ukbb2003 said:
We are starting to look for a vehicle for our soon to be 16 year old. I am looking more at a CRV, wife looking more at Volvo XC60. Looking to stay under $30k and under 40,000 miles.
What is the board's opinion on these two vehicles? Which years are the better models Any others you recommend?
Pretty much in a similar boat, shopping for a car for 17 yr old daughter. Looking at XC40, XC60, RAV-4, CRV, Subarus and Mazda and trying to stay under $35k for new or near new.
People say "get an old beater because they'll definitely wreck it". My thoughts are if they are going to definitely wreck something I want my loved ones in as safe of a car as possible and old beaters aren't as safe as new cars, especially Volvos.
Along those lines I was going to give her my AT4 because I liked the idea of her being in a large vehicle but I came to the conclusion she needs something a little smaller after she demolished a brick mailbox while backing out of a dark driveway taking a friend home.
As far as Volvos go they are a little more expensive than a Honda or Toyota but in my experience it hasn't been crazy. My wife is on her second Volvo, her first had 185k miles on it when we traded it in for her second Volvo. The second one has 50k miles and no issues, the first one had one repair that cost me about $1800 (at the dealership) at around 90k miles. The rest of the time it was normal maintenance like oil changes and air filters that I did myself at home and I changed the spark plugs at 100k miles and even that was very simple. However, If you're planning on using the dealership for service be aware that a normal oil change is almost $200.
If you want to be amazed, look at statistics for fatalities while driving Volvos. Those stats make me feel a ton better about spending a little more on maintenance.
