Don't buy a Volvo

I have two friends who bought 2015 Volvos that appear to be totally out of luck. 

J's car blew an engine and M's car won't stop burning oil. 

A replacement engine cost 18k and J walked away from his car, it wasn't worth the cost of a new engine, M is still feeding hers oil and waiting for the inevitable. I asked J why he couldn't find a used engine but he said eventually they will all have the same problem.

The issue evidently extended far beyond my friends' troubles. A class action lawsuit was filed by Volvo owners that uncovered in discovery that Volvo knew there was a potential problem with their 4 and 5 cylinder engines in pre production. Piston rings were too thin, defective and substandard. This affects certain Volvos made between 2013 and 2016.

Volvo, now a Chinese company, reached a settlement with these people warrantying the cars for 100,000 miles or 8 years from time of delivery but there was a catch. 

According to M, all of the prior maintenance work had to have been performed at the dealer.

When does that happen in the real world and how is that fair? My friend M is screwed.

And the settlement only applies to Volvo owners in the USA, Canadian owners are out of luck. I read that the class action was released when Volvo reached a private settlement with the initial plaintiffs but other owners are now contemplating a new lawsuit.

Personally, I would never buy a Volvo, especially after hearing all the horror stories. But I still remember the great ad from the movie Crazy People with fondness.