Knowing nothing specific about these cars except when I see one I want it, this 2009 T5 popped up in my horrid "below $10k" hatchback search. With hardly any exception, they were all well over 100k miles and just rolling garbage. I did not want a Ford Focus to rehab and drive, but I will rehab a Volvo with only 96k mi. That makes perfect sense to me. Now that I am learning more about the vehicle, the more I really love it.

It has an excellent Carfax for now, will check again in a couple months. Regular service apparently was a holy ritual for the first owner, in CA. The second owner drove it 2400 mi in two years, probably afraid of the vibration. It's the motor mounts or the axle, either or both an easy job. It starts strong and runs fantastic - love the sound. The tires and brakes are brand new (zero scoring on the rotors). The fluids are all clean and clear. Looks like the coolant reservoir is already replaced. I just dropped a few bucks an full tint, which means I am committed now.

In this order, I am going after the mounts/axle, steering knuckle, passenger weight sensor, tip shifter sensors, learn more about "lifetime" transmissions vs early mortality. This will be my daily Summer driver, since it's way to hot in SoAZ to ride my bike after about about 9am. My plan is to clone this to an R-Design over the winters, which is when I ride. One of the larger tasks will be to change the interior color from vomit beige to badass black.

Any and all advice is most welcome.

 

Mine is like yours...with the Mystic Silver, which I think is the best color for this car (and know that Volvo chose that color for the 2009 owners manual cover photo which they thought was the best showcase color as well). With the Volvo brand, you may also see an insurance saving for the safety features built in....I did, with State Farm. A pretty peppy 227 hp 5 cyl... 250HP with the Polestar tune (though I think those are pricey at the dealer VIDA)...But this car, with that upgrade, has more horsepower than my 1989 Mustang 5.0 with a Ford 302 cu in.V8 (that car was 225 stock from the factory) ...Yeah and 8 cylinders vs 5. I like the stock 2009 wheels as well...I just don't like low profile tires on them. But the car handles very well even with the stock suspension. I have the black seats, and they are the most comfortable seats I've ever been seated in any car...I'll know more after I drive up to Yosemite this week end (a 7 hour drive from San Diego). Forget about any room for adults in the back seat. That's just the way it goes. Good for the dog and some hiking stuff, that's all...I just leave the rear seats down. Just as all cars have their issues...the C30 has a few as well. Check the owners service records. Front lower control arm bushings go by 60K. Cooling hoses and the reservoir are known to need to be replaced once they develop cracks (this car runs very hot), but there is a universal aluminum coolant mod tank on ebay . Be VERY careful with anything electric on the car (seats, audio, etc.). There is a sensor in this car somewhere for everything. Even things that I don't think you need a sensor for...are sensored. Buy an iCarsoft reader/scanner that has SRS capability... or you'll have to go to the dealer for their VIDA scanner at X$ per read for any codes.
If you replace the battery, don't wait till it wont start some morning like I did...change it when it tests weak AND ALWAYS disconnect the neg. lead FIRST if you remove the battery or want to do anything electric (short of changing a light bulb). Positive lead connects first on reconnect. This car uses the chassis as a voltage circuit conduit. The car can throw the dreaded "SRS air bag control module failure" code which means the air bag module just got fried...which means that's a dealer $1200 replacement item...unless you DIY and wait for a $120 reset unit from the UK...and replacing it yourself (which I chose to do) is not fun. But if you do the maintenance by the manual (hopefully the seller still had the owners manual) and you watch the frigging pot holes...and don't try to race frigging up scaled super-Subaru's..a very nice car overall. It's safe, it's reasonably fast, nice smooth turbo. And the 1973 1800ES (which I've also owned) inspired styling speaks for itself. I won't mod mine....tint is one thing...as you are in AZ and I am in CA...but I am leaving the rest of the car stock. I think the resale value will hold well that way
...just ask Jay Leno.