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I really agree with Klaus on this (as usual). You see it a lot here where people are shopping but want to know "what to expect" if they are going to purchase a 10 or 15 year old Volvo. It's ALL about THE MAINTENANCE RECORDS of the car. And the reason is that you can then make a reasonable diagnosis of what you WON"T have to do. Starting with oil change regularity and then going down the list to brakes, tires, control arms, exhaust, PCV system, timing belt, etc etc etc. What has been done already? What needs doing now?
What will have to be done soon? You want a lot of the first, a little of the second and hopefully not much of the third. It's all about maintenance.
I asked a similar question before buying my latest 2006 S60 and it isn't just about the mileage of the vehicle which was higher than the others I was looking at 126 k vs 96 k. Both Klaus and my own mechanic agree that you will probably be better served buying a well maintained car that has more mileage than the non maintained (or no records at all) car that you find on Used Car lots all the time. The car I chose had records going back to 2010 which showed regular oil changes and maintenance items but also revealed control arms, exhaust system, a front bearing, brake rotors pads, tires, AND Timing Belt (water pump etc.) all having been replaced in the last year or two. So now I KNOW.
So... If there are no records... no matter how good it looks, buyer beware, because you cannot eliminate ANYTHING from the "What could go wrong?" list. Therefore... it will.
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