So do many gas turbo engines. (Volvos included)
Interesting - I’ll have to see how it goes tomorrow - “Turbo” for someone who’s gotten speeding tickets in a Chevette seems like a bad idea, but if the 2.4i feels slugish, I may have to check it out.
Heh. I got a speeding ticket in a Chevette once, myself. At the time, I was racing a Corvette.
Late to the discussion here. I have owned a 78 Rabbit, 81 Rabbit, 84 Jetta and 96 Jetta, all purchased new. As God is my witness, I will never buy another Volkswagen again! At least unless I could be assured that it was built in Germany.
Every car was plagued by electrical problems of one sort or another.
78 Rabbit (built in Germany). Water leaked in along the antenna cable and shorted out the electrical system, but was covered in a recall so no harm done. Totalled in an accident at about 40K, so no extended data.
81 Rabbit (built in Westmoreland PA?) I would drive and parts would fall out behind the dash onto the carpet. Parts inside the sunroof good loose and would rattle annoyingly. Intermittent electrical problems. Traded in at about 60K.
84 Jetta (built in Germany). Intermittent electrical problems (expensive to fix each time). Actually not that bad a car, and I kept it for 12 years and 200K.
96 Jetta (built in Mexico?). I wanted to get rid of this car a year after I bought it. My first automatic transmission, and it would get stuck in a lower gear. I’d have to pull off to the side of the road, turn off the engine and back on. The axle failed just over warranty but before aftermarket parts were available so I paid full price to have it fixed. Something about a defective boot design, so it was bound to happen again. I had to have the entire electrical system replaced.
I was thinking about trading it in (at 100K), and debated over another VW, but decided on Japanese instead. Then a couple I know bought a 2001 VW Jetta and couldn’t praise it enough. I agonized anew, but finally decided to go with a Toyota or Nissan.
I traded in toward a 2002 Nissan Altima, the first year that they were produced. Common wisdom says that that is not the wisest thing to do. Almost 100K, and right now the worst that has happened is that a blown headlight bulb also shorted out a fuse.
It turned out to be a good move. That couple had to deal with the faulty ignition coil FUBAR, and had the car in the shop four times as each ignition coil failed.
The VWs were a blast to drive, there is no question. The Nissan steering seems to be aimed at what they think the American public wants. But, I’ll still trade that for reliability anyday.
I’m also really late to this discussion, but I’d still encourage you to at least think about a TDI. We have an '03 (Golf, not Jetta) that has been tremendous for us these last few years.
Drop by TDI Club sometime and do some research if you’re curious about TDIs in very cold weather – lots of of folks will be happy to share their experiences with you. Unfortunately, living in LA, I can’t say we’ve ever had need of the glow plugs. 
I’ve gone to some of the meet ups for TDI Club and have encountered many folks who have pushed their TDIs well over 200k miles with no sign of slowing down.
DONE!!!
wOOt! 
:)
I bought it, and I get to bring it home tomorrow!
I’m going to go do a small dance of joy now.
Woot! Grats!
You can get some good deals if you look, My daily driver is a 92 325 convertable… I paid $4,500 with 35k miles, no rust and very good condition.
Took it to the dealer, paid another $1,500 for a complete service overhaul, and now it’s a great running car.
Spill girl. What color, what equipment we want details!
I am very happy for you.
2007 Volvo S40 2.4i, Black Sapphire, Sport Package (17" wheels, dynamic chassis, flood lights, etc), sun roof, etc, etc. Nicely pimped out with some leather, and heated seats and stuff.
It is a sweet, sweet ride. And either the dude that suggested the thing was under powered doesn’t know how to drive a stick or he was test driving Ferraris earlier in the day. Seriously, I have no idea what he’s on about.
Furthermore, EVERYONE at the dealer passed the “Bring a Boy” test - I brought a guy friend with me, and the sales manager, sales man, receptionist, etc. all pretty well ignored him, shook my hand first, addressed their comments to me, etc. Gold Stars all around!
I am SO excited!!!
Pics?
(Man, I am such a car whore.)
How much?
$36 (about $5.5 under MSRP - I’m really happy)
I pick it up today at 2:00 - I’ll have pics after then.
Can you believe that the dude in the Business Office had the nerve to call me high maintenance?
Just because I insisted they needed the wheels changed, the anti-chip coating on the bonnet, and the whole thing registered and ready for me to pick it up TODAY?!?!?
(And yes, I know that is totally high maintenance. :D:):D)
Oh, BTW, please allow me this opportunity to publicly thank Rick for ensuring that I didn’t need to remove my blouse* in order to get a really good price on my car.
You Sir, are both a scholar and a gentleman. Please expect your first “Moose of the Month” delivery early in the new year.
*NO, I wouldn’t actually remove my blouse in order to get a good price on a car. Open an extra button, maybe.
The reason I ask is that I priced out your car on the Volvo US site. US MSRP is $27,010 USD. Convert that to CAD at 1.15, add 6.5% GST and 6% imported car (S40s are made in Belgium) tax works out to be $34,593 CAD, this is with the US MSRP. I don’t know if you included GST in your figure.
Due to differing warranty coverages, and several other factors, you cannot just take the price in one country and apply the then current exchange rate to get the price in another country. Also the price is set before the model year opens, so currency fluctuations after that point are immaterial as the price on the sticker does not change.
Alice ::: kicks the dirt with his toe::: Shucks it weren’t nothin.
Honestly I am happy to help a fellow doper especially one as nice as you.
I am forwarding your comments about the dealership back to the powers that be in Canada, so that the dealership gets an atta boy.
I called the 1-800 number at Volvo USA and confirmed that Volvo warranties are still honoured in Canada. IIRC This is the case with most car manufactured (Honda being a notable recent exception. Even then, with the cost of a third party warranty, Hondas are still thousands cheaper in the US).
…and this is the reason why the OP should pay thousands more for the same car? 
It isn’t exactly a secret that most cars are FAR cheaper in the US than Canada, especially for some brands like Subaru, who would be stupid not to leverage international markets and currency fluctuations to their advantage. In Subaru’s case, the main competitor to the WRX STi, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, cannot be legally imported into Canada due to crash testing, so Subaru’s prices in Canada are jacked up through the roof. US car dealerships in places like Seattle and Buffalo know the process quite well and can even handle all the importation paperwork for Canadian buyers. Every year, thousands of Canadians go down south to buy their cars. I don’t know ANYONE who would buy a luxury car in Canada, if you think the price differential for the OP’s car is big, try pricing out a BMW M3 in Canada. A $30k difference is a pretty good return for a few hours of driving across the border.
…but hey, not my money.
Good thing I’m made of money, eh?
I’m going to be baking cookies and sending them along with a thank you - everyone was REALLY nice.
wOOt!