Q: Looking to find a reliable Volvo (ideally an XC90 - maybe an S60) - did they get more reliable with the 2006 - or the 2008?

asked by on October 12, 2016

I've had a Volvo 544, several 240s, and finally a 940. These all had rear wheel drive and those great 4 cylinder engines. But these are now hard to find in good condition at a reasonable price - plus Volvo slowly reduced headroom like a lot of cars. I'm very tall - the XC90 and the S60 have the kind of headroom I need. But some mechanics seem to think they ironed out the manufacturing problems by the 2006 models - others think that didn't happen 'til 2008. Of course I'll have a Volvo mechanic check over anything I might by but it sure would save me a lot of time if I could find out when these cars settled down. I believe the XC90 transmission is its biggest problem and it probably never got the mileage most Volvos get from a transmission - but I can live with that if the car is generally reliable as I don't drive a lot of miles. For me, a 2006 Volvo is barely affordable - so a 2008 might not be for me!

My car has an automatic transmission.

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