Hi all,

I currently have a '93 Volvo 945T and a '99 Honda Accord. I plan on buying a new car in about a year and have pretty much narrowed it down to a new V70 or a new Honda Odyssey.

If I went with the V70, one of the things that is a must is manual transmission, so it looks like I would need to go with the 2.4L engine (inline 5, I believe). I would also want 3rd row of seats, integrated booster seats, and either the premium package, or just leather seats and a moonroof.

I know that my local dealer never orders V70s with manual transmissions, and if I went calling around to the Chicago or St. Louis dealers (I'm roughly half-way between them) I would have a hard time finding a V70 with manual transmission and only those options. I could order one which leads me to my first question: It seems that Volvo often has nice ($2,500 to $3,500) manufacturer to dealer marketing support rebates. If I special order a car, does the dealer get this rebate (thus I can use it when negotiating a price)?

2nd: I don't see a Haynes manual for this car and I like to do most of the maintenance and some work on my cars by myself. Is this car relatively easy to work on (keep in mind I have a Volvo '93 945T), and are there any repair manuals that I can buy?

3rd: In another thread people were saying that they average about $1,000 a year on maintenance and repairs. Is this car really that expensive to work on, or is that just going through the dealer for everything? On my '99 Accord, I doubt that I have spent $700 in the past six years on everything other than tires, gas, and oil changes, and I follow the maintenance schedule religiously.

4th: Are there any Volvo dealers that have an online presence and sell new accessories for ~ 20% or 25% off (a mechanics discount)? (www.handa-accessories.com is a good example of what I'm talking about, though this is for Hondas and Acuras).

5th: I've heard about some electrical problems in the early days of the V70s. Have these pretty much been fixed, thus an '05 or '06 V70 should be relatively problem free?

6th: I don't see many of these cars on the road. Any idea of how many V70s are sold in the US each year?

Thanks! Again, it'll be a year or so before I buy, I'm still saving up for a good (at least $10,000) downpayment, and besides the cars I have right now are still running great.