Hey everyone, I'm new to this site. So far it is looking like a great help line! I was seeking some guidance; I recently got a 1999 s70 glt. The car was maintained by my trusted Volvo mechanic throughout its life with it past owner. Recently before i got it the transmission was replaced. I was wondering if there was anything specific that I should check on with the car: Common problems, solutions to errors that I over glanced or reasonable upgrades. The only things that I have noticed so far is that the traction control light flashes occasionally without reason (I am planning to clean the sensors soon to see if that will help) And the common problem of the hood getting stuck. The car has around 204880 miles on it. Thanks for the help!

 

most important thing to know is when the timing belt was last done. They should be done every 100K miles or 10 years on the 99s - including replacing the tensioner - so sounds like you should be coming up on that interval unless already done. The tracs light is tied to the speed sensor and ABS sensors so checking connections/wires is a good start. With the hood getting stuck, time to lube up the cables and grease the pins. There may be a small amount of adjusting you can do as well. After that, the ignition coils go after about 100K so if you start getting a check engine light with "misfires" as the code, it'll be time for new coils. I'd also check the condition of the coolant and consider replacing the thermostat and the coolant overflow cap to baseline if you decide you need a coolant flush. As with any high mileage car, you need to look for wear items - brake pads/rotors, inspect the brake hoses for cracks, inspect motor mounts (torque rods?) and suspension parts - look for leaky struts, torn CV joint boots. Does the car corner and drive straight? any noises going over speed bumps etc? How's the oil - any leaks, weeping or spotting? do you know if its had synthetic or standard oil? If its diet has been standard, next oil change you may want to consider doing a "high mileage" oil as they have seal softeners to help minimize leaks. Considering you already have 200K, I'm not sold on a change to synthetic but you could consider that if there's no leaks and its not consuming any oil between changes. I have 200K on my 850 Turbo and I keep it simple and use high mileage dino and change oil every 5K or 6 months. It uses a quart every 1000-1500 so there's no point in dropping in oil that costs 2x IMHO... Last suggestion - if you can get any maintenance history, that goes a long way.