I have the Haynes book for my 94 850, but I found it relatively useless (far too general trying to cover so many cars). Volvospeed was far more useful for all the usual maintainence.

Now I need to get a manual for my 98 S70, do you recommend the Haynes or the Chilton?

How much is the same as the 850 (ie can I still use my Haynes manual for some stuff)?

eg. I want to change the gear oil (manual transmission), flush coolant, and replace the serpentine belt and I want a guide to help me with these things. I don't think I need both since I don't do major work on my car, if one manual is more geared towards the kind of minor things I'd be doing that's what I want.

My two cents:

http://www.jimrothe.com/volvo/backyard_mechanics_resources.html



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Jim Rothe, '99 S70 T5M,
http://www.jimrothe.com/volvo/index.html

I would suggest buying a vadis dvd off of Ebay (~$50). You will have just about everything imaginable for your car.

I have experience with them both, and would say the Haynes is considerably better.

An alternative is to purchase a used Vadis CD over the internet. I did that and am very pleased. Make sure you get a used one, not a copy. A new one is much more $$ than you would want to spend. Also, do not throw away the Haynes. Use them in concert. The photos in haynes are sometimes very useful.

Another option (though still keeping the Haynes) is to subscribe to the ALLDATA online manual. It is similar to the Vadis, but not quite as good.

Hi Tina,

I have the Haynes manual for our S70. Although it is the UK version it is said to be much better than the Chilton's manual based on a discussion/thread a few years back (I haven't seen the Chilton's manual). Besides a few British words such as bonnet for hood, etc there are a lot of details and photos. I got it from IPD USA. See if you could get it for less at Amazon.


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Brian M. - 1998 S70GLT, 1998 S70 GTA

I checked out Vadis on eBay but not sure which one I would need - they range very widely in price from $10 to $150. Some don't state models coevered justa year (eg 2004B). Does that mean it only covers 2004 models or does it include older stuff?

Vadis sounds like a lot more info than I would ever need!

I'll go get the Haynes, I am sure I'll use it and I can add vadis later if I need more info...

Haynes or Chilton's...same question I have. I too have the Haynes for the '93-'97 850's and wonder how much would work for our cars...also too general. Chilton's seems to cover even more cars, so I'm not sure myself...Answers to these would be very useful.

Tina, when we find the answer, you want to try to go for a "group buy?"

David
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon

What do you mean by group buy? You buy one I buy the other and we email eachother about instructions for things?

I was actually joking...LOL. No, no...I didn't mean we each buy different books...we should both buy the best of the two.
But if there are enough interested people we might be able to twist an arm or two and get a lower price. I'm for that if you are.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon

Ah I see :)

Maybe they are available used on ebay or Amazon marketplace - I will let you know if I find a deal!

We still don't know which one to get do we?
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon

I'm assuming that you are referring to the VADIS disk...look for one that is compatible with your PC AND that is no older than the car you have (in your case you could get a VADIS disk as old as 1998). I would NOT look at the VADIS CD version (too old and too many disks), only at the DVD version. There is over 3 gigs of data on the DVD and it covers just about all Volvos (not being a Volvo historian).

In my case, my wife drives a '04 V70 so I'd like at least '04 VADIS...if you have a lead on one...even a copy, please PM me here or over at Swedespeed.
Thanks!
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon

Yes a 2004 VADIS would cover BOTH your car (1998) and your wifes car (2004), but not my soon to be new 2005 XC90....