Ask the Car People.SM


Volvo S40

1807 messages,  Last post on Jul 01, 2011 at 7:51 AM

You are in the Volvo S40 Forum.

What is this discussion about? Volvo S40, Sedan



Messages Page 87 of 182

#852 of 1807 2004 Old S40 by balpern

Aug 28, 2004 (2:20 pm)

I've been offered the old version of the Volvo S40 2004 (not the T5 or the LSE).
 
The offer is $25K in Canadian dollars which is about $17-8K US. It's a dealer demo with only 9K kilometers---I think about 5K miles. It has leather seats and a sunroof but no power seats.
 
I believe they are able to take about a $5-6K cut into their original costs....what do you guys think about this deal?
 
Are there any concerns I should have surrounding the purchase of a dealer demo or precautions I should take?
 
Thanks!
Brian

#853 of 1807 Re: 2004 Old S40 [balpern] by guyfr

Aug 30, 2004 (7:14 am)

Replying to: balpern (Aug 28, 2004 2:20 pm)
Sounds like a good deal. Try to get an extended warranty and you will be covered.

#854 of 1807 Volvo's suck unless it's the new S40/V50 by creakid1

Sep 05, 2004 (1:02 am)

Last weekend in Chicago, I had a chance to ride in the back seat of the AWD S80 & XC70. The pathetic thing about this top-of-the-line Volvo -- the S80 -- is that my brother rented it as his wedding limo only to find out that it rode much less comfortably than his less expensive AWD 325xi. The XC70 rode, of course, even worse. While another poor-riding Volvo that participated this event -- an AWD S70 -- simply broke down in this wedding day for the n-th time & got traded in. No wonder when people asked me, "What is the safest car for my son?", I always replied, "definitely not a Volvo!"
 
I still remember Volvo's most-fun-to-drive car -- the new S40 -- w/o sport suspension rode w/ slower motion than the 325xi & hence just a tad more comfortable at least when bumps aren't extremely deep. I'd still highly recommend this car when the auto-recirculate charcoal filter is included at this price, as long as people don't ask me for the safest car.

#855 of 1807 Re: Volvo's suck unless it's the new S40/V50 [creakid1] by lev_berkovich

Sep 05, 2004 (9:28 am)

Replying to: creakid1 (Sep 05, 2004 1:02 am)
When I read such posts, I always think - you got to be kidding - back seat of 325 is a joke, no matter what trim you look at, unless you like to ride with your knees pressed against your chin.
 
I own S80 for 4 years, and there was no one occasion, when someone new would ride on a back seat of my car and will not praise it for the limo - like feel. The S80 back seat is one of the strongest points of that car.
 
Also, I have a friend who drives 530i, and we have mutually agreed long time ago, that we go places together (4 of us - 2 couples), we take my S80 mainly because of the back seat comfort. Even his wife does not want to ride on a back seat behind the front seat moved back. Until this year neither BMW 3 nor BMW 5 had comfortable leg room on a back.

#856 of 1807 How tall are you? by creakid1

Sep 05, 2004 (10:19 am)

I'm 5'11" & my bro's 5'11.5". The 325xi w/ manual sport seats can tilt the thigh-support upward so the front seats can stay pretty forward to spare the rear leg room, which is sufficient on the right side if I take my shoes off. & there's no electric motor underneath the front seat to push my feet or shoes off center.
 
I was wondering if the AWD version of the S80 has a less comfortable suspension setting than the other S80's. I don't get dizzy very easily, but the high solid front headrest blocking my forward vision really annoys me when sitting in the back. Besides, these non-adjustable headrests are comfortable only if you're around 6'3".
 
If the 2WD 3-series or 5-series comes w/ sport package, then the ride should be even worse than the S80. The 5-series's rear seat back is uncomfortably vertical. It has to, 'cause the non-sport 5-series's ride, handling, steering & quietness already trumped the more expensive E-class, per CR a few years back.

#857 of 1807 Re: How tall are you? [creakid1] by avolvofan

Sep 05, 2004 (11:03 am)

Replying to: creakid1 (Sep 05, 2004 10:19 am)
Getting back to safety, one reason that Volvo consistently gets high marks for occupant safety is due to the non-adjustable seat-headrest design. IIHS ran tests of the BMW 5 series 2 or 3 years ago and gave a conditional endorsement of the 5 series' seats based on which model of seat was in the car. It seems that the standard seats did not provide as much protection from whiplash injury as the upgraded seat (not the Sport seat).
 
Also, the new S40 did even better than the S60 in IIHS tests. The S60 had some drivers side footwell intrusion which might cause injury to the driver - the S40 did not have any passenger compartment intrusion.
 
In regard to back seat room, I would have to agree with Lev - the back seat room in the 3 series is tiny. Maybe it is okay if the seats are non-power and the passenger is 5'11" or smaller, and the passenger takes off their shoes to fit into the back; but that strikes me as having to make compromises to meet an objective. The new S40 with powered front seats can definitely fit a 6'1" back seat passenger (and you don't have to take off your shoes to fit).

#858 of 1807 Yah, but you're no dummy by creakid1

Sep 06, 2004 (10:13 am)

"Getting back to safety, one reason that Volvo consistently gets high marks for occupant safety is due to the non-adjustable seat-headrest design. IIHS ran tests..."
 
Adjustable headrests most likely have to be lowered all the way during the crash tests by assuming that passengers are as dumb as the dummies for not raising the headrests accordingly. I remember seeing the brochure of the '80 Audi 5000 w/ VW-like height-adjustable front headrests. But the actual car sold in America had some thick wrapping to keep the headrests permanently extended. Appearantly Audi tried to achieve a higher crash-test rating.
 
But making the Volvo's headrests height adjustable to tailor different individuals will only make the car not just more comfortable, but safer as well!
 
Not long ago, I was rear ended in my '90 Protege LX by a senior citizen driving an Avalon. Thanks to my pickiness, I had the non-contour headrest re-padded w/ towels to match my neck contour. So I was pretty much ok w/ only very little discomfort briefly the next day. I totally dismissed the accident charge & let the guy go, so his insurance rate won't go up. If every one behaves like me, then our insurance rates will go down.
 
Except for blocking the rear passengers' visibility, it's still no big deal that Volvo's contour-shape headrests are a little too high for you. 'cause you can always wrap some additional paddings to support your neck. But if it's too low, then some people might even try to remove the whole headrest all together. That's why Volvo even made them unremovable.

#859 of 1807 Re: Yah, but you're no dummy [creakid1] by lev_berkovich

Sep 06, 2004 (11:31 am)

Replying to: creakid1 (Sep 06, 2004 10:13 am)
Peter,
You need to visit the Volvo safety center, or at least read Volvo's safety related publications to appreciate how much attention does Volvo pay to the passive safety and how much research efforts went into their seat design. I was rear-ended twice in my Volvo S80, once pretty severe by large GM SUV (I could not remember the exact model, and because of the exception seat design neither I nor my wife felt any discomfort, while the rear end of my car was pretty much destroyed (so, unfortunately, I could not let the other party go).

#860 of 1807 How did I do with the price on my new Volvo? I didn by soyyo

Sep 06, 2004 (3:58 pm)

I just bought an S40 2004.5 with 2.4i
Automatic transmission, premium package, climate package, flint grey, offblack lather interior with aluminum center control panel&
spoiler
for $25,800.00.
I got 1.9 financing for 3 years. I think I did OK.
I would appreciate any comments. It's my first Volvo and I want to keep it for as long as I can.
Thanks!

Messages Page 87 of 182

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement