Any opinions on the 1997 T5?

My wife and I are looking for a family car, and found a 1997 T5 wagon for sale, 142,000 miles, for about $2500 below blue book. I don't know much about Volvos, but have heard they can last quite a while, but that repairs cost and arm and a leg.

The car had the A/C worked on in June and July of last year ($250 + $480) and it doesn't work again, we're waiting for the owner to fix it and call us back.

Specific worries:

The transmission seems to shift pretty firmly. Is this a common trait for Volvos?

Any issues with the turbo engine? I was unimpressed with the power.

I've gone to Edmunds.com, and the users there told horror stories about the amount of repairs and the repair cost.

We're looking to put about 15k+ miles per year, sometimes with a light trailer behind it with a dirt bike.