Following this board over the years it's obvious that owning BMW or MB SUV's come with high upkeep costs including oil changes, brakes work, tune ups etc…What about Volvo SUV's in particular the XC 90? Really like the looks of them but not really familiar with reliability and upkeep…Anyone have experience with them between 2020 and current year model? TIA.

drumboy said:

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Why an XC90 when you can get a V90?!

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Because I grew up riding in the back of a baby blue 1977 Ford LTD wagon…I don't wish to recreate those days!

Euro mechanics rates are the same whether its MB, Porsche, or Volvo. Price the required oil and wear parts and assume about $200/hr for labor. At an indy shop in any major city.

Pay $140/hr in Oxford, MS.

Generally speaking, it'll be less than the BMW or MB, but more than a Toyota or Lexus. Depends on care, driving habits, etc. IMHO, if your top criteria are reliability and maintenance costs, I'd avoid European makes.

Have a look at carcomplaints.com. Good resource if considering a used car. I've been tempted by the XC60 for my daughter.

Strange that one of the big problems with Volvo has been sunroofs that leak.

Volvo dealer wanted well more for my wife's XC60 oil change than the BMW dealer wanted for my X5. To the point where we're done with them. Not a good service shop as they were worse than a quick lube on non-need fear upsells on brakes and tires. Found a good independent.

Both dealers wanted similar exorbitant prices for air filters and cabin filters. Plan to do those yourself for 10% of the cost.

Tim Weaver said:

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Most Volvo dealers and service centers are striaght crooks.

Volvo of West Houston is one of the exceptions, and if you are within driving distance og VoWH I'd say go for it. Otherwise the dealer experience is enough to put you off the brand.

I like Volvo's, but mine are all at least 20 years old. Back before they were owned by China.

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I won't own one because of this. They were also ahead of their time when they planned to launch big brother tech that would surveil your face while driving, but that got killed because there was market pushback at the time. They were just a bit early with that push.

However, now that the Infrastructure Bill enshrines surveil tech as law in the cabin it will come back.

Not to poo poo on them but they have horrid reviews for reliability and of course they depreciate rapidly

Not familiar with Volvo

Tim Weaver said:

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Most Volvo dealers and service centers are striaght crooks.

Volvo of West Houston is one of the exceptions, and if you are within driving distance og VoWH I'd say go for it. Otherwise the dealer experience is enough to put you off the brand.

I like Volvo's, but mine are all at least 20 years old. Back before they were owned by China.

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I think the theme is still the same. Overall a good product but will nickel and dime you to death with all the little things.

Appreciate all the replies!

We have a 2020 XC90. It's fine. I do my own oil changes. It's not hard. It has apple car play. No remote start unless we subscribe to Volvo app but there is an aftermarket remote start that looks ok & easy to instal for under $200. Is a nice smooth, quiet ride.

Can anyone recommend a diagnostic "computer" for a 2020 Volvo? My googling has got me all different ways. I can't get a definitive answer on google. I have an error about cruise control & it wants me to take it in. Closest dealer is 2 hours. And I would rather have a good unit for future diagnostic work when ABS sensors etc. go out.

We have a 2020 XC-90 T8 and my wife absolutely loves it. Has been very reliable so far, about 65k miles on it.

will.mcg said:

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Can anyone recommend a diagnostic "computer" for a 2020 Volvo? My googling has got me all different ways. I can't get a definitive answer on google. I have an error about cruise control & it wants me to take it in. Closest dealer is 2 hours. And I would rather have a good unit for future diagnostic work when ABS sensors etc. go out.

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Unless you really want to get into the diagnostic theory behind canbus, it'll be worth your money to take it to an indy mechanic for diagnosis.

Is that on YouTube?

will.mcg said:

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Is that on YouTube?

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hours and hours and hours of video on canbus diagnostics. Take a look at Diagnose Dan if it ends up being comms related.

If you really want to go down that road, the thinktool scanners work pretty well as do the topdon ones. Something in the $400-600 range is what you're looking for to get most of the functions, bidirectional controls, etc.

Best sales are usually prime day which starts next week. Might be worth holding off to see what goes on sale. Those brands also typically raise prices some before prime day starts.

Thanks so much. I've read up on this enough to be pretty lost