S80 auto gearbox blues

Blueskies_6 · 03-25-2008, 01:34 PM

Hi there

I have always been in love with Volvos and I bought my first one, a lovely, well-maintained 2001 S80 2.4 SE auto with only 71K on the clock and a full Volvo service history after spending a lot of time and effort finding it.

It was immaculate and had one previous owner who cared for it the way I intended to. Sadly. I only had this car 6 months when the automatic gearbox just died!!! I had it inspected by Volvo and was very surpised when they told me it needed replacing at £4000.

To have it reconditioned cost just over £2000 so I sold this car. I think this is a joke and totally unacceptable. It completely wrekked my faith in Volvo and I will certainly never buy one again.

Black 850 · 03-26-2008, 04:26 AM

BlueSkies:
Sorry to hear about the trouble with your transmission! Volvo isn't the only car to have transmission troubles. My wife had a 'bullet proof' Toyota Camry and the tranny went out in it. The cost to fix it was just about as much as the car was worth so we sold it too. However, it is possible to find a good AT out of a wreck. Here in Florida they have a locating system where the local yard can contact most of the yards in the state and find the parts for less than the rebuild or new cost. A local shop can then install it for less money than both of your other options.

I have had better success with standard transmissions. My experience has been that they are more durable. Three of my wife's automatics have needed repair or replacement, and she has only driven about 25% of the miles I have and I have blown only one clutch in 45 years of driving. Please don't give up on Volvos just because of one blown tranny. It could happen to ANY car, foreign or domestic. Volvos are durable cars that can last you two or three hundred thousand miles with decent maintenance if you don't beat them up. All of the Volvos in our family have been sticks and they were all good cars.
Thanks - David.