Used buyer's guide: Volvo S80

How much?

Diesel S80s outnumber their petrol counterparts by around 10 to one, while about three-quarters of the models on the market have an auto box. As a result, you can pick up a high-mileage diesel from £5,000, while the cheapest petrols we could find were £6,000 – they tended to be to a higher spec with lower mileage. Most of the cheaper diesels are 2.4 or D5 editions, with 2.0-litre cars from £8,000. We’d suggest you spend £10,000 on a three-year-old 2.0D SE with a few options.

Running costs

All S80s need to be serviced every 18,000 miles or 12 months, apart from the 1.6-litre diesel (in the S80 DRIVe and D2), for which the mileage figure is 12,500 miles. Volvo dealers offer fixed-price maintenance for the car, with services alternating between minor and major– they cost £320-£350 and £380-£400 respectively.

The big service comes at 10 years, and costs around £650. This includes fitting a new cambelt, which costs £350 on its own – these belts need to be renewed after 10 years or 108,000 miles. Fresh brake fluid should be fitted every two years, and will cost around £70.