Only days until my new XC70 3.2 (Aust)!

[Magslad]

I wonder whether that could be done. Surely I could buy the laminated glass side windows? They must just slide in. I bet they are terribly expensive though.

I'm not sure about aftermarket prices as my XC70 already had them on when I bought it - as a factory fit option I think they are around Aus$900-1,000.

[EL008]

I wonder whether that could be done. Surely I could buy the laminated glass side windows? They must just slide in. I bet they are terribly expensive though.

I will have to do something, because I'm scared witless of merging at the moment when it has rained. It's like the water almost sticks to the windows. I'm wondering whether this might have something to do with the stuff they stick to the car when in transit? My car was built 5 months ago, so it has been sitting around for a while.

I might give Aquapel (not sure where to get this in Sydney) or Rain-X a go before I take a drastic measure.

As to the parts generally, I purchased the rubber mat (circa $250), the rear door blind (circa $150) and a child mirror (circa $115) from Alto.

I got screwed, but the instant gratification urge is often too hard for me to overcome. The guys at Alto Volvo parts, I should note, were great and met my request for the parts in well under 24 hours.

I was worried that the rubber mat would affect the metal luggage rails, but the genuine volvo article fits neatly between the rails - thereby allowing the use of the cargo organise that I don't have. Anyway, I was already getting the boot dirty - so I can live with the expense.

The rear door blind was worth every penny, it is far better than those ugly looking socks people pull over their rear doors.

I was going to buy a Garmin 765 for the Volvo. But, I'm going to give the GPS on my Blackberry Bold a trial. I downloaded Vodafone Compass. I'm going to try it tomorrow on the road - Yum Cha at Rhodes here we come. Having played with it tonight, I'm pretty impressed with it. Although basic, it is intuitive and - because it's got data download capabilitity - comes with a massive database of POIs. Given that I use the navigation probably a few times a month in a serious way - this might be a good way of avoiding having to have some fat Garmin stuck to my dashboard and picking up some other cool functions along the way. I'm suprised that it doesn't have real time traffic, but this can only be a matter of time.

I found this Swedish GPS/Phone mount that is personalised for the Volvo: Brodit. It looks like a pretty neat way for me to find a place for my Blackberry whilst utilising the GPS function. Does anyone have a Brodit mount/clip?

Next thing to buy is the baby seat.

Did you ask if the rubber boot liner will work in conjunction with the organiser? While the rubber mat sits between the rails, the metal rods will squash the rubber lips on each side. I asked Volvo dealers in Melbourne but they can't confirm. I ended up buying just the side hooks for the cargo compartment.

[Matters]

I don't know whether it will affect the cargo organiser, I didn't ask. I haven't seen it in action, so can't comment on whether the rubber mat would affect it. I have to say the lip of the mat is not really that intrusive. I don't think i will need the organiser anyway, so i guess it is all academic.

I got the Brodit clip for the Phone. It is excellent. I will post some pics.

In relation to the side hooks, do you have any photos? Was it worth it? I must confess I could not work out whether the side hooks came with the side net etc. It seems you can't use the side net without the side hook?

On a separate note, I'm thinking of buying the volvo wing cross bars for the roof. Does anyone know how much these are from the Volvo dealer? The other option is some Thule cross bars.

[EL008]

You can't use the side nets without the side hooks. I have not installed my hooks but they are as per the accessories brochure. I will take the pics when I install them myself or worse case: get dealer to install when car is in for 1st 15,000km service in August.

The wing profile cross bars look fantastic but I think they cost in the vicinity of $250-$300.