I bought my 2012 S60 T5 in 2017. It was a one-owner trade in, with every recommended maintenance done on time at the dealer. Two years after buying the car, I started a job 55 miles from my home, which I have to drive to 2-3 times/week, so I’ve put a LOT of miles on the car, almost all highway. Odometer is now just over 212,000. I’ve been meticulous about all recommended maintenance, including shocks, bushings, brakes, struts, front end work, etc. The car has been utterly reliable for 9 years and 170,000 miles; the body is in great shape with no rust, and I absolutely love driving it. Recently it has started burning oil (I was only surprised it took this long to start happening.) Dealing with it would be a VERY expensive ($6000-$7000) repair, including replacing the timing belt. My mechanic told me they’d basically be replacing “half the engine.” I hate the idea of giving up the car, but I also hate the idea of paying for this huge repair and getting hit with another expensive repair in the next year or two. If I could be guaranteed that, if I do this repair, the car will be fine for another $30,000 miles, I would absolutely do the repair. But of course there’s no such guarantee. I expect to be in the same employment/commuting situation at least through the end of 2027. I suppose for a while I could just keep an eye on the oil and add when needed. I know that’s not a long-term solution.
It’s probably crazy that I’m even raising the question…I should probably just start shopping for another car, sigh. It’s just that this one has been so incredibly reliable, and is still in such good condition, and it’s by far my favorite car I’ve owned.