>>Why lease?

A. People generally lease cars because they want to drive a car they can't afford. Some do it because of business reasons or because they feel the money would be more productive deployed elsewhere, but most people lease Volvos because they can't come up with $35k in cash to buy one.

>>If I can't find a good 850 wagon, my next option is to wait for a good '00 V70 FWD that comes off the lease. The reason I'm not considering 98/99 models is due to consumer reports. I'm not sure if they have enough data on 00 models.

A. Read the April issue of Consumer Reports. They also warn about the 00-01-02 models.

>>A couple of questions... Has V70 really changed that much from 99 to 00 model? Any drastic change that'd influence the recommendation level? If V70 FWD getting a bad rep due to V70 AWD?

A. Consumer Reports lists the AWD version separately in it's "Frequency of Repair" charts. The difference is between "bad" and "very bad".

>>In general, don't the leased vehicles get less maintenance?

A. I would imagine so. Particularly now, since one can turn off the service reminder light without going to the dealer. If someone can't afford the car, do you think they can afford $400 for the major services? I can only imagine what the V70 aluminum block looks like if the oil hasn't been changed for 36,000 miles. BMW, BTW, has this problem licked by including all scheduled maintainance for the first 3 years in the price of the car.

>>Private leasing doesn't make sense to me, but there seem to be enough people doing it. Would you buy a leased V70? Why/why not?

No, for reasons stated above. I would not touch a used or ex-lease car without complete service records with the proverbial 10-foot pole.

>>I also like 00 model because it has airbags that protect head as well. None of 850 has it, but if I'm going to spend more money, I might as well get this option, too.

You need to buy a '01 V70 for the "true" side curtain airbags.

For the about came price as a '00 V70 you can buy a new, vastly improved 2003 Subaru Legacy. Based on my own experiences, and reading about other's experiences here, it's doubtful that I will buy another Volvo once I'm finished with my current one. The car has been fun, but hardly reliable.

-Punxsutawney Phil