I'm starting to love my car.

[wizechatmgr]

Smart man. Wish I was as smart as you when I was young.

[850 LPT]

Driving a 20 year old car with a flat depreciation curve and no new car payment will get you into a house a lot faster than leasing the latest fashion in automotive world...well done..

Good point. And that depreciation curve might actually turn into an appreciation curve if you wait long enough. I think I can see that already happening to some models, like T5's and R's. Especially low mileage original ones are staring to fetch some good money. Or is that just in my dreams?

[theWIFES_S70]

Yeah, some of these P80s are highly sought after!

Some are unreasonably priced... (Someone around here has been trying to get $2500 for an N/A S70 for almost a year...) And others, probably get scrapped for $75 when sellers realize most folks aren't willing to spend a $1K+ on a 20-year-old car.

And then there are the exceptions... I checked the KBB value of our car. It was around $800.

[dahammer]

Great topic, especially because I have the non turbo version of this car. World's most comfy seats, still rides great, goes down the road straight. Unfortunately, the clear coat is peeling and it's not much to look at, but my daughter is driving it.

I picked it up in October, 2009 with 76k miles for $3200, the seller listed it on eBay and it didn't meet the reserve. I needed cheap, reliable wheels because my ex-boss drove my company F-150 out of my driveway along with my laptop and BlackBerry. And because I didn't want to go through another Corporate Restructuring, I became self employed. Zero regrets on the S70 and the redirection of my career.

Over the past 7 years I have had some big repair bills, the flakiest was a broken torsion bar, but Pennsylvania potholes can do that. But it's still cheaper than a car payment, plus my dad always said don't judge a man by the car he drives. I am reminded of that when I see some of my inlaws driving leased BMW's, up to their ears in debt.

Wishing you best of luck with your car.

PS, my daily driver is a 2005 S60 2.5T that I picked up 3 years ago. It's my happy place, just enough extra zip when needed.

[utilityaudio]

Smart man. Wish I was as smart as you when I was young.

I'm not exactly young (mid 30's), I've just never owned a car.
shared my parent's car(s) during undergrad (hence the '95 tracer mentioned earlier), and have lived within walking distance of everything I needed since I moved out for Grad-school, so owning a car just wasn't a priority (also, school loans pretty much killed my budget for nice things).

I've always liked Volvos, and I still want a wagon... someday when I have a driveway to park it in

[abscate]

World's most comfy seats

I keep forgetting this reason. I live three hours drive from three tech centers, and six hours in the P80 seats, even with my oversized butt and old frame, feels like nothing. Incredible.

[obayha]

Good start and low miles. Fix the little things now and save for the bigger ones. The TB is a big and important one now, for age not miles, if it hasn't been done.
I do have a failed coolant level sensor in my '99. Can they be replaced as noted earlier?

[FLXC90]

I do have a failed coolant level sensor in my '99. Can they be replaced as noted earlier?

yes, by R&R of the coolant tank/overflow bottle

[FLXC90]

I know the warm fuzzy part too. Mine is a total beater, bought for $300 because PO thought it had a head gasket leak, it was actually carbon deposits in the top-end. I've driven it for 2 1/2 years, spent about $800 on parts, it's still not pretty, but it's predominant fault is its unfailing start at the first turn of the key.

[erikv11]

I do have a failed coolant level sensor in my '99. Can they be replaced as noted earlier?

yes, by R&R of the coolant tank/overflow bottle

But you can also replace just the sensor, separately. Pops right out.