i've been considering turning to the dark side and getting a FWD. after watching ebay motors, and not finding any 850Rs locally, i think i'm going to get a C70. i'm figuring it'll be a 99-01. what have other brickers encountered as far as problems ~80k miles? it's going to be awhile, prolbably 4-5 months away, but i want a good heads up, as always thanks in advance for all the great info...

i appreciate the info guys. my uncle is in the used car business, so he'll be checking out the auction situation over the next couple months. i figure the best i can hope for is to get one that hasn't been in an accident as far as body goes. the windows, *hopefully* won't fail for a little while, and i can pick up some anti sway bars in the off chance i run into problems like the guy in the c70 thread. i figure sometime in the near future, i'll go down to the volvo store in orlando and ask around, they sell certified pre owned. i guess i could ask the service manager which ones they have the most problems with.

Beware of ANY car sold at auctions as there are almost always good reasons why they are there and not elsewhere. Having seen many a used car come from auctions, bought by used car managers who need cars to fill their lots, I can tell you that most are cars that are usually not nice or desireable. Most have been in some sort of minor accident, have bad bodywork with inferior paint jobs and/or have problems. Many are also lease returns and most who lease cars do very little, if any maintenance. Most Certified pre-owned used Volvos were lease returns bought at auctions.

The convertable is a POS IMHO but then I hate all convertables. Volvos convertable is or often can be a very problematic car and without descent structural support being FWD, suffers from what's called "cowl shake" which makes it seem as though the whole front end is loose, steering wheel vibrates.
The coupe is OK, just like the S70s EXCEPT for one major weakness, the poorly designed, contructed window regulator assemblies (same in both C70 versions). By design, they will all fail eventually and when they do it gets very costly to replace that regulator. It's also a job that requires a tech with experience as for any guy trying it the first time, it never goes back together correctly w/o many problems like proper fit, wind/water leaks.
I've bought a car on Ebay and mine was worth the hassle of traveling for. I got on a plane, flew 1000 miles and drove my car home. It was a fun adventure and I'd do it again for a unique car that I really wanted.
I'd keep looking for your 850R as they're out there, even though probably not often up for sale.
If you know anyone in the used car business, preferably at a Volvo dealer, they might be able to help you locate one?

It's my best advice to simply stay far away from that unless you enjoy costly problems? How soon until problems occur? No quick, sure answer but the first 2 years ('98, '99) were known to be the worst.

Can't you just kill the rear window regulators by disconnecting the switches before they fail? Presume it's just a problem if they fail in the open position, not closed.

-Samurai Jack

Problems exist with the FRONT windows. The rear windows aren't a problem. The convertable then also has problems with the electronics of the convertable system. Then add cowl shake and if you havent driven one, you'ld be amazed when compared to a S70 or C70 Coupe. Interior road noise with the C70 'vert is amazing (shocking!), sounds like all nearby traffic is inside the car with you, very amplified sounds.

Unlike '98 X70s which have switch failures but good regulators, the C70 front window regulators fail for a different reason. Unlike decently designed, constructed window regulators, the 2 front C70 window regulators us very thin wire which runs through PLASTIC pulleys. Has to fail by design and eventually does. When the plastic pulleys fail and or the wire breaks, down goes the window and there you are, stuck! I believe that the part goes for about $500, not including labor.

how soon do they fail, on average? is this something that i could not have to worry about in the 1st year or so?

A week or so ago there was a guy whose windshields kept cracking. There have been some fit and finish problems. Wind noise, leaks, that sort of thing. Some months back there was an owner who gave his back under the lemon law.