Advice please... Should I buy? 1999 V70 XC, tight budget, $3k

[June]

Some comments on June's insightful post:

(1) I recommended a mid-2000's car to the OP, not a 90's car.

Any used old car that is sub $3000 will need $1000-$2000 of work/maintenance in the first year of owner ship.

My $1500 Insight costed me $3500 to bring it up to par, excluding work on engine/transmission/clutch/hybrid battery/paint.

I want to point out that this comment you quoted took my original answer out of context, I was not referring to the 2005 Subaru, but the OP was asking about buying a 1999 V70 Cross Country.

BTW I went online and 2005 Subaru is still in the bad head gasket years. Heather just bent over at the dealer right before Christmas for a new engine in her current Subaru which was just out of factory warranty. Do the math, just out of warranty 12/2017 makes her current Subaru a 2013 or newer, still having engine trouble. No goodwill warranty at Subaru! After 20 years of brand loyalty to Subaru, Toyota will be getting her business. I tried to get her to look at Volvo but she buys into the belief that Japanese are the only people who build reliable cars (except Subaru now).

You are right a old $1,500.00 car likely will need two or three times that initial investment to bring it to a reliable state. After all a 1999 car is 19 years old. That's a lot of old wear parts alone. Like expensive engine mounts, cooling system parts, not to mention all the potential years of neglect that a unknown service history due to several likely owners resulting in engine sludge, expensive timing belt service overdue, crud in the ABS unit due to lack of break fluid changes, and all the other ways people neglect the maintenance schedule recommended by the cars manufacturer resulting in expensive repairs. June

[bmdubya1198]

Any used old car that is sub $3000 will need $1000-$2000 of work/maintenance in the first year of owner ship.

My $1500 Insight costed me $3500 to bring it up to par, excluding work on engine/transmission/clutch/hybrid battery/paint.

True for the most part. My cousin purchased his NA '99 S70 for $500, put cam seals in it, and he's been dailying it since. The only thing we've put on that car are brakes and probably something else that I'm forgetting. All in all, under $800 total. And it isn't some beater, it's a really clean 168k-mile S70. He's already put probably 4,000-5,000 miles on it since buying it in October.
Granted, it hasn't been a year, but my point being every now and again you come across cheap, good cars. A lot of that is helped by the PO putting thousands into it in the past 5 years or so.

[rspi]

Really the BIG problem with the 1999 V70 Cross Country is the Cross Country portion. That means in Volvo speak All Wheel Drive. The AWD used in 1999 was finicky to say the least. Find a nice clean 03 up plain V70 Front Wheel Drive and the horror is reduced considerably. I am speaking from experience having owned a 98 AWD V70 brand new. The warranty was needed regularly.

The V70 is a fine very safe family car. Find a clean, low mileage car to start with and yes keep the maintenance up and it will take good care of you and your family for years. Also if you have a problem buying premium gas, don't buy a turbo equipped car instead look for a non turbo car. In fact a non turbo V70 might be better for a mom on a budget.

Good luck, June

Volvo recommends Premium Gas in the NA cars, mainly because they have high compression engines. 10:1