New S40 a good buy?

I'm helping my father buy a new car (in the UK), and come to the conclusion
that an S40 would be ideal for him, perhaps a 1.6D S.

What he wants is something safe, comfortable, quiet, not too expensive,
well-designed, and crucially, short enough to go in his garage. The length
rules out half the cars he might otherwise consider.

We've had a test drive and liked it. From what I've read, owners are
generally satisfied. Is this generally the case, would you say?

Thanks.

 

If I lived in jolly old I think I would buy an alfa!
For what you are looking for, the s40 sounds great, but your hinda accord is
what we across the pond are sold as an acura TSX, a lovely car as well.

So many fine cars, so hard to choose!

I think the Volvo is not a mistake but the hinda will be more reliable, but
perhaps more common and laking in that special volvo comfort.

 

Well, we tried the hinda, but didn't like it. Too long apart from anything
else.

Androo

 

How about an Audi A3?

 

OH YES!! Another Alfa enthusiast!

I've had an Alfa Milano (75 in Europe). Great car.

Now I have my Volvo (760), while it is far superior to the Alfa
(reliability), it just isn't fun to drive....

 

I have a 940 turbo wagon, my wife has a non turbo 850. I have my old acura
integra I am selling BTW 91 with 150K I think would like $1200....

The volvo is smooth and nice, but the acura is zippy and fun...sigh I will
miss the old acura - my wife hated it and only was in it a dozen times in
the 6 years i owned it...

 

Thanks I guess. He's gone right ahead and bought an S40 1.6D. Very nice too.

Androo

 

If the market over there is like here, I would buy a 2 year old S40 if they
are available yet. Volvos are wonderful cars, but they just do not hold
their value!

Enjoy the S40!

 

Having just gone through the car buying process to replace my '96 850 I
would pick a fully loaded Honda Civic over the S40. Believe it or not,
the new Civic is a darn good car. The reliability and resale value are
likely to blow the S40 out of the water and the driving experience is
amazingly good. Spring for the Navigation system and you will get one
of the best ones available, far better than Volvo's Navi.

In my case I ended up choosing an Acura TSX over the S60. Far more car
for the money IMO.

John

 

A caveat - recent Hondas and Acuras have been problematic. There was a
period when the automatic transmissions they hooked to the V6s had serious
reliability problems, including three failing within 60K miles in one Acura
(Honda has been good about picking up the tab). The problem is supposed to
be fixed now. Time will tell.

Mike

 

I second that. I, too, chose the Acura TSX over the S60 (and the Camry and
Accord). The TSX is far and away the best car $25K can buy. Of course, I
was a little biased after my most recent (and seventh) Volvo died a horrible
and most expensive death at 65,000 miles.

 

".....Volvo died a horrible
and most expensive death at 65,000 miles...."

Details? sounds interesting!

 

True enough, but at least Honda extended the warranty on the troublesome
automatic transmissions to 10 years, 100,000 miles unilaterally. I
haven't seen Volvo do such a thing without having it's feet put to the
fire by governments and lawyers as with the throttle body early failure
problem. Volvo has had it's share of chronic problems with recent
vehicles and in my experience is very reluctant to own up to any of them
once the warranty is over. ABS module and A/C evaporator failures on
850s anyone? I'm still angry about getting stuck for those costs
shortly after the warranty on my '96 850 expired.

Even with the transmission problems recent Hondas come out far better in
Consumer Reports reliability survey than do recent Volvos.

To top it off, for 2006 Acura increased the length of the powertrain
warranty for all vehicles in the US to 6 years/70,000 miles in addition
to the basic 4 year/50,000 mile warranty on the entire vehicle.

Nothing is certain, but the data says that the probability of costly
failures on a recent model Acura is significantly lower than for a
similar Volvo.


John

 

I spent several most enjoyable hours in my TSX today. What a sweet
ride, and it returned over 32 MPG for the day with 85% freeway, 15%
local roads driving. Smooth, quick, comfortable and finely tuned.
One of the nicest driving FWD vehicles available today IMO.

John

 

You can read all the ghstly details in the archives of this group. The auto
transmission let go (on the highway at 65 mph) and two different dealers
wanted more to replace it (~$3500) than the book value of the car ($3000).
Combined with the upcoming need for a timing belt, tires, and suspension
bushings I was compelled to sell it to a junkyard for $400. This, despite
it being a fine car and a joy to drive, right up until the moment it nearly
killed me.

Prior to that we had five Volvos, all RWD and all manual transmissions ('76
264, '78 264, '76 262, '87 240, '89 240). This was our first FWD and our
first automatic. I've happily moved on to the (6-speed manual) TSX and I
hope we can replace the wife's 850 wagon before the transmission goes.

Thinking back on the (hundreds of) weekends I've spent fixing Volvos and the
dozens of times I've stood by the side of the road with my broken Volvo,
waiting for the tow truck, I realize that there's more to safety and
reliability than crash tests and odometer readings indicate. A car that
frequently requires major repairs is not safe, no matter how safe it is when
working.

-RL

 

Couldn't agree with you more. My V40 costs a mint to keep roadworthy and
if I could afford a new car I would certinly do it - and it won't be
another Volvo. I'm sick of replacing engine mounts each service, sick of
the high cost of routine parts and the latest when not only did my
ignition barrel cark it and cost me over $AUD800, they (the service
people at the dealer) also broke my bonnet cable, and then charged me
just under $190 to fix!! (only after I had a fit). I rang Volvo
Australia and was told they could do nothing about one of their dealers
being so heavy handed. God knows how hard they must have wretched that
cable to break it! Great customer relations Volvo, stunning!!

Next up is timing belt, more mounts and I fear a power steering pump
now.... The joy just never ends - what a painful experience owning a
Volvo is!!

John

 

In defence of the S40, my father has just bought one after trying just about
every car on the market first. And he's entirely happy with it. I'm not
surprised. It has an understated quality feel to it that's a cut above any
of the Japanese cars we tested. The interior is beautiful, verything works
with precision, and it's a very quiet car. The doors shut with a great thunk
too. And it's incredibly well equipped: it's a UK model, and I guess most
people on this group are from the US, but here the base 'S' version has
climate control, cruise control, six airbags, DSTC, eight-speaker stereo,
electric windows all round etc. etc. I guess in the US you can't get it with
the sweet little 1.6 diesel engine in my father's, but I hear the 2.4 petrol
is pretty good. The list price is high, but big discounts are available.

Can't vouch for reliability and costs yet, but if I was choosing a car for
myself, I reckon I'd get one too.

Androo

 

We shall see if you feel the same after the warranty period is up .