Because it was branded a lemon law buyback car. The disclosure said it was bought back in California because customer complained of noise vibrations (Not really true) and the problem no longer existed per Volvo and the buyback was due to promote customer loyalty, not because of a lemon law settlement. However the truth was not quite like that, the car had water leaks in the windshield and the windshield and dash creaked and groaned, the dealer could never seem to install or reseal it right, and subbed the repair to many shops.
Enough times (over 5) that with separate repair orders, the car qualified as a lemon law buyback and we hired a lawyer to accomplish this task, which he did.

So if the problem is fixed someone got a great car really cheap to resell for a profit or to enjoy. It was our first car, and no pets or smokers or kids abused it in fact no one ever even rode in it except me and my wife. We even had weatherguard floor mats in it so even the factory floor mats never had human feet on them while we had the car, which we very carefully broke in and drove and had a mere 7700 miles on it (within a week after we bought it we had our problems start so we never really used the car very much at all, knowing full well it could be repurchased and mileage charges deducted.) The car still smelled brand new when we gave it up. If ever there was a mint car, this was it. It was our first new car together, and undoubtedly our last. We paid $42,000 ($42k) out the door for it. Just imagine after a year to get knocked down on ebay with 7733 miles for just $24.9k. Unbelievable. So, now Volvo is going to discontinue these lovely cars. Aside from heavy torque steer under hard throttle, these cars were wonderful cars, a delight to drive, a dream to sit in and handle, and economical (30mpg highway, not bad for a full sized Volvo) and I feel sad it is gone and to know we will never have another. Maybej this car will even be a collectible one day, at least a minter from the last year of production. They are nice looking cars for sure, except for the FWD and poor rear view vision they are so good there is little or nothing to improve. (Except lose the super donut size spare). It was fun to get to papmer one from brand new, it seems that maybe the dealer was the lemon and not the car, because the dealer kept subbing the windshield reseal to different glass shops and no one could get it right. I heard the 98-99 C70s actually had the most problems.

Jim
San Francisco C70less but still keeping the trusty 91 740 and the 91 Mercedes Benz 560 SEC coupe (last of the "good" handbuilt ones like a tank...)
Keep on rolling everyone.

what year was your car.............

Like I have said before....finding a quality Volvo dealer service dept. is the KEY to a positive ownership experience. These cars(in fact no cars)are not made by the hand of god, so chances are there WILL be a defect in a new car.....the trick is to find a service dept. that can be trusted 100% to do what you ask, and do it right...the first time. Shop around....ask people you see waiting for their cars in the service area, if they are happy with the service they get there. Look around the service dept. and ask some of the techs how long they worked at THIS dealership. Talk to the SM.....and explain to him that you dont want to be a PITA, but you want what only you pay for.......quality service......OH, and dont be afraid to pay for the quality service....but dont over pay either.
But.....I guess this dont mean too much to you now.

Steve Ferraro
Hoboken, NJ

I'm not sure that I'm understanding all this but are you know complaining that you let the car go so cheap? You didn't have to, you could have simply put your reserve to any # that you wanted or sold, traded the car by other means.

You also sound as though you're now sorry that it's gone. No one forced you to sell it either, your choice.

Now, have I ever endured major auto related headaches? Yep! Did I then give up and sell the car, nope. If you like something enough, you learn to grit your teeth and push past the irratations until the problem(s) are eventually solved and sooner or later, anything can be fixed one way or another.

The C70 Coupes were not unusually troublesome UNLESS you ever needed to have a window cassette replaced, then THAT could be a real bummer if not done correctly and there's nothing easy about that job.
The early C70 convertables on the other hand were/are far more troublesome overall and I'd never advise one to anyone that I liked.
I've never heard of any X70 (any) with a leaking windshield problem so to me, that's unusual but I'd think that any decent glass company should be able to replace it w/o problems the first time.

Maybe i misunderstood his post, but I surmised he got his money refunded under the lemon law and the dealer sold it on ebay.

That is exactly what happened. We got the money refunded in full less mileage deduction. Volvo resold it as a lemon title car to a dealer who put it up on ebay.

Ahhhh, sorry that I missed that before. Apparently then Volvo didn't want to negotiate for a better price and was happy enough to take whatever they could get.

It would be fast, sporty, mid-tech, masculine.....and RWD!

Think of the Z3/Z4, S2000, 350Z. What we're looking for is a Z-car of our own...a Z40 or Z60, perhaps. Imagine a sweet, sporty two seat Volvo with a T5, six speed gearbox, 17-inch wheels. Just don't let Peter Horbury design it....he'll turn it into another Volvo for girls.

But it would be proabably be asking too much of Volvo, seeing that they're just now entering the SUV market (another car for girls) at the moment everyone else is bringing out roadsters. And too much to ask of Ford, who have interrupted their truck-building operations to puzzle over how to put the S60, one of the Jags, and the Taurus on a Mazda platform. (Heck, Ford would probably have Horbury re-style the Miata and palm it off on us as a "Volvo.")
--
(98 S70 T5SE misc mods, mostly lighting) (92 940GLE)

careful.... I have the "original" '90 Miata & a '00 C70 conv.
I enjoy both.
I will admit that I can't part w/ the Miata because every time I drive it, I remember that no RWD or FWD Volvo is as tossable as the Miata, which has been nearly bulletproof for 97,200 mi.
[Knock wood] The C70 just topped 20,000 mi. - only complaint is the rotors, but no need for rotor replacement in well over a year. I'd love to do mods to improve handling but I haven't convinced myself I can really make sufficient impact.

Although I generally dislike Ford as a parent, and don't like giving out info., a few years ago I put both cars on the Ford/Mazda/Volvo owners site and have updated mileage 2x. Anyone have any idea if Ford uses this info.?

> Anyone have any idea if Ford uses this info.?

I wouldn't give Ford the time of day.
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(98 S70 T5SE misc mods, mostly lighting) (92 940GLE)