boneweavr

Help! My wife just drove the S80 T6 Volvo and now has 2nd thoughts about the '04 GS 300. She liked the pick up better in the Volvo and felt very comfortable in it. I was blown away by the fact that the dealership is willing to discount the $47,100 MSRP $10,000 to make the car $3000 cheaper than what I was offered to buy the GS300. What do you folks recommend? How can Volvo discount that much when Lexus won't? Both cars are having a complete model redo for '05 and the dealers have to make room for the '05's. How can one Co. discount so much while the other one refuses to do so? I know nothing about the Volvo. So help me advise my wife. Is she making a big mistake choosing the S80 T6 over the GS 300?

HKGS300

Volvo probably discounts a lot, since the S80 T6 are difficult to sell, or in other words, supply is larger than demand.

For performance, note that the Volvo is front wheel drive versus RWD for the GS300. If it rains or is slippery, the Volvo will be very difficult to handle. It has - in fact - too much power for a front wheel drive car.
Expect a lot of wheel spin.

Also, the turbo of the S80 is easily damaged and will be difficult to fix due to the difficult accessible engine compartment. The GS300 is much more reliable and engine is easily serviceable.

b1gredek

can u imagine how many lexus they sell compared to one volvo, that is why lexus will not discount their cars like other manufacuters, also this could be great for everyone who has a used gs300, our value will hold up, imagine if u had a 03 gs300 and they dropped 10K on the 04's, the value of your car would drop like crazy

RI-GS4

I can sum this up with one word....LEXUS....LOL

ias

look in the blue book at a 99 s80 t its probrably about 14,000 with 90k
a lexus gs300 (not even a 400)with 90k is probrably around 19000 .
my point is a lexus will always be worth more.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

same here, i would still get lexus. maybe it's impression but i always thought volvo quality is very so-so. plus resale value is a big issue too

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Someone I work with has a S80 T6. Car MOVES. I'm sure it's faster than a GS300, but maybe I'm wrong. If it's a good deal I'd be tempted to get the Volvo over a GS300. One note though, the S80 has had transmission problems (they reprogrammed the GM tranny), but that should be fixed if it's new.

dannieboiz

You'll get much more driving a lexus. ...

psukhu

I would be concerned about longevity and reliability with the Volvo. My wife prefers our BMW over our Lexus, but we still use the Lexus as our primary car because we're "scared" to rack up too many miles on the BMW.

I’m annoyed by the front wheel drive in the ES330 and RX330 when I get those as loaners.

XYZLexus1

They are both good cars. Noyone is going to pay 19K for a GS300 with 90K miles, more like 15K at best. They all depreciate the same. My advice would be to wait until the new 2005 are out. Why would you ever want the last model year? Your 2004 will depreciate 2 years worth the instant the 2005 hit the car lots.

I have owned a number of front wheel drive cars. They are fantastic in the snow, much better traction than rear wheel. Plus front wheel drive alway have limited slip, where as the GS300 does not.

ias

i never said anyone would pay 19k for a 99 gs300 but if you wreck your 99 gs300 your insurance company would cut you a check for 19,000 i can asure that. but let me also say that if a 99 s80 books for 14k your not going to get 14k either bottom line is a volvo will not be worth the same in 5 years that a lexus would

ias

i bought this s80 turbo at the auction (for parts) for $2450 the day i can but a wrecked lexus for $2500 i'll take 10!

ias

motor

GFerg

As some do know, I am an employee for Volvo. Well, first of all, I have no clue how that Volvo Dealership is selling an S80 T6 for under 10 grand the MSRP. Maybe the car was a demo, what year is it? (Personally I think there is something wrong with that car)It could be a 2003 model year. But with my dealership, a great majority of the T6 models are ordered. So maybe this is an unfortunate one that was sitting around for a very long time. 37 grand is the price for a base line S80 or S60 R. But your also in Cally, over here in Jersey, demand for Volvo's are pretty high, which lead to little if any discounts.

AS far as it being front wheel drive, this is the only car with this much power to the front wheels I wouldnt mind driving. Why? Its Traction Control Systems and ALL that other crap works wonderfully, not to mention, this thing is turbo charged, so there is lag, very little but its there. Good if your worried about traction, bad if your worried about immediate get up and go. As an owner of a Maxima, that car has too much power to the front wheels and needs an AWD system immediately.

Volvo's are pretty reliable, but the earlier year S80 T6 where so horrible reliability wise, always needed a new transmission and turbos would go(Too much torque). But the newer models are almost problem free compared to older models.

Personally I recommend the GS300. Its holds a lot more value(Honestly the S80 T6 isnt that bad either but not lexus like), looks better, rear wheel drive, and it feels a lot more solid. To me Volvo is for people who dont know what real luxury is.(A great majority of Volvo owners are very loyal and will never drive anything else.) Yes it has all the same features, but I dont look at it as being luxurious at all. Just very safe, Avalon top of the line Camry type cars, with power that many sleep on. Lexus on the other hand, is Lexus. The best LUXURY cars out right now. If you are worried about traction, get the S80 AWD. It has a smaller engine and turbo but still decent. I would say GS300 type acceleration. 208 hp/236 lb-tq, or somethin very close to that. ( The T6 is way faster than a GS300.)

Volvo service sucks, they dont fix problems they patch it up, none of that cushy lovely Lexus stuff, and 2005 Volvo S80 will NOT have a totally new design. It was just redesigned last year with the blue guages, chrome work, and LED tails amoung other things. The Volvo that is mildly redesigned for 2005 is the S60 with some interesting safety features, very interesting. More on that at a later time. Or you can wait it out for the new GS. Thats what I'm doing.

SecPole14

RWD + 0-Degree Driveline + Inline 6 + Made in Japan = Lexus GS300

There absoultely no reason why you should even consider an S80 over a GS300. The GS300 is not the most dynamically rewarding car, but you probably couldn't ask for a better touring sedan or daily driver.

If you care more about quality and reliability plus better design (mechanically and otherwise), go with the GS300.

Done deal.