My 2004 XC90 is my second Volvo. I bought my first one (a 2001 XC70) back in 2011. The XC70 developed some poor shifting habits that changing the transmission fluid didn’t cute. Add in some leaking CV boots and a few other ailments and it was time to move on. I didn’t buy the XC90 right after – I waited a few years as, at that time, any XC90 would have been outside my budget.
A few years passed, and prices for the earlier XC90s started coming down. As luck would have it, our need for more room in a vehicle was going up. And the XC90 was definitely on our list of cars to investigate. We had plans to move to a region new that tends to get snow and we wanted something that made us feel safe on the road.We must have gone to every used car lot in Raleigh in search of a car. Again, it didn’t HAVE to be an XC90, but, as luck would have it, we stumbled on a lot that had a number of Volvos, including two XC90s. One was a 6-cylinder, the other was a 2004, 2.5T.
Now, I’ve read just about every forum post that cites owner experiences with the 6-cylinder. And as much as I’d love the extra power that comes with an extra cylinder (and a second turbo), I wasn’t willing to take my chances with a transmission that, anecdotally, would likely fail sooner rather than later.
So, we took the 5-cylinder out for a drive. It felt sturdy, sightlines were good, acceleration was decent (it’s not a light vehicle) and shifting was smooth. I understand that not every car sounds and feels the same, so based on my experience with my previous Volvo and cars in general, I felt it was a good test drive and that the 2.5T was a viable option for us.
Our next stop was to take the XC90 to my local independent Volvo mechanic who gave it a glowing review – assuming the glow comes from radioactive material. Translation: it was suggested by my mechanic that we do not buy that particular XC90.
So we bought it. And we’re going on two years of mostly hassle-free ownership.
Sure there was some oil sludge buildup in the crankcase, but that’s more of a symptom of using conventional oil that’s changed at the top end of suggested intervals. Yes, one of the headrests in the third row is broken. I don’t sit there. And as for the broken driver seat motor that our mechanic noted? A disconnected connector was the culprit.
So why buy this car in direct defiance of a trained Volvo mechanic’s advice?
Two words: Service records.
The XC90 had been bought at Don Beyer Volvo and maintained there for its entire life, minus the few months after it had been traded in. It was a one-owner car and that owner had brought the car in for service regularly and even had a couple of known issues fixed at the dealership, giving me pretty decent peace of mind when it come to buying. What were some of these things?
- Sunroof drains were serviced
- Transmission fluid was changed
- Lock mechanisms were replaced
Aside from that there was the usual oil change, brakes, wiper blades, bulbs, inspections, etc that gave me a sense that the previous owner really cared about this car and that he relied on it so much the he made sure that, when something needed repairing or routine maintenance, it got done.
So why buy this car in direct defiance of a trained Volvo mechanic’s advice?
Two words: Service records.
So, despite my trained Volvo mechanic’s advice to not buy my 2004 Volvo XC90 2.5T, I did exactly that. Have I run into some issues? Yes. But they have either been resolved or aren’t urgent (but I’m planning to resolve them).
Moral of the story? If you can, get the service records for any XC90 you’re interested in buying. Compare them to Volvo’s maintenance schedule in the owner’s manual to see how closely the schedule has been followed. Look for anything that falls outside the service schedule (early work done to brakes, transmission, suspension, body, etc) as this can be an indication that a system has failed, or needed repair, before it should have. That doesn’t mean a system is still broken, but it can be an indication that there are issues afoot.
Get to know your XC90. Like I always tell people, I’m not a car guy, but I LOVE my XC90. Based on what I know about them, I’ll probably always own one.
