I love the look of this car! This one appears to be almost pristine. But I've read bad things about xc70's from 1999 to 01. Myth or true? Is the 1999 xc70 a maintenance nightmare? What's the typical maintenance cost for these? Should I choose a more modern 2004 xc70, even though I prefer the look of the 1999? This will be my first car ever, (I'm 53:-) and I will need it to get around (I'm leaving Manhattan for parts more rural, and a cross country drive/exploration)
Advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

Overall I really like my '04 XC70. The one nice thing about the 98-2000 series is that they are all Volvo. I'd shy away from the early P2 models as it is a radical shift for Volvo. My '04 has been solid although I'd like more performance out of it. It is a nice handling car.

That said, I am starting to look for a pre-Ford Volvo as a second car.

 

I have a 00 XC70 AWD Turbo and it's a greatness. I agree on the looks they are better to look at. The 99 only has 58k miles? You could probably get it for much cheaper than any post-04 and even if you had to spend some to iron out any problems it has you'll still come out on top. I purchased mine a month ago and had it inspected by my mechanic and said that maybe a job here and there and it's good as new. I read a lot of negative reviews too about this yr but people only complain when there's something wrong. Get it looked by someone you trust.

 

Mostly myth, just remember that these cars generally have a lot of features that your average Honda civic which means more things to go wrong. Maintenance can be expensive, there are not many independent mechanics that work on Volvos and dealer costs are astronomical ($600 for regular 30K mi service for example). Even if you find a independent mechanic willing to work on your car, be prepared to pay a premium for parts, there are some good online parts suppliers however which offer pretty good discounts so if you can buy the parts there and get the work done at a reasonable price you may be okay. A budget of around $2,000 a year isn't unreasonable for maintaining these cars.

 

Haven't been here for a few weeks because I've been moving (to Lexington, Ma.) Thanks for all the helpful replies!