We have been casually looking at a replacement for our 95 960 sedan (223k) since the tranny is starting to slip (tires & abs module needed also.)

Our oldest is 14 and now have gotten him into helping with the upkeep. This past summer he helped me replace the rear brakes, radiator, cleaned out oil trap, left front abs sensor, serpentine tensioner, oil cooler lines/gaskets and the like. Daughter is helping out with oil changes too. Our theory is that even if they don't want to work on cars when older they should at least have a little know how!

Here in the upper midwest have been looking at S70's but they are hard to find in good condition and dealers want a lot of money for low mileage ones.

Then we drove a 2001 V70 FWD NA auto (thought the NA only came in manual) and the wife fell in love with it. Under 130k and the owners have all the service records. It's in good enough shape that we are going to take it to an indie to have it checked out.

Been reading up on the 01/02 issues in the threads (transmission in the AWD and general electrical.)

Would be nice to get into the P2 cars for not much money. Curtain air bags, better cup holders, more cargo (vs the s70), etc.

All that being said a few specific questions.

- How much more difficult is it to work on a P2 series car? Would consider a Vadis purchase at some point.

- Will the 01 FWD V70 transmission be any better than the XC? Oil changes every 50k?

- There is a STC button, does this mean it has DSTC also or would there be a DSTC button too? In general the difference being the addition of braking w/ DSTC?

- Ground clearance seems lower than the 960, tires are 195-65-R15, I thought standard for these were all 205-55-R16? Is this the tire difference between fwd and awd? Would a bigger tire help with clearance any? Could one put T5 tires on a V70 base, say 235-45-R17?

- Looked at the 04-05 XC70's but they can be double the price of an 01/02 around here. Don't need AWD but the higher clearance would be nice. Maybe take the drive shaft out of an 01/02 and make it a fwd? ha.

- How much smaller is an early model V40? A reasonable alternative to the V70?

Looking to not spend a lot for the safest vehicle possible while still being able to do most of the work ourselves.

Thanks!
--
95 964, 212k and counting