"In fact I perform very little repair on a car if it does not fall into the category of saftey or running."

A Volvo is probably not a good choice.


I have a friend who is looking at a 96 850.

I told my friend that Volvos are not Hondas, Nissans or Toyotas. If you are not willing to get involved with the maintenance of a Volvo before or when it breaks, don't buy one unless you have unlimited funds for your dealer's service department, bottom line!

I have a 98 V70 and I love my car. Its a blast to drive. I try to do as much preventive and non-scheduled maintenance on it as I can. The car has lots of life at 118K and its going to 200K at least.

If it's over my head though, I'll take it to my indie shop. I avoid the dealer like the plague. I have at least two great places to buy either aftermarket or genuine Volvo parts at great prices. This spring I plan to change the radiator hoses (for the first time)and replace the coolant and the brake fluid for the second time) I do get a little nervous when the check engine light comes on, so I bought an OBD-II code scanner to help me diagnose problems.

This site is outstanding for Volvo owners.

I and others on this board have saved thousands of dollars with DIY maintenance.
Either you try to fix it when it breaks (as all cars will eventually do)or your dealer will try to break YOU.

Just my .02