After recently posting that nothing was wrong with the car and I was planning on keeping it indefinitely, the ABS module failed. I took it to the dealer to have this done and mentioned at the service intake that the oil also seemed to be disappearing at a faster-than-usual rate (a quart or so every 1500 miles). They found oil in the plugs and low compression and recommended a head rebuild.

I retrieved the car from the dealer, washed it, vacuumed it, and traded it in with 84,200 miles on the clock for a new 4-cylinder Accord EX sedan with side curtain airbags.

Cost-wise, the statistics are pretty darn grim:
- Purchased car used in April '00 for $27,700
- Spent $5,490 in maintenance and repairs
- Traded it in December '03 for $6,500.
- Drove the car 47,203 miles total
- Cost per mile including gas and insurance: about 74 cents

Things I'm going to miss:
- Crisp handling
- Turbo
- Traction control
- Heated power seats
- Outside temp gauge
- Great audio
- Feeling like I'm inside a tank
- This listserv

Things I'm not going to miss:
- Dealer hassles
- Frequent and expensive repairs
- Expensive maintenance
- Interior rattles
- Harsh ride
- Engine noise
- Low MPG/premium fuel

Overall, I'd say that it was a nice car to drive but not a particularly good investment and way overboard in the headache department. Now that other manufacturers -- notably Honda -- are finally getting their safety act together, I don't feel the same sense of necessity that I felt in the distant past when we bought our 240 or the more recent past when we got this one. I suspect that I've owned my last Volvo, but I guess you never know...

Cheers, thanks, and good luck everyone!

-Marc