I am currently driving an '89 740 Turbo with 112K miles. It seems I am reaching the 'turning point' of this car: in the past 6 months I've had to replace the steering rack, balljoints & bushings, engine and tranny mounts, muffler and braces. This besides your usual wear and tear repairs such as pads, rotors, tune-up, oil changes, etc. I love the car, so I have been putting in my money more or less without hesitation. However, I have been eyeing the V70 Wagon more and more. It is a stunning vehicle appearance-wise. I have never driven one.

Basically, I'd like to throw out the following question: assuming you could stack up a 740 Turbo against a V70T, how would they compete in terms of:

a) driveability
b) maintenance problems/components known to break

Obviously the V70 would outperform the 740 with regards to speed and safety; I just want to get a handle on whether V70 drivers have been happy with the way their car drives, as well as with the parts Volvo has put into their car - have you been visiting your dealer often for repairs? How do you like the front wheel drive?

Any other advice you could give me? I'd hate shelling out 15K for a '00 V70 and wish I'd kept putting money into my 740.

Thanks!