I have to agree w/your concern.

I have a 1996 850 wagon, manual transmission, normally aspirated, that my wife drives. I have been surprised at the number of nagging, little problems which I had never seen on many of my previous cars.

Now maybe I am a bit spoiled--of the modern cars that I have owned, all were Hondas, or Acuras. This is our first foray outside of American Honda. BTW, I used to collect British cars, so I know what unreliability is all about.

Things that should not have happened:

Reversing light switch, at about 20,000.

Upper-engine stabilizer bushing, at about 50,000.

Lots of light failures including those requiring the dashboard to be taken apart.

Doors "cracking" when opened and closed, chronic problem starting at 10,000.

Vacuum leak at rubber elbow, at about 30,000.

Ignition switch failure, at about 50,000.

Chronic, yet intermittent, engine light problems, mostly due to the air pump--I live with it.

Link bushing failures, at about 25,000.

None of these are "deal-killers," and we will be keeping our car for many years to come. Bushings should not fail below 100,000 miles. Switches should not fail, hardly ever, unless than are manufactured by Lucas. The door problem is a real design problem.

I can't wait 'till the air conditioner goes out. It's the only problem on the Bay13 web site that I have not had.

We never had these annoyances with the Hondas--maybe I'm just spoiled.

I had a friend who was a German car mechanic, only worked on Porches, BMWs, Mercedes, etc. On behalf of my brother, I once asked him about purchasing an Audi Quattro. He told me, absolutely NO! He said that if Audi could design a car with square wheels, but develop a computerized suspension control system which corrected for the square wheels, they would. His point was taken, but my brother still bought the car and paid dearly for the choice. I remember him telling me about how the Audi had all these little relays and fans, etc. in areas that were simply not necessary. Is the Volvo from a similar heritage?

Just my thoughts.

A lot of the problems you have identified my be due to your driving habits or driving conditions: Switches, brakes, suspension.

In regards to the check engine lights, I have the same problem (goes on whenever it wants) on my S70 (and 850 before that)-I just ignore it and trust my instinct (not scientific but it saves my sanity and saves me money).

I have never heard of a wiring issue causing a fire in the engine-I think this may be a fluke or the mechanic doing something weird.

My thoughts on your car is that at 76k, it is a baby. I sold my base 1994 850 a year ago at 160k and the person that bought it is still driving it.

Since your car would not be worth a lot on the used car market I would keep it provided you keep in mind that the A/C Condenser would probably go w/i the next 1-2 yrs at a cost of $1500. If you can live with that expected cost, keep it!