Hi,
Just a follow-up note on previous posts. My wife & I went to the local dealer a few days ago, took out several XC`s(03-04) including the 2 candidates she`d had been considering. My vote went for the 03 @ 42K miles, lots of "juice", great brakes,mint interior, everything felt good on the test drive. The 04 @ 59K was a little abused, ie, small paint chips on the hood, deep scratches in a few spots on the leather seats(dog?) plus some staining & the car had a trailer hitch. I thought that likely the previous owners had probably neglected maintenance issues as well.
So, in the end, we negotiated a reasonable price for the black 03 XC. Wife picks it up tomorrow & is excited about driving her "dream car".
Thanks again for your input!
Rich

Good choice, Rick! Now, as soon as the weather gets warm, give your wife's new toy a bath and wax. Expecially under the rim of the hatch where all of the salt likes to hide. Wait until your wife drives in the snow for the first time, she will sing praises about the AWD.
I went looking at newer cars last week and realized that nothing out there is as good as my V70, so I am going to change the timing belt and keep it for at least another year.
It's been snowing here all day and we have about 3" of white on our lawns and an inch on the driveway. What happened to Spring?

Klaus

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1975 164 w/174,800mi (Sold) 1995 850T w/91,000mi, 1998 V70R w/129,000mi