OK, I have the opportunity to get a used V70XC at auction thru a dealer friend, so I can get it at great value. My wife drives a Subaru Outback, and as you all probably would expect, the car has had absolutely no problems. The Outbacks are narrow, however and so I am being drawn to the Volvo V70XC to replace my 740. Living in VT on a backroad, I am interested in an AWD, possibly a FWD. I have a Volvo bias, having owned 122's, 1800's, right up thru 760's. I am a shade tree mechanic who used to work as a mechanic at a Volvo dealership in the early 1980's, so I can work on the things. All that said, my question is, AM I ASKING FOR TROUBLE IN BUYING A V70XC? Can these things go 250,000 miles plus without major drivetrain (including the AWD system) failures? Are they more difficult to work on than say a 760 Turbo?

I am looking for a heads up from those of you with direct experience. Please fill me in. BTW, I expect to be able to buy a 1998 with say 60K miles on it for about $12-13K, which is seems to be not a bad price for alot of car. Please help me out. -John Brabant