I've been planning to get my wife a nice little S40 so I can take our venerable 940 wagon out of daily-driver service and use it for the family truck.

Much to my disappointment, I've discovered that there are a number of late 20th and 21st Century Volvos to be avoided - 1999-2000 XC/C/S/V70s because of the variable timing thing and 2001-2003 V70-series due to defective transmission software.

Although purely anecdotal, a co-worked complained heavily about his S40.

Are there known "bad" years to be avoided with the S40? I drive a 1998 c70 these days and it has some quirks, but I know them pretty well.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/2660820352.html

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/ctd/2698580463.html
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Did you do your Random Act of Kindness today?

Not sure why I'd want to drive north in November :)
The offerings are pretty similar here. I'm looking to spend less than half of that.

I'm hoping that my growing familiarity with P80 chassis and whiteblock engines will make owning one of these cars more feasible.

The 5 cyl engines are pretty good. It's the electronics that are a pain!

I had picked a T5 V40, which has no air space in the engine compartment. Of course, it will need a timing belt soon.

Klaus
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Did you do your Random Act of Kindness today?

I'd modify your 'avoid' list a little:

- 1999-2001 anything due to many problems. If you get a great deal and are willing to spend some time, you might be ok.

- VVT hasn't really been problematic.

- ETM has been problematic but is easily (though somewhat expensively) fixed with a reman unit from XeMoDeX.

- 5sp trans has been problematic, but is sometimes workable with software upgrades and careful fluid maintenance/restoration.

- Early AWD was a bit problematic, requiring transfer case fluid maintenance (which almost no one performed). Most problems are remarkably simple to remedy if you work at it hard enough, esp with the help of local driveshaft/transmission people.

- 2003+ anything is pretty good, with most problems with the ETM/Trans/AWD sorted out.

An extra note on S40:
- 2005 was 'redo' year. the -2004 models were not nearly as good as the 2005+. I have no information on the prevalence of 'first year' issues with the 2005. The new model looks substantially better and is considered IMHO to have less problems as well, though I have no references.

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1998 V70 AWD->FWD->AWD Turbo 220k+

The newer version after 2003?

Of course, a new Ford Focus/Fiesta would be nice...

Klaus
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Did you do your Random Act of Kindness today?