I've had an early 2000 S40 1.9T since new. I strongly second the general advice to avoid the first model year of any vehicle. Mine has been occassionally irritating, only once outright unsafe (vacuum line failure on the brake system--a problem remedied through a recall), though also generally reliable and fun to drive. She has about 145k miles on her now. If you search my posts, you'll get the flavor of it. Due to parts availability and some of the annoyance issues I've encountered and continue to deal with (very short rear brake pad life, very short headlight bulb life, constant suspension noise, recent camshafts seals leaking and a perpetual CEL--if it's not on, the battery's dead), a post 2000 model seems like the way to go. I see quite a few 2001 and up s40s on the road, so they are apparently holding up reasonably well. I personally much prefer the more "classic" european sedan shape of the first and second generation s40s to the later, more VW-like, bulbous styling. YMMV. There is a Haynes manual for the first gen. s/v40s--it is the UK edition, though. I got mine through Amazon UK. There is lots of info online and most 850 info translates pretty well (just -1 cylinder). I like the performance boost of the turbo, but you should enquire of your insurer, if a turbo (as opposed to a slightly larger displacement fuel injected model) will affect your rates. I was blind-sided by a "turbo surcharge" on my insurance, despite the fact that the displacement is under 2ltr. When she is running well, she is a pleasure to drive, to the extent any frontwheel drive car can be. The early body style has interesting aerodynamics that do a remarkable job of "shedding" cross-winds, so very stable while other vehicles are getting buffetted about and she positively settles down to the road at speeds over 90 mph (or so I've "heard," ahem!). I don't know if newer models have those positive attributes. The key, as noted by others is price and condition. I figure any car that's still in good shape at over 100k has kinda proven it's mettle. Watch out for cars that have remarkably low mileage, unless there's a good explanation--like a deployed military or elderly owner. Unusually low mileage can indicate that the car couldn't be driven much, despite the fact that it might look and even run great at the moment you see it. I had a near miss with a too-low mileage to be true BMW a while back--turned out it had spent nearly 18 months in a shop after a crazy accident. Nice looking restoration; even drove well at low speed, but the frame and various major systems would never be the same. Due diligence with a mechanic and careful inspection are key, as I'm sure you know.