General: XC90 Trim\Spec\Model - Selekt?

[mikespike]

Hi All

Looking to replace the old 55 plate xc90 - bought it from a (non dealer) garage but really didnt the best of experiences over the years. Thinking of buying from a Volvo main dealer now - a Selekt approved model.

1. What are peoples thoughts any experiences with Selekt?
2. There are 12/13 plate SE Lux's going for c.20K - prob about 2.5K more than a private sale - worth it? (prob dependent on question above)
3. Anything to look out for on a used 4 year old XC90? There is one i was planning on seeing tomorrow?
4. What are the advantages of the R -design over the SE Lux? Would consider the Exec but really dont like the brown wood.


thanks for all your help in advance.

[SwissXC90]

I have an R-Design made in 2009

R-Design has sports suspension and variable steering and sports exhaust.
It's the "Sports" version of the XC90

All the rest is purely optical: R-Design badges and imprints everywhere, special seats, colours, floor mats, etc.

I like it.
Other's may not.

[Moose Test]

I have a Sport model from 2007 (The "R-Design" designation was first used 1-2 model years after) and have previously owned a non-sport model.

The difference in suspension setup is significant. The R-Design handling is greatly improved, with much reduced body roll when cornering. The steering feels much ligher and more precise. This is well suited to the V8 drive train. The trade-off is that comfort and ride quality suffer, being quite harsh and jarring at times (and therefore quite tiring) when on bad road surfaces. I have fitted softer side wall tyres to balance out these two effects somewhat but it is still no where near so comfortable to drive as a non-sport model on the pot-holed country lanes of rural Norfolk. On motorways and decent stretches of road it is far less apparent and so more easily overlooked.

Something else to consider is that the R-Design sport exhaust excludes carrying a spare wheel as other models do (there is no free space where the regular under-slung carrier would go). You are at the mercy of a tube of sealant and a tyre pump.

The Selekt warranty is pretty much a gold standard as used car warranties go, with just about all non-consumeable eventualities covered and any remediation performed by a main dealer using genuine parts. It also means that the car should have been through a VIDA diagnostic (and full main dealer service, if appropriate) and so any hidden nasties found, which can't necessarily be said of a regular, generic car lot. But with the dealer premium, it's an expensive warranty.

[XJSDriver]

I have a 2013 R-Design and agree with Mouse as I find the suspension brilliant; lots excellent tyre squeal if you push hard around a roundabout as body roll is small so something has to give! Love it - on motorways there is very little noise at 80mph; way better than a lot of modern cars which have high levels of tyre noise (not sure why this is?). Can be a bit harsh on bumpy roads but again no worse than Audis and BMWs - have a mate with a newish BMW 3 series and it is simply intolerable on bumpy roads!

[noddycat]

Some excellent points above - I've got a good spec '14 SE Lux D5, with Volvo Selekt, bought from my local Volvo dealer in July this year. The warranty looks comprehensive and I did (apparently) get a full service before handover. The car looked and drove almost like new.

There's also the bonus of Volvo [roadside] Assistance, which handily covers Europe as well as the UK (helpful as I did big trip to France just a day after I picked the car up). It all gives strong peace of mind in what is a pretty big purchase, though I've not had cause to test it with any claims yet. When I was looking, this car seemed to be priced reasonably competitively by my local Volvo dealer - at a level similar or indeed lower to that of non-Volvo sellers. A very pleasant, no pressure, buying experience too.

When it comes to the model choice, I was open minded but wanted a decent spec, low miles and good providence. I'd have happily had a good Executive or R-Design if one that fitted had come up, but I'm also very happy indeed with my SE-Lux.

It does roll a bit when hustling along on country roads, but nowhere near enough for it to ever be a problem, slow you down or become irritating, and far better than I ever had a right to expect for a such a large and practical barge. I was also pleasantly surprised by the non-variable steering - light but more than precise enough for the job in hand.

It's a great cruiser for motorway and A roads, and to be honest any nearly two and a have tonne car is going to struggle somewhat when pushed too hard around corners. I live in SE London and the roads, like in so many places in the UK, are littered with potholes. The softer suspension on 18" wheels helps a lot here, without ever feeling too mushy. Important to note too that all late model XC90s are D5s, so all models have exactly the same power output and acceleration / gearing.

The point above about the spare wheel is a good one. Show-stopping punctures may be few and far between - I've only had one in the 12 years with my last car - but if it does happen you want to be able to move a car to a place of safety as quickly as possible, especially if you've got youngish kids in the car, as I usually have. Waiting on the side of the A1 for three hours for recovery at 3am wouldn't be fun.

Non R-Design models take a temporary space saver tyre, which is enough to get you home / off a motorway. The emergency tyre gunk provided with the R-Design instead of a spare will be useless on sidewall damage or on significant punctures. The R-Design has some nice styling cues, but I really don't like the quad tailpipes - they give no power benefit at all and absolutely a case of form over function, especially at it means losing the temporary spare wheel.

My advice would be to try out both R-Design and SE-Lux / Exec models and see what you prefer, with all of the above in mind. Buy on the people / journeys you'll be getting the car for and availability, price, condition and history. Also get the toys you want - the moving xenon lights are brilliant, best I've had in a car, and heated / memory seats and rear air-con are nice too. Mine also came with a Volvo tow bar, which was a bonus. I wish I had an OEM reversing camera and front parking sensors, but these are relatively rare options. The sat nav does the job and nice to have, but is a bit unwieldy to use and easily bettered by phone apps.

A '12-'14 lowish miles model should be in fine fettle with nothing obvious going wrong - the benefit of buying a car from any model range's later year run means any design issues have been ironed out. There are fewer and fewer P1 XC90s around at Volvo dealers as they concentrate on the P2 models, but there are still a healthy number if you're happy to travel - if you find one you like at a good price then the Selekt warranty is an excellent way to bring peace of mind.

[mikespike]

Thanks all for your detailed responses very helpful.

As per your comments I’m a big fan of the active xenons so making sure to get those. I tried out an R design this morning and it was fab steering was much lighter than my 07 xc90 se. Just my luck I had to run off to a meeting returned this afternoon and it was sold!

They have a similarly priced SE lux (strangely priced a few hundred higher despite being higher mileage and lower spec?!? - although am pleased with having a spare) which they twisted my arm to put a deposit on - subject to test drive. Not sure how sensible that was on reflection?

I did see the car and it was astechiclly fine but needed an MOT I figured they’ll do all there checks and I have the Selekt warranty to rely on?

I did note that the service history was all non Volvo with the last one done in Oct so they won’t be servicing it. It’s done 50K 13 plate what are your thoughts?

[Harley Dave]

Will you get a Selekt warranty on a non-Volvo-serviced car?

Cheers

Dave

[gmonag]

I don't see why not. They check the whole car and replace any non-Volvo parts before giving it the Selekt badge.

See

https://selekt.volvocars.co.uk/en/volvo-selekt

[noddycat]

Originally Posted by Harley Dave

Will you get a Selekt warranty on a non-Volvo-serviced car?

The chap who sold me mine made great play about how the car had been serviced within the eight dealer network and they 'knew' the car well. Which is fine and dandy, but not a huge deal. As far as I can see there's no mention of cars needing to be exclusively serviced by Volvo for the Selekt scheme to apply.

I think if a Volvo dealer is confident enough of a car and its history / servicing to sell it through their front-end channels (dealer forecourt / website / Volvo website ), then the Selekt warranty applies. AFAIK cars under five years get an automatic 12 month warranty, cars over get six months extendable to 12 (ideally negotiated as part of the overall cost - ie get them to throw it in).

I'd be surprised - shocked even - if a dealer tried to wriggle out of warranty repairs on a Selekt car because it hadn't got full Volvo service history. But of course worth double checking on purchase.

[mikespike]

Yup confirmed that it has the 12m Selekt warranty as under 5 years old.

Was more concerned over the car overall (service history isn’t great 4 different independents) but like you said I guess they must have some confidence if they’re willing to put the guarantee on.