I may have found a 2002 V70T with manual transmission. Amazing how rare these are. It has about 81,000 miles and lived in Texas, so rust should not be a problem. Maintained at a Volvo dealer. Any special problems to look out for in the 2002? (P.S. not only is this manual trans, but it is red). Thank you!

You are either and old 140/240 owner or a neophyte Volvo owner. Volvos don't rust any more, since about 1990 when Volvo started to use better galvanized steel panels.

You are correct that a V70 T5M is hard to find. Because of the Texas heat, the vacuum lines need to be replaced, consider also the coolant lines. "Dealer" maintained doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot to me, most dealers are not into preventative maintenance. Dealers only R&R failed parts.

You will need a new timing belt and tensioner at 100K, and probably new brake fluid. The clutch should last another 100K miles.

Hurry up and buy it and bring the car up to Stage 0. It will be fun to drive and haul what ever you need.

Klaus
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I still miss my 164 and my 854T. Just driving a V70R :)

The only thing I know about is the throttle position sensor (ETM), which I think was an issue through 2002. From what I hear the software update smooths it out and takes care of (masks) the problem.