Mercedes or Volvo — what we actually found
Side by side from 273 Mercedes vehicles and 58 Volvos buyers asked us to inspect before purchase. The average car we check scores 61/100.
| Mercedes | Volvo | |
|---|---|---|
| Cars inspected | 273 | 58 |
| Average condition | 62/100 | 66/100 |
| In good shape (60+/100) | 56% | 67% |
| Holds up to (avg dips below decent) | ~92k mi | ~123k mi |
| Repainted or replaced panel | 77% | 62% |
| Structural repair found | 1% | 3% |
| Fault codes recently cleared | 19% | 22% |
Green = the better number of the pair. Condition reflects the mix of cars that came to us — age, price, model — so treat small gaps as a tie.
Share in good shape (scoring 60+/100) by mileage and by age when we inspected them (each dot ≥5 cars; a band under 20 cars follows the nearby bands, so a run above the all-cars line stays above it, and a band of 20 or more uses the rate we measured; where a band has too few cars, the line follows the trend between the bands on either side; rolled-back odometers excluded from the mileage curve). Dashed grey = all cars we check.
Not enough Volvos at the 5–10 year checkpoint yet to draw a generation trend.
Share in good shape when inspected at the same age (5–10 years, age-adjusted), by model-year generation; dashed = all-brand average. All brands →
Based on 331 inspections · updated Oct 22, 2026
