Well just by chance I happened to come upon a pristine, one owner Base 1999 S70 with the 'winter driving package'' in my hunt for a new car. One look at the detailed maintenance records and a test drive and I pounced on it. My first Volvo and my first European vehicle in a very long time.
Only had it about a week so far, but everything has been positive. Comfortable, has enough room for my needs. Great seat (that the OO had recovered once).

At first view, I thought it was a little boxy looking, but I certainly has grown on me. I love the look. I may do a light tint on the windows, haven't really decided yet. Other than that it doesn't need a thing. I may change out the sound system little by little, but it's more than serviceable for now.

A few quibbles, and keep in mind these are very minor nitpicks, nothing that detract from the pleasure of driving it. The engine is a tiny bit 'buzzy'. I'm not sure if that's how the 5 cylinders are or if I'm just paying to attention to it to close. And sadly, I wish it had a little more power. I guess that's part of having such a well built chassis, it takes a bit more to move it around.

Overall I feel so very lucky at being at the right place, the right time. This car was maintained to the highest standard and I feel more than confident in taking it on a long road trip, which I plan on doing in June.

Like everything else, I looked up a forum to answer questions and found this one. From browsing around it looks like there are some great people here with in depth knowledge that I will be tapping into. Which leads me to my first question. I'm OK at fixing and maintaining the smaller items that need it, and plan on doing a lot of it myself. . What is the best manual to get for a DIY?

Cheers everyone.