Not to be critical of Volvo which is a good and safe car, but compared to some of the Hondas I've owned and friends Toyotas, Acuras and Lexuses, there seems to be far more problems.

Mine's been basically trouble free :bwekk: (so far)

Japanese are generally more reliable than European cars. It would only be fair to compare Volvo with another european car.

I agree on comparing a european car to another european one. But i wouldnt say much as the Japanese cars are more reliable. That's prolly the most recent trend, though it wasnt that way in the past.

It also depends on your abuse of the car. I've seen Alfa Romeos with 150,000 miles. There is a gentleman in Long Island that has a 1967 (?) P1800 that has achieved 2 million miles on the original engine and transmission. Now tell me how many japanese cars have that much. None that I have ever heard of. It is all in how you drive them. Both of my 850 R's have over 100K one at 119 the other 150. Except for wear and tear, nothing so far. Original transmission and engines. I have replaced the timing belts, injectors, and other normal wear items, but nothing out of the ordinary (knock on wood, hahahahaha) Hope that answers your question.

My father-in-law keeps records of all expenses on his autos. He owned a 1979 Dodge Colt (Mitsubishi) and a 1980 Chevy Impala and the Impala per mile was ½ the cost to operate then the Colt! :haha: Before you ask he included fuel, repairs, insurance, and any expense. He now owns two Saturns and they are better than the Colt even when to adjusting for inflation.

I have found that parts for Japanese cars are higher than American cars. I remember purchasing an alternator for my girl friends Datsun’s and it was $450 in 1976 when an alternator for my Dodge Coronet was $54.

I would just have to say to Jea that is is a matter of luck. My Acura legend when it came off of warranty cost me several thousand over 3 yrs. It was a Japanese car and aways had something breaking. I had an IS300 with no problems but only drove it for 30,000 before I got rid of it. I've only had 2 major problems with my car the ABS module and a MAF sensor both of which are known problems. Making a blanket statement about reliability will only cause people to argue. Data can be shown to support either side, but this is a forum for discussion. My advice is buy what you want. Main reason I got my car is the fact I never see another one driving or parked beside it when I come out of a store. What's your main reason for buying Volvo?

Good point, but what you like. Excellent answer. rock on.

Well, I have to chime in on the reliability of Japanese cars, in 2.5 years I put over 100k on my 92 mazda 323 It was run into a couple times in parking lots (dents in the fenders) Drove it thru the rocky mountains a number of times in both the summer and the winter and it held up fine, And To top it off I had an accident just after easter, damaged the front end a bit, not bad enough to affect driving it, but I could not get the hood open, so I decided to just run it to the ground instead of putting any money in it. It has still not seen a drop of oil or any kind of maitenece and will still start at -20 without the block heater being plugged in.

There is no doubting the reliability of Japanese cars over European. But Europeans are not that bad when you compare them to the exotics like Ferrari's & Lamborghini's.

I like the Volvo styling yet modest image.

I have "organ donor" ticked on my driver's license but I don't want to increase my chances of donating organs by driving Japanese over a Volvo.

w0rd. That is the best response I have ever heard and will make sure to use it in the future.