Finding an almost 10 yr old car in decent condition is a challenge unto itself. People sell a car that age because they are expensive to maintain and/or have problems. If you buy a used car- any used car- that age be sure to set aside $$ to take care of deferred maintenance and repairs. Add to that the chance that some flood damaged vehicles will be on the market in your area and you really need to have a lot of knowledge to purchase that vehicle. In my area [Scam Diego CA] Diesel fuel is slightly more expensive than premium gas. If you put lots of miles on your vehicle, fuel becomes a more significant cost consideration. What I like about Volvo 200 series is that they are robust and relatively straight forward to work on. And I couldn't maintain it without the Brickboard community. In the summer of 2004 my family went to Europe. Our rental car for 8 days in Spain was a turbo-Diesel 5 speed 2004 Seat TDI -pronounced See-at, essentially a Volkswagen Jetta made under license in Spain. While I too was impressed by it's performance and economy, and it was relatively quiet, it was light weight compared to the Volvo. Jetta's had a history of power window problems but newer ones are getting good overall reviews. I think your 245 5 speed is a great combination [wish my 88 245 was a 5 spd rather than automatic] and if it is reliable and trustworthy, keep it and put your money into a 401k retirement account or a CD.