volvo s4o

patrickc

ive just bought a volvo s40 yesterday.. i love it 1.9 td. anyone got experiences of them good r bad?

patrickc

by the way forgot to say its an 01..

tigerbalm

Volvo day for me too ... I bought a S40 D5 yesterday ... going to take 4 weeks to deliver .... I too was wondering how peoples experiences are like with this engine ?

Captain Slow IRL

both are pretty decent cars - the d5 is a savage engine!
I'd take a diesel engine over a petrol in the 01 model - plenty of poke and they don't give an awful lot of bother.

bazz26

tigerbalm wrote:

Volvo day for me too ... I bought a S40 D5 yesterday ... going to take 4 weeks to deliver .... I too was wondering how peoples experiences are like with this engine ?

The D5 is a different engine to the OP's 1.9 litre diesel. The 1.9 TD in the old S40 is a Renault unit. The D5 is Volvo's own unit afaik.

bazz26

patrickc2006 wrote:

ive just bought a volvo s40 yesterday.. i love it 1.9 td. anyone got experiences of them good r bad?

The 1996 - 2004 Volvo S40 was based on the Mitsubishi Carisma as both cars were build next to each other in Holland. The S40 was the first Volvo to be built outside of Sweden. It used Volvo, Renault and Mitsubishi engines, the diesel being a Renault unit. Not sure which version you have but during 2001 the 1.9 TD got a power increase from 100bhp to 115bhp. Fuel economy also increased slightly. The one complaint I had when looking at the S40 is that the rear legroom and boot are quite small but I think that is to be expected considering it is based on the smaller Carisma.

Also keep an eye out for electrical gremlins as they were quite common on the S40. Plus main Volvo dealer servicing, parts and labour are known to be very expensive. A good independant mechanic is your best bet.

Wishbone Ash

Renault engine? :eek:

patrickc

mines the 115bhp. it's a rocket. someone told me that about the renault engines I laughed them off, maybe I was too hasty.

gyppo

I cant comment on the volvo s40 from a diesel viewpoint.
I did however suffer a miserable 6 months ownership of a '00 petrol one.

The petrol one i had did indeed share many engine components with renault.

However, I wish the OP the best of luck with his new car - Maybe the diesels in these cars are good.

Lex Luthor

I had shortlisted a 02/03 V40 1.9 diesel a few months ago but ruled them out because I heard mixed reviews about them.

patrickc

thanks, i hope it is better than the petrol one so..

bazz26

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Renault engine? :eek:

Yes, the diesel engine in both the Volvo S40 and Mitsubishi Carisma was a Renault unit. Not a bad engine in fairness but not as smooth or refined as say the VAG PD TDi or PSA HDi units.

The newer S40 diesel engines are also French - Peugeot/Citroen 1.6 and 2.0 HDi units which Ford and Mazda use also.

Do-more

bazz26 wrote:

The S40 was the first Volvo to be built outside of Sweden.

Not true, as early as the mid-60's Volvo was building cars in Canada & Belguim.

The present S40 is turning into a real ladies car. On a working weekday 2 out of 3 S40's you meet is being driven by a women rep.

Wishbone Ash

Do-more wrote:

Not true, as early as the mid-60's Volvo was building cars in Canada & Belguim

I thought the 400 series (440/460/480) were built in the Netherlands?

Henry Ford III

patrickc2006 wrote:

mines the 115bhp. it's a rocket. someone told me that about the renault engines I laughed them off, maybe I was too hasty.

It's hardly a rocket :rolleyes:

Do-more

Wishbone Ash wrote:

I thought the 400 series (440/460/480) were built in the Netherlands?

Volvo bought the DAF car factory in 1975 and the Volvo 66 (a rebadged DAF 66 ) was the first Volvo to be produced in the Nederlands. The factory was renamed Nedcar and has subsequently produced a variety of smaller Volvo's and Mitsubishi's.

patrickc

well it is a rocket compared to my last car a 1.4 astra. its really fast did 110mph today and felt so solid at that

unkel

Do-more wrote:

Volvo bought the DAF car factory in 1975 and the Volvo 66 (a rebadged DAF 66 ) was the first Volvo to be produced in the Nederlands. The factory was renamed Nedcar and has subsequently produced a variety of smaller Volvo's and Mitsubishi's.

Never mind the DAF 66 which was around years before the takeover. Few people know it but the main reason Volvo bought DAF was the last DAF (DAF 77). It was a huge commercial success when Volvo claimed it as a Volvo starting with the Volvo 343 back in '76. It was Volvo's first reach down to the profitable medium size car segment...

Kernel32

I've owned a 00 S40 1.9T for a couple of years now. It drives pretty good but maintenance costs have been a little high. I have a check engine light on right now and the dealership is telling me I will need a new cam shaft hub for the tune of $650.

patrickc

what mileage is on urs kernel? urs is diesel too yeh?

Kernel32

It has 78k miles and is petrol. Diesel cars are as scarce as hens teeth this side of the world.

iremex

bought a 2006 s40 2.0TD,136BHP. grand car but my god the ride is horrendous. it has the 17" alloys and its the most uncomfortable ride in the world.it does have more than enough poke and from 40kph to 140kph though.

galwaytt

bazz26 wrote:

Also keep an eye out for electrical gremlins as they were quite common on the S40. Plus main Volvo dealer servicing, parts and labour are known to be very expensive. A good independant mechanic is your best bet.

well you can sing that. I've just written to Volvo to get a full refund on new 06 S40 which has spent more time off the road - nearly - rather than on it, this year, with electrical problems. A complete ball of ****e.

And I can name two other people with similar problems, one of whom did get a full refund - not on an S40, mind, buy a Volvo nonetheless......

So long as you're buying them dead cheap, it's o.k., but not at high street prices.

And, if you're looking at an S40, why not look at the 'donor vehicle' i.e., Focus - a damn sight cheaper, and certainly no worse, and probably better imho.......

As for Renault engine in a Volvo etc, it's all a bit academic now anyway. All new Nissan Diesels are Renault, all Opel, Saab diesels are Fiat, and a lot of Ford are, iirc, Peugeot.........?? It is a fact that the French/Italian make good diesels, they having extortionate petrol taxes for years......

Smithers

i have a 99, S40 1.8 petrol - had it about 5 months now,

Aint had trouble with it, nice comfortable ride, its got ac and full leather which is very confortable, and any servicing i get done locally, not by a dealer,

not much help maybe but my 2c

patrickc

just talked to a scrap dealer the other day that i know about my volvo. he says safest car yet, and once uve the right tyres ull never go wrong

Smithers

i got similar advice, ie hard to get parts in a scrap yard as not many are ever written off

patrickc

ye the guy i was talkin to has a few of them (volvos) ranging back to 80's he said great cars

bazz26

patrickc2006 wrote:

just talked to a scrap dealer the other day that i know about my volvo. he says safest car yet, and once uve the right tyres ull never go wrong

Volvo used to be proud about being at the front of car safety for years. The thing is that the rest of the pack have caught up and may have even overtaken them these days when it comes to safety.

Lots of other cars are made just as safe as Volvos these days so they really have no unique selling factor any more imo.

unkel

bazz26 wrote:

Volvo used to be proud about being at the front of car safety for years. The thing is that the rest of the pack have caught up and may have even overtaken them these days when it comes to safety.

Lots of other cars are made just as safe as Volvos these days so they really have no unique selling factor any more imo.

Excellent point. I hope more people would realise this. From big safe barges and safety innovations down to the takeover of DAF 30 odd years ago and then subsequently further down to being taken over themselves by mass-manufacturer FORD where only the short term bottom line counts

Safety is no longer something the soul of Volvo is all about...

Guy:Incognito

Were they really that safe though or was it a myth. Was it that they were so big and heavy they just anniilated anything they hit? meaning safe enough for occupants but bad news for those who were hit?


Appologies for the badly phrased question , it kind of comes across as a statement.:)

patrickc

they had extra saftey features then that other cars never had. Now though the majority of cars are just as safe.