Is this the right place to ask if this is a "good" purchase? From people who own these cars? The owner is asking $3000. Looks great to me - but I have never owned a Volvo. Anything to look for? Timing belt/chain issues?

 

Key thing with any old car is whether you are comfortable doing maintenance/simple repairs and what the maintenance history is. For this model, the AWD may be the weak link as a first generation set up, they were prone to issues with the bevel gear (the "transaxle" that routes power to the rear wheels). Everything else is maintainable. The timing belt is serviced at 10 years or 110K miles so the car should be ready for another change due to age if not done recently. Not sure if this model has the electronic throttle mechanism or not but those do require rebuilds from time to time to correct worn contacts (it was introduced in 2000 give or take a year by engine model). If the car has direct coil ignition (check if the car has a distributor cap or the driver's side of the engine to tell), then the coil packs can fail or go weak after 100K miles.

 

99 was the first year for the ETM and they updated quite a bit of the on-car network of computers talking to each other. the 98's don't have a body control computer system at all. On the 99 the ETM does not plug and play. Some of the other computers may have the same problem. The AWD is not really reliable, but you don't need it either. So if everything on the car works perfectly, it's a crap shoot. I would say if anything at all is not working, stay away. make sure all the warning lights come on and make sure they all go out.

 

Thanks for the info. I can fix simple things but not much more. If things look good I am guessing i need to budget for a new timing belt. And yes buying old cars is always a crapshoot. Thanks very much for the info. I do actually want the AWD for winter and if the ETM is not easy to replace, these things might change my mind.
Seems alot of people sell their cars right around the time they need a new timing belt....

 

Timing belt replacement should be 2-3 hours for a shop with proper tools - the higher number is for engines with VVT, lower for those without. 99 is right on the bubble - some have VVT, some don't. Parts costs depends if you are doing just the belt, idler and tensioner or if you will also be doing the water pump, the serpentine belt, serpentine idlers etc. I'd budget about $600 for the job.