I'm not trying to be offensive, but I would like to make some remarks on this..

> quality issue to me. This car has been nothing but headaches! It had

> great potential with it's looks, but that's about it. Poor paint,

Why poor paint? I've had no problems whatsoever on all S/V40's I have owned. Not any more (or less) chips than on other cars I've driven.

> wimpy tires and rims, low hp in stock form, No stick option,

Umm.. You already knew that from the folder when getting one, right??

And 'low hp'?? 160HP is plenty for such a car IMHO, but my vision may be colored because a 120 hp 1.8 non-turbo is 'normal' and 'enough' here in Europe.

The higher-power versions of cars (any brand) are usually pretty rare here. I only see one other T4 or 2.0T every several weeks or so. The rest are nearly all 1.6, 1.8 and 1.9TD's (the 2.0 non-turbo is not very popular either).

> take road bumps well, too many noises, many minor problems,

Agreed. Suspension is less-than-perfect, but get in any Volvo (perhaps S60 excluded) and you hear the same complaint. Goes with the brand so to speak.

Noises and minor problems: sorry, none for me. Only had the car into the dealer outside scheduled maintenance 2 times in nearly 3 years.

> Windshield and front head light are too soft and have already shown

> rock pits, paint scratches and chips too easy.

Compared to any other other cars here in europe it doesn't do any better or worse in that area. If I compare my car to the VW's, Audi's, BMW's, etc. of the same age here on the company parking lot it's all the same. The VW windshields seem a bit more prone to cracking though as most Golfs and Passats here are on their 2nd or 3rd windshield because of cracks.

> Performance at best will be around mid 6 range 0-60.

Yup. Of course. Even a T4 won't be getting much quicker. Still FWD and not a very light car.

> No option for limited slip diff! I hate one tire peel outs!

Also known beforehand IMHO, so you can hardly blame the car for a choice you made.

> The Turbo is too small, the octane required for this car is stupid for only 160hp stock.

The turbo size is just fine. It's an LPT engine for pete's sake! Anyway, the turbo on the T4 is just as big (also a TD04 turbo), but just has a different trim. That's all.

Octane-rating? What's so strange? The VW 1.8T (comparable engine) needs the same octane rating here in europe, so I assume it's the same in the US too.

> is 215-220hp worth it? 160hp@5100rpm then with chip peak hp drops to

> a low 4800rpms? Can we say diesel rev band=slow

Lower peak hp rpm == more torqe == torque is good!

More get-up-and-go in daily driving and in the middle rev range. All tuners try to get the peak hp lower in the rev range. Only non-turbo tuning (cams, head-work) usually moves the peak HP up the rev range, but this makes it tricky to drive in normal conditions..

> If they had this baby built like

> the older Volvo and add a 4HPT or maybe a T5 somehow with rwheel

> drive or AWD starting at 240hp up to 300hp with 17inch rims hooked up

> with a 6speed!

It's called the S60R and will be here next year or so. It'll cost about twice the price of your S40 though.

But look at the bottom of the message for a possible option..

> baby was screaming! Felt like 250hp 300tq! Now it feels more like

> 190-200hp 210tq.

You get used to it.. My T4 doesn't feel very 'special' or 'fast' anymore, but when I have driven a T4 loaner when mine is being serviced I always have to look under the hood to make sure I really got a T4 (feels slow) and when I get back into my car and immediatey feel the higher power and speed again! Only lasts for about 2 weeks or so though before it feels 'normal' to me again..

> Did I mention it needs new rear break pads after 19k?

Yup, some S/V40's like to eat 'em. But is this really a big deal? brake-pads are cheap and it's only a 15-30 minute job at the dealer. And hopefully if JonhO is right it should be fixed with some adjustment of the handbrake.

Sorry Antony, but all you can convince me of here is that you chose the wrong sort of car (FWD, medium power, automatic) for what you are looking for (RWD/AWD, stick, high-power) and are now trying to make a 'reasonable' story why you want to dump it. Please don't make stories, just sell it if you don't like it. Nobody will blame you.

For the sort of performance and upgrade-ability you are looking for I would suggest taking a long hard look at the Subaru Impreza WRX that's finally coming to the US. That should take care of all your problems: manual trans, 200+HP, 4WD, tuning parts everywhere in Japan, spartan but reasonable build quality, etc.

The Scooby (as they are usually called here) should be tune-able to 300+HP, but that does need some work. Also will start eating parts of the 4WD system by then, but stronger aftermarket parts are available.

Hope you find what you are looking for.

Bye, Arno.