I am trying to buy the safest and most reliable volvo I can afford ($15k and under)in the next couple of days. After much comparing of the crashtest.com site and other crashtest reports and consumer reports reliability surveys, that the 850 for 1996 is the best combination of safety, reliability, and affordability for me. Safety comes first for me, then reliability, and finally money although this is a second car so I would like something less than $15,000. Any buying advice? Any preferences between the sedan and the wagon? I think I am looking for a non-turbo model for greater reliability and the wagons look nice. I would like to find a manual (also for greater economy and reliability), but that looks hard to find. The traction control looks like a nice feature - I don't know if it has reliability problems or would make the car harder to repair. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

P.S. I have a friend whose father is in the used car business. Do you think it would make any sense to try and get him to purchase one at auction? I tend to think buying one from a single owner or a dealer where service records are available would be a better bet.