I've almost decided to try and hunt down a late 90's model V70. Actually a couple years ago I posted on here with just about the same conclusion, but then shortly afterwards I inherited my grandmother's Buick Regal since she finally gave up driving at 93 years old. But now we'll likely be in the market for a second car.

From my recollection and from what I've read the 1998 V70s are generally more reliable than the 99-01 models. Is this still generally believed to be true? What about the 02+ models?

Originally I was wanting to get an AWD version, but I think I've convinced myself that as long as the FWD model has traction control I won't be losing out too much since I don't plan on doing much in the way of off road driving. Do all V70 models have traction control? It seems the AWD, especially in these early versions, are not all that reliable and end up costing more in maintenance than the FWD versions. Has the AWD transmission continued to be problematic in later XC/V70 models?

Another thing I've considered is a later 850 wagon, since there's not much difference that I can tell between the late model 850 wagon and the early V70. How much of a difference is there? What would I be giving up going to an 850? Do all the later models still have traction control?

Once I find something I'm interested in where could I find a list of scheduled maintenance so I know what should have been done and what might be coming up maintenance-wise? Is there any specific maintenance issues that would be highly recommended/required but aren't listed in the official maintenance schedule?


Anyway, I just thought I should throw out some of my thoughts so you could tell me if I'm on the right track or if I'm mistaken in my assumptions. Thanks for any feedback!