Looking at used winter cross country, which years are best?

[cool breeze]

Hi, hope this thread fits in here but im looking at 1998-2002' ish cars because this is my price point.
Selling my fj80 land cruiser and want a smaller more efficient wagon for the winter. I really like the safety and quality of the volvo but have seen they are quite problematic. I dont mind smaller issues like etm's throttle bodies etc. What i dont want is massive trans failures.

Ive searched but cant find if there are better years than other with the transmissions.??
Would love to find a manual but looks to be like finding a unicorn.
Are all cross countrys turbo?

As with all used cars i will be looking for a well maintained, low owner car but is there anything else i should look at or stay away from?
thanks!

[JRL]

Stay away from 01s and 02s PERIOD
If you can't swing a good 03 or 04 then try to find a good earlier car 1998-2000.
This is not so easy these days, almost all are very old, high mileage wagons and worn out but there are a handful around with good miles and well cared for.

What's your budget?

[cool breeze]

My budget is around what 01-02's go for lol....but i guess ill stay away. I could swing more for a nice later year model if needed but really just wanted to spend 3k tops as i plan on using this car for the winter or until i buy a new truck. I could see myself keeping it if the wife likes it and he proves to be reliable then we could sell her accord. How problematic are the later years like 2003+?
whats so bad about the 01-02's and why are the other years better?
Is there a FAQ around here for newbie buyers?
thanks

[JRL]

These are NOT reliable in general and require a lot of maintenance and servicing.
If you can't do your own work frankly I would pass.
There's no way in the world that any older Volvo will be more reliable than an Accord!

You may find a decent one which just requires normal VOLVO maintenance (which is substantial) or find one that was "maintenance deferred"...
In that case you have bought a nightmare.
You may (you WILL), have car issues that you never heard of before!!!!

Sorry to burst your bubble but for most people I do not recommend these cars to the uninformed.
You need to really love driving them and at the same time also be some kind of a masochist! to put yourself through the aggravation!

[cool breeze]

I dont mind maintanence at all.
My land cruiser is maint heavy but once fixed its reliable.
My e36 bmw with an ls1 is now relaible but that meant removing the bmw powerplant haha.
What i want is something safe, spacious and awd with luxury. I dont mind fixing it when needed but what im not looking for is being stranded likemy wifes 330xi would consistently do.

[JRL]

I suggest you do some reading up on them (and yes, they too can strand you unless it's back to a full stage 0. Also read up on that.)

[cool breeze]

I suggest you do some reading up on them (and yes, they too can strand you unless it's back to a full stage 0. Also read up on that.)

And where do you suggest i do this?

[JRL]

www.swedespeed.com
www.matthewsvolvosite.com ( A DYI site where you can read about many of the oddball issues these vehicles have)
www.volvospeed.com

For starters...