in my C30 is not nearly as quick to warm up as the one in my XC70 was so the heated seats are really nice to have. That coolant looks suspect however and that has been the killer of many a T5. It should be fluorescent green and of course to the right level. That may be original (thus faded) and maybe never changed. If there's even a hint of head gasket issue then ruuuuuun. Ask me how I know.

I'd ask about when the belts were last changed because since it's so low miles BUT being 14 years old, they're all due for a change if they haven't been done already. That includes the timing belt. Same setup was in the S60 I bought broken and it was a simple, cheap accessory belt that failed leading to catastrophic engine failure. Car was at like 105K and owner was just about to get all those items taken care of too. DOH!!!! They can not be neglected. At all. Great cars if you're on top of all those things, though! Just be preemptive with the routine maintanence is all.

If you end up being able to take a look at it and like it, I highly suggest you take it to Auto Works over by Four Corners for a proper pre-purchase inspection. They used to service my XC70 and really know these cars well. Tammy who works up front (and might be the owner?) especially know her stuff, if she's still there that is. That was a few years ago. Good shop though you should be able to trust to examine the vehicle properly for you.

[CallMeAl]

Good call on the coolant- I'll check it thoroughly. I'll bring a glove with me too for a quick pcv test.

I am always prepared to walk on a vehicle if it seems neglected. If I like it, I'll run a carfax, then bring it to my indy that knows and loves Volvos/Saabs before purchase, then see if we can agree on a price.

[MontuckyFried]

Good call on the coolant- I'll check it thoroughly. I'll bring a glove with me too for a quick pcv test.

I am always prepared to walk on a vehicle if it seems neglected. If I like it, I'll run a carfax, then bring it to my indy that knows and loves Volvos/Saabs before purchase, then see if we can agree on a price.

Right on. For reference, this is what it SHOULD look like...

[jm2e]

Just talked to my mechanic. Said our 2015 xc60 has a burnt valve and it’ll be cheaper to replace the engine than to fix the valve. Said it’ll be about $6,500 including labor for a motor with like 140k on it.
Fuck
My
Life


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[fatnslow]

Montucky to the courtesy phone.................... maybe you can look on Sweedspeed for any local mechanic referrals of someone that can handle a head gasket/rebuilt or used head install for under that price ? Man, that sounds freaking expensive for a head rebuild.

[jm2e]

Literally just put new tires on it 3 weeks ago.


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[J. Barron DeJong]

I periodically consider whether a used V90 could replace the Sienna when it’s time. But then I see posts like jm2e’s and that bring me back to my senses.

[jm2e]

Considering Toyota/Honda replacement despite higher cost for lower performance.
For $30,000 we got 130k miles in 4.5 years, not counting all the $300-$500 oil changes and other over priced services.


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[MontuckyFried]

Just talked to my mechanic. Said our 2015 xc60 has a burnt valve and it’ll be cheaper to replace the engine than to fix the valve. Said it’ll be about $6,500 including labor for a motor with like 140k on it.

Aww ballz. That stinks. What motor does your have in it? I just replaced all the valves on that S60 over the course of last winter. A whole new set of valves set me back a few hundreds bucks (not bad), replaced the valve stem seals of course, full head refurb ran me a bit over a grand with my favorite machinist, and of course I replaced EVERYTHING "while I was in there." I did everything but the head refurb and CV axle rebuild, so the math super penciled out.

First off, the price you were quoted is actually pretty fair BUT seems most shops just want to swap motors instead of doing the surgery. It's probably much quicker for them and perhaps more warrantable.

How handy are ya? If you're willing to party with us in the Wrenching thread, perhaps you can fix it yourself too!