The car was bought new and serviced at the local dealer. I bought it from a very close friend, who is a small independant dealer. The car was bought from the PADE (Pennsylvania Auto Dealer Exchange) for $6900+auction fees. The car had 164K miles and a clean, one owner title. I was able to trace some history from the paperwork left in the car as well as seeing a few of the marks on the engine and trans. (yellow paint from a salvage yard and Anapolis Volvo service stickers) The only reason that I bought this car with any confidence was the fact that I was able to return the car if I found a significant defect during the "new owner test drive and inspection" hour. I found the A/C was not working as well as a few minor things needed TLC. For the price I can not complain, at all. We constantly sell similar cars on our lot for ~$14-16K. (minus 80K miles that is.) I bought the car knowing that I will have to sink some money into it as well as have a few weekend projects because of it. Thus far I have a thermostat, shift lock solenoid, passenger side lower control arm and ball joint, wiper squiter "T" valve, assorted lights, and 2 new tires. Total, I have no more than $8K invested for a beautyful car, with tax and taxs included. I would expect that a deal like this will be difficult to find again. However, there are always some cars that have minor accident damage that can be had at better than 1/2 book cost. Example: 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo, 80K miles, auto trans, fully loaded. Needed RF fender, hood, minor pull to core support, and some minor tweeks. The car was bought for $10K and we put ~$1K into all repairs using OEM Volvo parts. The car sold for $15500. (and yes, the new owner knows of its history.) These show up all the time at the auction and are great if you want to save money an a good car. If you are planning on showing the car, have the entire car re-painted with the OEM color at a very good shop, and most people will not notice the difference.