2008 Volvo C30 Pros and Cons at TrueDelta: Owner Pros and Cons by ANDRE.ESGUERRA

I loved the styling of this car when I chose it, and I still do, 14 years later. When the car is working well, it has such a civilized and refined ride. It has a 6-speed manual transmission which is like butter going through the gears. Very easy to drive, and the seats are as comfortable as advertised. Volvo seats are the best.

However, the front suspension is just plain lousy. With only 86,000 miles, this car has buried me in repair costs. I have now replaced the struts and springs three times, and these have all occured once the car was out of warranty. The control arms have been replaced, as have the front axles and wheel bearings. I needed new brakes at 35,000 miles! What does this say about the vaunted Volvo engineering? I have no doubt the engine will operate for hundreds of thousands of miles. I've never had a problem with the engine. It's everything else that is attached to the front end of this car!

I am not an aggressive driver. My daily commute to work is a total of 10 miles! How can this be so bad? The car is not a sport version and I do not have low profile wheels. It's configured about as domestic as you can get. I'm flumoxed!