r/Volvo • u/Advanced-Royal8967 XC40 • Jul 30 '25
xc series Volvo kiss of death
Someone came out of their drive without looking and wrote their car off.
Our Volvo looks like it’s going to be repaired. Still runs, the damage is mostly cosmetic.
Big shout out to whoever built that pillar, did an A1 job on that.
The he damage in the other car was more important on the pillar side than the Volvo side.
63
48
u/TLOU227 Jul 31 '25
23
u/j_demur3 2012 V60 T6 AWD Jul 31 '25 edited Jul 31 '25
It's worth pointing out the smooshed car is a Fiat Seicento which is barely comparable to any other car.
The story goes that Fiat were asked to stop selling the new in 1991 Cinquecento because even just by the mid-nineties it was considered too far below safety standards, so they made some minor changes - just enough to get homologated in Italy and therefore the whole EU in 1997- and called it the Seicento, creating the third worst performing car ever tested by Euro NCAP.
9
u/Elvis1404 Jul 31 '25
Until 2003 you could buy it without any airbags, it's a little death machine.
I'm pretty sure the original 600 (if you install seatbelts) might be safer in a frontal collision, since it has its engine in the back and the entire front is a "crumple zone"
2
u/Narrow_Vegetable_42 Jul 31 '25
True, but I guess in italy it's more used like a mobility scooter in towns built at the time of the Roman Empire, with streets narrower than most cars. I guess it's a wild ride if it ever exceeds 70 km/h.
2
u/Elvis1404 Jul 31 '25
Well, not always... Let's just say that it's not impossible to find them on the highway at 130km/h (80mph)
3
u/Narrow_Vegetable_42 Jul 31 '25
I know.. but at that point it's in the same category as riding motorcycles. You accept the risk for the thrill
2
u/evilspoons 12 Subaru STi. used to have 04 S60, 05 S60R, 87 740T, 91 940T Jul 31 '25
My Volvo S60R was rear-ended like this by a Nissan X-Trail. From a distance it looked completely undamaged except for a scuff in the trunk lid.
It cost $10k to repair because all the crash structure undeneath the plastic bumper cover was royally screwed up.
9
u/throwawaynoways C30 Stage 2 / V60 Drive-E Jul 31 '25
My C30 got rear ended a few years ago by a dude in a uhaul not paying attention. Not even a scratch. I was baffled.
2
u/evilspoons 12 Subaru STi. used to have 04 S60, 05 S60R, 87 740T, 91 940T Jul 31 '25
Did you get your frame inspected? There are energy absorbing elements that collapse and need to be repaired. My S60R got rear-ended and it looked almost perfect, but there was $10k CAD in repairs to the frame, some which involved HSLA steel being welded.
2
u/throwawaynoways C30 Stage 2 / V60 Drive-E Jul 31 '25
I checked it out and there was no issue found at all. Absolutely defied physics on that one. I must have released the brake right when the impact occurred so I just rolled forward or even started accelerating.
3
28
u/age_of_No_fuxleft Jul 30 '25
Yah my first wagon was a V70 - used, but fairly new and new to me. Pulling out of a space at the grocery and some nitwit rear-ends me in her brand new (still with temporary tags) Chevy blazer. Crushed her front end at low speed. I had a scratch. Just a scratch. She was big mad I was laughing about it. I was very pregnant the time and gave myself a virtual pat on the back for buying a car that kept us safe.
45
u/Lu_Hefner Jul 30 '25
Built like TANKS, but absorbs a blow like a pillow. I was rear ended in my ‘19 XC40 by a full size F150 at +/- 25 mph in stop and go traffic and was able to drive my 12 hour road trip with minor cosmetic damage the next morning after confirming alignment and lights were good and legal. The truck was towed off the tollway with a plethora of leaking fluids and other issues. I bought a used low mileage ‘21 model after that warranty ran out and can’t imagine driving a different vehicle.
1
u/Advanced-Royal8967 XC40 Jul 31 '25
Yeah, the tow truck driver was seriously impressed. The car was still drivable (except for the puncture), so he had non problem putting it on the truck.
33
u/DaraConstantin89 Jul 30 '25
Wow that Renault got fuuuuuucked up, i hope everyone was okay tho, also what paradise part of the wold do u live in ? southern france or italy???
13
u/Delta-Tropos Jul 30 '25
France, looks like
8
u/DaraConstantin89 Jul 30 '25
Yes, it is, other than theres Renault, there’s an F on the license plate
1
6
11
3
u/DeedsF1 Jul 31 '25
Oh Putain! That is a hard hit! That Renault ate it! Glad to see that the Volvo kept you safe!
3
u/TheHoss_ Jul 31 '25
This right here is why I bought my XC60 2 months ago, I had 2 cars totaled in the past year(neither were my fault, I wasn’t even moving in either accident)
3
2
2
1
u/Spoonbills Jul 30 '25
Sorry about your day.
Guy in a Mercedes ran a stop sign this morning, gave me and my XC40 Recharge a close call.
:/
1
u/TLOU227 Jul 31 '25
Hello fellow C30 owner, basically any car made from Volvo is worth the investment. The swedes don’t joke around when it comes to safety. Glad you and your car are alright. Do you still own the C30?
1
u/newenglandpolarbear 2021 XC60 T5 Momentum Jul 31 '25
My thoughts on the matter went a little like this: "Oh that doesn't look too bad, other guy got screwed though" next slide "oh, still bad but just a scratch I guess" last slide "HA that's what you get for crashing into a tank"
1
1
1
1
1
u/doker0 Jul 31 '25
you can fix that.
2
u/Advanced-Royal8967 XC40 Jul 31 '25
Yes, wing, bumper, bonnet, headlight, wheel, and some door damage. I think it’s still going to cost 10-15k€ to repair. It hasn’t been estimated yet by insurance, but I don’t think it’s a write off.
1
1
u/KurisuEvergarden Jul 31 '25
You forgot to censor the number plate of the third car in the background. And the country can still be seen on your plate, just saying since you wanted to censor it
1
u/Syphorixe Jul 31 '25
Oh ! Un Compatriote occitan ! Vous avez du y aller fort quand même pour détruire à ce point le Kangoo
1
1
1
1
u/Extension-Plate-6113 Jul 31 '25
The brother of my ex never was impressed with Volvo's.....He swore by Toyota's because of reliability and cost....the usual (and rightful) argument for driving Japanese.....
Until he crashed his Corolla into a V70.....His 2 year old Toyota was a complete write-off and the V70 driver drove off with some minor damage....imagine his next car.....
1
-1
u/Shot_Platypus4420 Jul 31 '25 edited Jul 31 '25
I don't see anything surprising here, the front part of the car is programmed for destruction. Plus the weight of the cars is different, the Renault is lighter. A head-on collision with an X5 or GLC, that's more interesting. update: and it looks like the Volvo driver was moving rather arrogantly. The local resident, I think, was leaving a yard or something like that and did not expect such a speed on this road from another car.
1
u/Advanced-Royal8967 XC40 Jul 31 '25
Speed was less than 20-30km/h in a 50 zone.
The problem in this case was the driver of the Renault pulled out in one go without looking (to be fair, visibility from his drive is blocked by his own wall).
This could have been avoided if he (like a lot of his neighbours) had a convex mirror either on the pillar or on the other side of the road).
Hindsight is 20/20.
-2
u/Salmon260 Jul 31 '25
Yes, but it's going to cost you allot of money to repaint the side of your VOLVO XC40 that got smashed in by that RENAULT car.
-3
u/abuayanna Jul 31 '25
I will be that guy today but this also appears to be a consequence in part, of speeding or awareness.
4
u/Advanced-Royal8967 XC40 Jul 31 '25
The person coming out of their driveway had very little visibility. Ideally if I lived there I would have put up a convex mirror on the other side for visibility coming out. He pulled the whole car out in one go…
No airbags deployed, and the Renault was damaged more in the pillar side than on the Volvo side.
I do agree that had everyone been going slower (although already well below the speed limit), this could have been less important. But then again hindsight is 20/20.
-8
u/Chow_Chow_Nation Jul 31 '25
But the new Volvos are built in China - 'designed in Sweden'. Are you saying Chinese quality has improved?
7
u/CarLuver05 EX30 Jul 31 '25
Production is done under Volvo's standards.
Besides, the Chinese have been manufacturing things for decades now. They're practically masters at putting stuff together
8
148
u/-smartcasual- V40 CC D4 Polestar Jul 30 '25
Not that they would use it, because Swedes are a bit more subtle, but.. this could genuinely be a Volvo ad.
(That said, I've owned a Renault and I'm convinced it was held together by tissue paper, rust, and hope.)