>Engine oil - volvo dont use sythetic (unless you have a D5), why should you?
Because they lube the enigine better, and degrades slower. Changing oil is not something I love to do.

>Coolant - having seen what non volvo coolant does to a 740 engine (read turns >it into scrap!) volvo's own, change every 2 years for anti corrosion >properties..
Volvo never canges the coolant, why should you ;-) The coolant you used was probably not okay for aluminium.

>Break fluid - Dot4 (unless your very heavy o nthe brakes in which case 4+ MAY >be worth it...) change at 2 years MAX due to its hydroscopic nature..
Well its not just that Volvos fluid is Dot4+. Brake fluids differ a lot, and Volvos brake fluid is is actually something thats worth the extra cost because it lasts longer.

>OFTEN beats EXPENSIVE in my book
Depends I would say. The coolant for eg. Good coolant does not degrade that much on 2yrs. There is a reason Volvo dares to state that the coolant normally never needs changing. Same goes for the trans oil. But taxi and racers need to change it more often.

Also it's a matter of preference. I dont love to service. I if can get away with EXPENSIVE I choose it, but that is not always possible.
Also I dont do streetracing in a T5. I drive a S70 to work calmly, and my service is adapted to that.

Thanks for the input.