Currently I own a 93 960 with 178k. It runs perfectly, I just put new struts and bushings in, and hasn't given me any trouble over the last 2 years and 40,000 miles I've owned it......However, today I stumbled upon a 99 XC70 from Nevada, very clean, new tires, only 84k on the clock, engine bay looks brand new, timing belt was just done, new pulleys, serpentine belt, tires etc. It runs very well, has no lights on the dash and shifts smoothly. My only 2 concerns were that the tranny oil was very dirty, and at idle it vibrated a little. Nothing unacceptable, but in my 960 you don't even know the engine is running when you sit at a stoplight. I've heard if the transmissions in these are not properly maintained there can be big problems down the road. I have also been lead to believe these cars have an electronic throttle body that can cause problems. The dealer had a full carfax report and maintenance records, and was asking $8,980 (too high in my opinion) Barring the price, could this potentially be a good replacement for my noble-stede 960?? The nearest volvo dealer is 130 miles away (hooray Montana ), so if something big happened it would be a major headache. Perhaps putting another 40k on the 960 would be a better option??

 

Not a terrible deal.
Make a full transmission flush a part of the deal along with replacing BOTH upper torque mount and the LOWER transmission mount (which is probably why it has the noise and shaking)

 

Maybe I'm cheap, but that price soounds a little high. Maybe if they did the above mentioed service and replacements and took a grand off the price.

 

I was thinking that too.......I'm going to see how long it lingers on the lot. There really isn't a high demand for them out here, and the car has already been there for 3 weeks as it is, so there is a pretty good chance the price will drop..... Plus, I just bit the bullet and ordered 2 new nivomats for the 960, couple that to the new struts and sway bar links I just put on the front, plus the K&N filter I added, and it's a fair amount of change I've spent on the car in the last month. I'll probably stay with my 960 for a little while longer, going off of what rcsoundn1 said "sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you do not."

 

Very true! Good luck with whatever you decide.