Am I mad to want a 2016 XC90 T8? Aftermarket Warranties?

[BenB]

5 years ago we bought a 2010 XC90. It was 7 years old an cost £13,000. To me this was a lot of money. I'd never spent so much on a car.
Now I'm looking at replacing it, and I'm finding a 6 year old XC90 is £28,000 if not over £30k! This is bonkers, however I still want one!

T8 seems perfect for our family needs. All the short journeys, school runs, anything local would likely me mostly EV only. And the range anxiety issue goes away completely. Having it this way round - EV at low HP for low rev journeys, and a high-HP proper engine for business as usual is more helpful to me than an EV with a gutless petrol engine as an occasional backup (BMW i3 for example).

I've been reading up a bit about the potential problems with a T8, the ERAD failures for example. It's making me think, is it crazy to buy a 100,000 example of a T8?
I've never had one before; is it simple enough to get an aftermarket warranty on an older, higher-mileage car? Do they need proof of service history etc? Would they refuse it? How much do they cost?

Or would people suggest one of the other engines as a more bullet-proof solution?
Would be nice to get some advice! Thanks

[Familyman 90]

Any aftermarket warranty will have a clause excluding common failures which they regard as design faults.

If you can't afford to mend it should it break then it may not be the car for you. Cheap cars can often end up being the most expensive ones.

[Lozzingers]

Hi Ben,
I would check the main warranty companies (Warranty wise/direct) and see what they cover. Like familyman suggested they have clauses, but worth checking if ERAD is covered. One person on here bought off a BMW garage (IIRC) and made sure they said that ERAD was covered in the warranty as a few months later it went pop.
We have a T8 after a D5 and it is fab. We can do 10-15 local trips in a day with kids going round, mostly on electric, and then petrol for longer journeys. You won't necessarily get your money back, but it is very quiet, smooth and zero emissions at point of use (by no means a 'green' car (if there is indeed such a thing when all bits totalled up!)).
I'm sure you're aware but used car prices are rather inflated at present, not sure how long that will last, but depreciation on a £30k car will be the order £3-5k per year + dealer markup.
Good luck!
L

[Dohnut]

To kind of echo what has been already been said... new this would have been a £60k+ car so will have associated running/repair costs.

They are highly complex cars, especially in T8 guise and no warranty is bulletproof. 100k mile examples will need stuff replacing/repaired.

Go in with your eyes wide open!

[noodle1066]

Extended Volvo Warranty stops at 100k or 7 Years what ever is sooner for 2015 to 2019.

[XC90Mk1]

I considered the same and will stay with mine which I have owned for 5 plus years without issue.

I will conclude all my research on the subject (reliability, warrenty etc etc etc) with the following FACT.

If you want a T8, buy one. From Volvo. And only Volvo.

Used is fine (selekt) but don’t go buying from the little guy because if ut goes wrong you really could be left holding a whole world of pain!