Volvos in Dubai - worth buying?
Discussion
Looking at a 4WD for the wife. She wants to buy new whereas I am looking at the used end of the market. One that jumps out is the Volvo XC90 with the V8. I have heard horror stories about engines and gearboxes in other countries/forums but cannot seem to find much about how they fare here in this climate/getting parts/servicing etc.
Forgot to add - is it capable of going offroad into the desert for camping etc? Not full on dune-bashing but being able to get in and out of the sand dunes.
Should I prepare a bargepole or worth looking further into?
Thanks in advance
Forgot to add - is it capable of going offroad into the desert for camping etc? Not full on dune-bashing but being able to get in and out of the sand dunes.
Should I prepare a bargepole or worth looking further into?
Thanks in advance
Edited by XB70 on Friday 16th September 14:46
Paracetamol said:
We used to run a 2009 XC90 3.2. It was an OK car but Volvo has a stupid attitude here over spare parts prices, warranty lengths and also service intervals. I think these revenues are used to make up the short fall in sales revenues...but talk about alienating customers in the process.
In the end I used to have to bring parts in my luggage. The bushes just don't seem to be up to the heat and weather here.
I think the gearbox issues related to the older cars. Later ones seem ok..
One other issue- don't buy witout the BLIS indicators. They have a huge blind spot that's almost leathal. I put those weird blindspot stick on concave mirrors on ours but they looked a bit crap..
Saying all that..the new XC90 looks great and with 15k service intervals and an extendable 3 year warranty I could be tempted..
Hmmm...food for thought.In the end I used to have to bring parts in my luggage. The bushes just don't seem to be up to the heat and weather here.
I think the gearbox issues related to the older cars. Later ones seem ok..
One other issue- don't buy witout the BLIS indicators. They have a huge blind spot that's almost leathal. I put those weird blindspot stick on concave mirrors on ours but they looked a bit crap..
Saying all that..the new XC90 looks great and with 15k service intervals and an extendable 3 year warranty I could be tempted..
Edited by Paracetamol on Friday 16th September 16:34
I am hoping to come across some confused person selling a Mercedes R class which has been badged as an R350 when it is in fact an R63L *grin* given the number of 'G63s' and 'S63s' that my old heap of a Caddy sees off on a regular basis. Tiny brake calipers are not an option on the AMG parts list as far as I know!
I think it is After_shock.
Had a look in some dealerships this morning but not enjoyable at all with no air con in my car. Did see briefly a Kia Mojave which seems to offer a lot of car for the money and extremely long warranty. Would just be pounding the school runs for the wife but she is keen to have new and reassurance of a warranty whereas I am still in the 'what scraps can be had at the bargain barge'end of the market - I blame the influence of the 0-5000 thread over on general gassing
Had a look in some dealerships this morning but not enjoyable at all with no air con in my car. Did see briefly a Kia Mojave which seems to offer a lot of car for the money and extremely long warranty. Would just be pounding the school runs for the wife but she is keen to have new and reassurance of a warranty whereas I am still in the 'what scraps can be had at the bargain barge'end of the market - I blame the influence of the 0-5000 thread over on general gassing
IanUAE said:
We have 2 Mohave's in the office and yes they are quite well specked and reasonable to drive (in fact the office is talking about selling my LWB Pajero and giving me 1 of the Mohave's).
#The bargain Volvo V8 was sold before I could see this evening :-(
Thanks for the comments on the Kia so will have to look at one in more detail/drive this weekend.
Had a look around this weekend - seeing lots of the XC90s about.
The dear wife keeps pushing for new. Given that she will be learning to drive; the risk of being intimidated on the road and the (alleged) need to be able to carry visitors around, I had a look at a battlecruiser..sorry, Toyota Sequoia.
Kids loved it as they disappeared off to the third row about 500m away. Was too late to do a test drive but from the oracles of YouTube and the forums, they seem to be quite reliable mobile villas.
Any thoughts on the USS Sequoia?
The dear wife keeps pushing for new. Given that she will be learning to drive; the risk of being intimidated on the road and the (alleged) need to be able to carry visitors around, I had a look at a battlecruiser..sorry, Toyota Sequoia.
Kids loved it as they disappeared off to the third row about 500m away. Was too late to do a test drive but from the oracles of YouTube and the forums, they seem to be quite reliable mobile villas.
Any thoughts on the USS Sequoia?
Onetrackmind said:
We recently bought a 2015 ex-demo Durango from Trading Enterprises. Could be worth a look as you seem to be going through a similar thought process to myself at the time. The prob with these premium used SUVs is, as stated by others, they can cost a fortune to run after a while.
Our 2008 Touareg with 160k on the clock was diagnosed with needing 15k of suspension work so decided to chop it in for something newer. I already have an old car which is enough of an effort to run out here, so wanted less hassle from a newer car.
I did a bit of research before buying and the Durango wins lots of group tests in the US. It has the 8 speed ZF 'box that comes in many premium brand brand SUVs. Meant to be safe for the wife and daughter. I'm happy as it has the 5.7 360hp motor - the V8 seems a dying breed so glad to get one and tick that box off. Has a five year warranty, so no worries for a while. I like the looks and interior of the updated model - rear lights look good and nice interior lighting. I really fancied the R/T but as this was an ex-demo 2015 they were offering it with a massive discount. Just a suggestion but thought it might be worth you considering one. I'd always written off US cars but it seems Fiat-Chrysler have gotten their act together, especially with the Jeep and Dodge brands.
That is really useful - thanks. An ex-demo would be ideal - I have seen a few Durangos around but not looked at them closely. One to add to the list!Our 2008 Touareg with 160k on the clock was diagnosed with needing 15k of suspension work so decided to chop it in for something newer. I already have an old car which is enough of an effort to run out here, so wanted less hassle from a newer car.
I did a bit of research before buying and the Durango wins lots of group tests in the US. It has the 8 speed ZF 'box that comes in many premium brand brand SUVs. Meant to be safe for the wife and daughter. I'm happy as it has the 5.7 360hp motor - the V8 seems a dying breed so glad to get one and tick that box off. Has a five year warranty, so no worries for a while. I like the looks and interior of the updated model - rear lights look good and nice interior lighting. I really fancied the R/T but as this was an ex-demo 2015 they were offering it with a massive discount. Just a suggestion but thought it might be worth you considering one. I'd always written off US cars but it seems Fiat-Chrysler have gotten their act together, especially with the Jeep and Dodge brands.
Edited by Onetrackmind on Sunday 2nd October 18:16
After_Shock said:
Yes its me for the Volvo side of things.
The new XC90 is a great car and they keep selling out every shipment we get (if short supply and high demand doesn't = half decent residuals then im afraid nothing will) residuals will be on par with other European premium brands in the long run. Even the usual rock solid lexus/Toyotas are taking a battering in the used market at the moment so the usual argument of buy Japanese as you don't lose money is not really relevant at the moment.
Older V8's are good but finding one that doesn't need money throwing at it will be hard (same as X5's, ML's or anything European of a similar vintage) gearboxes are a weak link, engine mounts and suspension bushes seem to go for fun and occasionally the odd diff throws its toys out the pram.
Thanks! The new XC90 is a great car and they keep selling out every shipment we get (if short supply and high demand doesn't = half decent residuals then im afraid nothing will) residuals will be on par with other European premium brands in the long run. Even the usual rock solid lexus/Toyotas are taking a battering in the used market at the moment so the usual argument of buy Japanese as you don't lose money is not really relevant at the moment.
Older V8's are good but finding one that doesn't need money throwing at it will be hard (same as X5's, ML's or anything European of a similar vintage) gearboxes are a weak link, engine mounts and suspension bushes seem to go for fun and occasionally the odd diff throws its toys out the pram.
We did have a sit in one of the new ones but it felt very small after the Sequoia from a few minutes earlier. Then again, anything less than the QE2 would feel the same.
From calling around, it seems that prices are all over the place on various used cars combined with the 'creative' history and speel that some people seem to insist on. Same for new too for some of the brands! Does my head in!!
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