Sam:

I, too, just bought a 95 850 turbo. Since I had the same questions, I went to the dealer today and learned the following:

timing belt - change at 70K miles or 84 months (since my car has only 38K miles on it but is 8 years old, that's the first order of business for me.)

I asked about synthetic oil and was told to use it if I drive the car hard and don't change oil regularly. Otherwise, use 10-30 and change every 5K miles.

Changing the ATF? It used to be considered a standard procedure every 20-30K miles on older models. Now they only do an automatic flush (costs $100 here in Santa Cruz, CA) if the fluid is brown and/or burnt smelling. They do check it regularly and will let you know. He allows that the ATF changes do extend the life of the transmission.

I bought this car from our Volvo dealer, but they got it from auction so like you, I don't know the car's history other than it was owned by one person and they always had the work done at the same dealer (I have the stamped maintenance book). I had a 40K mile service done on the car (at no charge) when I bought it. They also replaced a cracked motor mount bushing and the battery.

I'm hoping this car and I have a long, happy history together (but that's what I hoped with the 940 that was rear-ended).

Suzanne
95 850 turbo sedan (Tropic Green)