I have the same car with 135k miles - bought it with 126. There should be a sticker on the timing cover or filter box with the last timing belt change. It should be changed at 50,ooo mile intervals. The PO went 7000 past the last change. The best thing would be to have a different shop do a compression and leak down test - 200us. As with any car with or w/o records - change all the fluids so that car starts out clean? I paid 6,000 for mine and it has the bellows problem causing the air conditioner to quit for a few seconds on acceleration. This is a 500us fix. Other things I have repaired myself that the po abused or broke. Sorry for the rambling. Don't let the FAQ scare you - it is a great car with an appropriate amount of power for it's intended purpose. Good Luck.
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92 244 lowered, Bilsteins, IPD sways, Unitek cam/header, TSW Revo 18x8's - 94 965 Niiice MONEY PIT! - 76 Datsun 280Z lowered, modified head, cam, headers, intake

Novolvo
My advice to you is RUN AWAY. The truth is I have a 94 960 wagon and I love it. I bought mine last May with 70K miles on it with a full service history from day one (a family was replacing it with a new E class wagon). As referince I paid $7500. They had every receipt for the car from day one. From what I gathered, this hadn't been a trouble free car. They had changed a number of things includind timing sensor, seat heater, window motor 2 brake jobs, 2 timing belts, 2 transmission flushes, 20W50 at 5 thousand mile intervals (I guess they were being careful) and a number of other small items. The maintenance record convinced me to buy the car. I was actually looking for an 850 at the time but all the ones that I looked at in this price range either didn't have a service history or were spewing oil all over the underside (rear main seal).

If this car hasn't been taken care of really well it will be very very expensive to maintain. The first thing you have to do is the timing belt because you never know when its going to go. And the check engine light can be something simple to something expensive to fix. Its a great car, very comfortable, fast, quiet, safe. All the Volvo superlatives apply except maybe reliable depending on who you ask. I do all my own maintenancy which cuts down on the cost of ownership. If I didn't doubt I could aford this car.

Look at a 940 or 240 of the same vintage. They are better developed and easier to maintain. If I had to do it again, I would in a second. But my car was pure luck and I doubt its indicative of most 960s out there.

Out of curiosity, how much is the dealer asking and how many miles?
Good luck on finding a car. I hope you end up getting a volvo. Just not this one. Check out the 700/900 FAQ to learn more about this model.

Here's something for you to check out when you look at the car: Is it the "check engine" light, or the "service engine" light that's on. The "service engine" light comes on every 5K miles (basically to remind you to change the oil). You can reset it in about 10 seconds. If it is the "service engine" light, I wouldn't tell the dealer this. If they're not familiar with Volvo's, they think it's got a problem and may be willing to bargain.

Jeff Pierce
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'92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '93 945 Turbo (a kickass family car), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece)

Should you walk away? That depends on two things: the price, and your willingness to tinker with it and possibly walk away later.

The window is no problem, fixing that (or just changing out the mech for one from the yard) is easy enough. Probably just a dirty or broken switch.

The check engine light could be any of a number of things, ranging from a simple dirty connector somewhere to major expensive parts. Can you get access to it, maybe read the codes (check the 700/900 faq for how to do that and what they might indicate) ?

The lack of repair records is somewhat more worrying. How does the general condition of the vehicle look? Does it look like it was well cared for, or does it seem a bit of a run down dog? If it's otherwise OK, and checks out OK for the usual things (test run, idle running, cleanliness of oil, no water in the oil or oil in the coolant, no seeping/weeping block or gaskets, smooth shifting, everything working) and the price is right, sure, why not. If you have doubts, walk away. If there's major problems lurking it _can_ turn into an expensive nightmare. Of course I'm talking from a position of familiarity with the 900 series and being able to fix a heck of a lot myself, so even some maintenance catch-up is no problem (and a good bargaining point).

Bram