I have a '96 850 turbo wagon with 175,000 miles on it. In the past 8 months I've needed a valve job and a complete transmission rebuild. My previous wagon was a 240, and I gave it away, still in good shape, with 360,000 miles on it. I'm wondering whether the 850s are shorter lived (and I should therefore get rid of this one), whether the XC70 is a safer vehicle (my niece was just killed in a traffic accident), and whether the life span of Volvos has begun to decrease as a result of the association with Ford. Is the XC70 a good car?

Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks.