Hi all!

I hope this is the correct place to ask this question; please direct me otherwise if it is not.

I am buying my first car as full owner, although I have held my license for nearly 10 years, and I am interested in a well-maintained Volvo v50, as they are quite easy to find, safe, look great, and are actually quite cheap for me to be insured on compared to smaller hatchbacks (Golf, A3, even the Yaris and Polo). I also enjoy driving and would like to do some 'road trips' with my partner.

I have found a v50 for sale that is cheap comparatively. It's a 2006 v50 1.6d with 170,000 km/105,000 miles on the clock. It comes with nice alloys, and looks to be in great exterior condition, although I haven't seen it yet. It has a full service history, three months guarantee, and a very recent service by the second hand garage selling it. It's advertised at £4,300 or around $6600.

I have spoken to the garage salesman and he says it's maybe cheaper because he is not a private seller and it is the base model Volvo v50 - doesn't come with many gadgets.

Still, garages and private sellers seem to ask another £2k for such a car, especially if it's done less than 200,000 km.

My question to everyone is:

1) does this strike you as odd too? Or is this an expected price for this car by a second hand car dealer?

2) What things should I be looking for when I inspect the car? Should the diesel particulate filter should have been replaced already? How often should of it been serviced?

I am not under the illusion that, just because this is a Volvo, it will be reliable. It's needs to have been maintained well, so this is my primary concern.

If it helps, I am only going to be using this car for 18 months - 2 years before I will likely need to sell up and move elsewhere (abroad) for work reasons.

Thanks in advance!