Volvo CX90 secondhand

Hello BB people!

We are needing a bigger car. Fact. Our little honda civic is no longer able to squish us all in comfortably.

So, we started looking at cars. I posted a while back as we were looking at the carnival, the prius v and the volvo cx90.

basically, we like the feel of the carnival, but it didnt really float our boat and the prius is just beyond us price wise at the moment (and we really do need to get a bigger car sooner rather than later!

Which led us to looking at secondhand volvos...thinking around 2006 (but open to both 2005 and 2007...price dependent of course!).

anyone have one?

Pros and cons?

Off the cuff i am totes worried by the massive fuel hunger they seem to have?

is there anything I should be looking out for with models made around this time (ie were there any issues etc?).

and finally, is it actually roomy?? we have looked at so many SUVs to only realise that the civic has more space hahaha!

any help greatly appreciated!

following

Keep in mind maintenance costs - parts are expensive, and they need to be serviced by a decent mechanic at the least, ideally a European specialist.

Have a look at the Toyota Kluger. I love mine and its cheap to run and good on fuel.

I've heard they're good cars.

Have you looked at the honda odyssey?

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Keep in mind maintenance costs - parts are expensive, and they need to be serviced by a decent mechanic at the least, ideally a European specialist.

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Having said that, I *loved* my Volvo (not a CX90), they are reliable, hard working, safe and quality built. I much prefer European cars, so I may be biased. LOL Had I been able to afford it when I bought my new car late last year, I would have bought another Volvo.

My sister just traded in her XC90, I'm pretty sure it was a 2006. It was a good car until the last 12 months or so when things started to go wrong with it - hence the trade in. I'm not sure exactly what went wrong but it was at the mechanic a few times over the past year and she was regularly complaining about how much it cost her! I don't think it was any sort of fault with the car as such, just that it was reaching the age and km's where things needed replacing. My sister spends a lot of time in her car for her job and I think her km's were about 170K when she traded. I drove the car numerous times and it was very nice to drive, as it was very comfortable to be a passenger in. The third row of seats are comfortable and not too difficult to get yourself in and out of, although I think it would be a real pain to assist a child in and buckle up. Decent leg room in the third row, not much boot space with all three rows up. Third row does split fold so you can have one seat up and more boot room. Has a built in booster in the middle of the second row, although for some reason I had an aversion to using it and always put a seat in for my kids?? I think because I haven't done any research on the safety of it! I don't think it uses any more fuel than your average commodore or falcon, although I would personally always choose a diesel car. My sisters fuel is paid for by her work so this is not something she complained about. When I have driven it, I've not noticed it to be particularly thirsty. My family all use the same mechanic and have for years. He specialises in BMW's and other European brands. I don't think servicing the Volvo was particularly expensive, although we do get mates rates and I'm sure if you were to service through a Volvo dealer it would cost more.

All up, I reckon the XC90 is a great car and if I can ever convince myself to sell my beloved X5 and upgrade to a 7 seater I would definitely look at a diesel XC90.

Have you looked at the honda crv? I have one and love it. I've been given a civic to drive when my car was being serviced and it felt very cramped compared to my car. Worth looking at. It is very economical on fuel (I average about 10.1L going to and from work. I travel about 60km each way to work). I was working twice a week and doing much shorter trips 3 days a week for school run (15km each way - total of 6 times a week) plus normal running around to shops and appointments etc. When I worked 4 days I was averaging about 9.8/9.9L. It's not too expensive for servicing - about the same as my Mazda 3 was. I get it done through the dealer.

Divvy - very interested in your thoughts on the Kluger. DH is looking at one to replace the company car (his boss wants the Kluger) and we get use of it on weekends. Don't need a second SUV/4wd so finding it hard to justify. What's servicing like for the Kluger? What sort of economy do you get? I think the car they are looking at is on 09 model.

thanks for the feedback guys!

I hold some concern for the scarcity of parts in the future as apparently they are launching an all new xc90 this year...

The fuel consumption on the one we tried yesterday was pretty mind-blowing. it hovered around the 14L mark!

I need to find one that is diesel me thinks.


the pros though were that it is really well designed inside. 3 full seats across the back...for the first time no carseat for the kids were touching! and the third row is actually useable while retaining space in the 'boot'.

I liked that it had a boot that has a loadbearing tray...always handy with groceries and prams to put in.

It handled surprisingly well. I was expecting a tank, but i managed to parallel park it like no mans business (and i currently drive a nana honda civic...so dont have the skills).

the kms are lowish on the models we are looking at. we are keeping it to any that are under 100k (which is low for a 2006/7 model). but it does play on my mind that it might go kaput sooner than we want it to IYKWIM.

Divv: we looked at the kluger but the space across the 2nd row just isnt enough with our 3 in carseats and boosters (fits, but barely)
it gives us more space in that there is a third row, but the tightness was something we were hoping to avoid...eye-gouging sisters and all hahahahaha.

I also LOVE that the middle row of seats are each on tracks meaning that you can push them closer up and further back as you wish/need (so if you have a kid that needs stuff handed to them on a long road trip (I imagine) you can push them closer to you...gimmicky but cool lol.

To give a bit more insight into our thinking, we have our list of three cars that we are comparing (and it is a list that most probably wouldnt consider in the same league hahahahaha):

Volvo XC90

Kia Grand Carnival

Toyota Prius V

If i had a car fairygodmother it would be the prius v. like the volvo it has a really smart interior design and is spacious. BUT, i am tempted by the pulling power of the volvo (ponies anyone??)

The kia space wise is a winner. but like the volvo (but not as bad!) it is a bit fuel hungry (although the diesel is much much better on that one).

the con is that it is still fuel heavy and second hand price wise is comparable to the volvo...and maybe a volvo as a general rule might age better with the safety and design features??