I've been looking at purchasing a 98 S40 but am a little concerned about the amount of side play in the gearchange lever. I'm seeing a good 2" movement each side of vertical when the car is in any gear. The mechanism works fine and the changes are positive it just looks/feels odd having so much play. Any ideas anyone ?

 

You might have to replace the shifter cables. There is rubber in the ends of the cables. When it gets old it gets brittle and falls out.
Making it sloppy.