When shopping for my present 855, I traveled a few times to an independant used Volvo dealer here in Mass. He sells other car models, but he specializes in used Volvo's. Has been selling them for more than 2 decades. Drove a few cars, almost bought one from him. Nice guy and I thought he was very honest. He told me that he thought the best cars Volvo has ever built were the 1995-98 850's, S70's and V70's. Based on my experience I have to agree with him. The 94's, 99's and 2000's are still pretty good cars too. If you find the right one in those model years don't automatically rule it out. FWIW - My next Volvo will probably be a 98 or a 2000 with a 5 speed, although I'd consider a turbo.

Oh yeah, one more thing, the early AWD models can be expensive to maintain....:)
--
95 855 GLT Sportwagon 222k, 90 244 DL 300k+ - after 11 years has a new home