Unfortunately, I had this same problem, only 2 months after buying my 1995 Volvo 850. I wasn't lucky enough to know about it ahead of time. I purchased the car in January (NYC winterstorm time) and ended up having an accident on the highway due to that very problem, my driverside wiper became so loose, it failed to wipe the snow off the driverside of the windshield and I rear-ended a car while attempting to get off to the shoulder. Thankfully though, my car rreally sustained no damage which I couldn't easily replace (front grill and driverside headlight lens). I'm only a novice, so I'm also happy none of these were complex replacements. Well, now I know for this winter.