It was originally a demo or loaner car for Goodwin’s Volvo in Topsham, Maine, where it accumulated around 10k miles as far as I can tell. It was then sold to the original owner, who drove it very infrequently and was absolutely religious about going for each 5k service at Goodwin’s. He kept every service record, and I now have about 50 pages worth of every single thing back to 1998 that was done to the car. A couple years back, he decided to get into something newer, so he gave it to his son, for his grandson to use. His grandson no longer needed it, so the son sold it to me!
Previously I had a 2007 S80 3.2 (named Sadie, very punny) with 275k miles… and, well I still have it, but I don’t drive it. Lots of little things that would have failed inspection, and I was about ready for something new (well, old), so I told my little brother he can have it if he wants to fix it. He’s 16 and still hasn’t enrolled in driver’s ed, so who knows, but… it’s in the family and gets driven around the block still.
Anyways, back to Susie… The only issue when I got it was an SRS light on the dash. I called Steingold and they said they couldn’t fix it (lol), and told me to try John Soares in Westport, MA. He is awesome and was able to replace the seatbelt pretensioner and get the light off. At this point I also installed a VIOFO A229 Plus front and rear dashcam, which is very overkill for this car but I love it lol. I decided to inspect the car even though it could be registered as an antique and not inspected, because I need to daily it and don’t want to risk anything because technically antique is for show and pleasure only. The only thing that this 27 year old car needed was front ball joints, and even that was only barely a fail. I feel that really speaks to just how impeccable it is. Got those replaced with Mahle ones and got reinspected and aligned, good to go.
I did the first oil change, and coming from the S80 where everything is very counterintuitive and annoying, it’s so much easier and I love it. About this time I went up to the VCOA national meet, where I met a ton of you and got to chat with the Volvo engineers and show them the car. Such a fun time, and I can’t wait for this year’s meet, as I intend to go wherever it may be.
Then, luckily after arriving home, I encountered the first, and so far the only, major issue… The alternator died, leaving me stranded in the Longhorn Steakhouse parking lot, embarassingly. AAA took 2 hours. Then got it towed to John Soares for him to do the alternator, because it’s one of those jobs that I could do at home, but really really really did not want to. Got that done, and since then have had really nothing happen. I hardwired the dashcam to the yellow accessory port under the dash, so now it runs when parked as well as when running (don’t worry, it has a voltage cutoff!). Finding the correct pins and getting it all wired right was an adventure but now it works flawlessly. Changed the oil again. Took four of my high school friends to Ikea for the day… a tight squeeze but it was fun. They even sat through my Ikea car photoshoot, because every Volvo needs an Ikea photoshoot.
Just yesterday, I met up with @855RI and got roof racks that are awesome and some Depo e-code style headlights. Hopefully I get bulbs and a warm enough day to get those put in soon enough, but for now the roof racks look so nice on the car.
Hoping to keep this car for a long time, and it’s totally got me hooked onto P80s. Just such a great car in every way, and even in base model spec. I drive it a lot, but I feel like it’s happier being driven than sitting like it was. These cars are made to be driven.
I’ll keep any updates about my adventures and upgrades and whatnot here! Hoping to do some suspension upgrades, new brakes, and potentially european side marker lights soon. Not gonna go crazy, as it looks really nice like it is. Thanks for reading my soliloquy!
Photos:
The day I went to “take a look” at the car, and ended up taking it home… In the pouring rain. Wipers worked!
First parking buddy, of sorts… Swedish cousins. Note the temp tag, I actually bought the car through Autotrader’s “Private Seller Exchange” which is basically an escrow service, and they issue Washington temp tags. Got a lot of questions having that on a 27 year old car, in Rhode Island, across the country lol.
First of many Cars and Coffees. I’m lucky to live in the home of Audrain, and they do C&C every week… I didn’t miss a single week from when I got the car to when they ended the season. Tons of fun.
Finally got it registered, and got a real plate. As a license plate nerd I pestered them for a neat number, but they had like 3 options and this was the only one that was an even 10. So it has to do for now.
VCOA National Meet! A tad outclassed by the trifecta there, but that was to be expected. Got to meet a bunch of cool people and learn a bunch. Can’t wait for the next one!
Got a charity plate for a lighthouse I’ve never seen in my life, but hey it sounds like a neat place and their embossed plate looks far better than the flat wave one. What I really want is a vanity plate, but Rhode Island hasn’t been accepting new ones for the past few years since they got sued over their restrictions and the first amendment. I’ll be about the first to order one whenever they start back up… thinking maybe OVLOV? Open to suggestions lol
Awkwardly awaiting AAA at Longhorn Steakhouse with a dead alternator. Gave me some time to catalog and organize my new cassette collection, a collection I’ve picked up since owning this car. Also read some wikipedia, watched traffic go by, etc.
Did a quick overnight trip to Lake Placid right before christmas… Pulled off to admire the scenery, had no problem getting out, helped by Toyo Celsius snow rated tires. 10/10 would recommend, have gotten me out of this and deeper snow, and even on ice are decent for all seasons. She didn’t skip a beat, even after sitting overnight in -10 fahrenheit. Started in the morning at -5 fahrenheit and it took a second but gave me no problems.
Yesterday with the roof racks put on. I think it makes the car look so much better, it’s hard to describe and it doesn’t come across on camera well but… something about it just makes the car look less like a grandpa car and more like an adventurous skier. Or maybe I’m delusional 
. I go through the touchless wash to get the salt off (including underneath!) twice a week, because a car this nice doesn’t deserve to be dirty. If I had a choice in the matter I’d garage her through the winters, but… broke 18 year old. Anyways, open to any questions and discussion, and again thanks for reading my long-winded story lol.