I'd try looking for an indy Volvo shop, one with piles of dead of Volvos around, not a generic foreign car shop. Otherwise, I'd use the Volvo dealer if they're even halfway decent. Volvo says replace the serpentine belt at 60-120-etc, the timing belt at 70-140-etc and in addition change the oil at 70k. The general consensus I've heard around here is to replace the timing belt at 70k, the timing belt and maybe the tensioner at 140k and replace the water pump if it's leaking. If you've seen pictures of the 850-70 water pump it's an awfully robust water pump. I've not read reports on Brickboard of one seizing, just leaking. The more components that are replaced at one time, the greater the chance that the job will get screwed up during the service. Your car isn't a Volkswagen, it's a Volvo, the mechanical components, at least, are designed to last.

-Punxsutawney Phil

'98 V70T5M, 122k mi., iPd stabilizer bars, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, Valentine-1, Mobil-1 always, E-code headlight lenses, Dunlop SP5000s

'86 944NA (the OTHER 944) 58k mi., factory HD sway bars and Fuchs forged wheels, Valentine-1. E-code Hellas, Yokohama AVS ES100s

"You have to get a car that handles really well. This is extremely important, and there's a lot of debate on this subject about what kind of car handles best. Some say a front- engined car; some say a rear-engined car. I say a rented car. Nothing handles better than a rented car. You can go faster, turn corners sharper, and put the transmission into reverse while going forward at a higher rate of speed in a rented car than in any other kind. You can also park without looking, and can use the trunk as an ice chest. Another thing about a rented car is that it's an all-terrain vehicle. Mud, snow, water, woods, you can take a rented car anywhere. True, you can't always get it back, but that's not your problem, is it?"-P.J. O'Rourke