Hi,

I am a proud owner of a V70 XC - my first Volvo.

We're expecting our first little one and the wife wanted something safer than my 1996 Trooper as our 2nd car.

I found an exceptional 1 owner XC - Silver w/black leather, all the toys, 3rd seat, etc. for $11k. It has 99k miles and appears to have had all the services up to 65k after which, I found oil change and some additional maintainance records. I feel the car was exceptionally well maintained and it is IMHO a gorgeous car! I took it to a small Volvo shop and it checked out great.

There are a few small(?) concerns however.

1. I didn't see anything documenting a timing belt change. Is there any other way to tell or should I just get it done? How much should it cost? I've replaced these on AUID's so I'm also wondering if its particularly difficult to do on a Volvo?

2. The Check Engine light is on. It had 1 O2 sensor replaced last year (not sure which one of the two). I found a receipt from last year suggesting a MAF, turbo leak and something else as a suggested reason for the light. It runs and idles smoothly and quietly. Only thing I noticed was that at speed on the highway it's sluggish when I accelerate to pass. The mechanic who checked it out said to just run a bottle of Techron through the fuel system, otherwise maybe replace the 02 sensor - he did a quick check for an air leak on the manifold (I think??). He didn't hook it up to the computer though. Is the turbo seal expensive if it's the culprit?

3. Are there any good accesory cup holder that hold a larger diameter cup?

That's it for know! Wich me luck and look for a Pic in the gallery!

Cheers!
Dean

ipd sells a great aftermarket cup holder. it screws to a flat surface, such as a door panel. The down side is the cost. 30+ each is a lot to spend to hold a cup of anything. It folds flat when not in use, and is very stable. The ipd rep showed me a similar holder made by the same manufacturer for a Mercedes. That one was 90 dollars. That one wasn't able to take various sizes of cups, and the one for the Volvos will.

Dean--XC's have/had the nasty habit of having the bevel, or what some call the angle gear, go out. A lot of people bail out of XC's when they approach the 80-90-100K range because they don't want to lay out $1800 for a new gear and another $2000+ to have it installed. Though whoever had the car may have maintained it well, tire wear was very critical on these models, such that you had to religously rotate the tires to keep the tread wear even. Even uneven treadware was enough to damage this gear.

Take the car to a parking lot and do some tight turns right and left and listen very closely for any clicking or unusual sounds coming from the drivetrain during the turns. If you don't hear anything, you're safe but not home free if you plan to keep the car for another 50-100K. Dick