I currently own a 1994 E320 wagon with 118K. I bought it recently, the body and interior are good.

The previous owner had replaced the evaporator (he paid over $3000) and some minor things like the OVP relay, starter and brakes. The car had been maintained from new by a Mercedes dealer.

The car needed tires, a head gasket and a wiring harness. Although I do many of my own repairs, I had it fixed at the dealer and at the same time I also had the water pump, hoses, belt tensioner, fan clutch, one valve guide, timing chain and tensioner, front crank seal and valve seals replaced. I spent $3300 for the repair. The Mercedes rep paid 50 percent of the parts and labor for the harness. The cars runs and drives well now.

I paid $2250 for the car. Yes, that was low. The owner was asking $6500, but he didn't realize it needed a head gasket/wiring harness. With the repairs and a new set of Bridgestone Turanza's, I have about $6000 total into it. To me, that is about what it's worth. It is a very nice car, and nice looking. It handles well and has enough power. It is safe. However, I know that down the road when I need a new throttle actuator, or some other $1000-2000 part, I won't resent the car and will be able to fix it.

I have owned many different Volvos. All of them were RWD. I don't think you can compare a V70 with an E320. You CAN compare a 1993 240 wagon (the last year) with an E320. You can even compare a 1994-5 940 or 960 with the E320. The 240 wagon is simpler, is just as safe, is much slower (114 hp vs 217 for E320), handles worse, (but not bad) is terrible in the snow, and has fewer built-in defects. The 240 will be much cheaper to run. You will have a very hard time finding one with low mileage. 240s require regular timing belt changes, U-joints, rear main and front crank seals, steering racks, and A/C compressors. The top ends need work at 150,000 miles or sooner. The bottom ends are good for 250,000. The manual trans is also good to 250,000.

The 940 is similar to the 240 but with a different body. Also a good car, but uglier than the 240. The 960 has the body of a 940 but uses a VW sourced, inline 6. It is a okay engine, but not great. This car could have many of the same problems as the E320: wiring harness, evaporator, possible head gasket. For that reason, they can be bought cheap. I think parts are high-priced on the 960.

The 850s and V70s are FWD and are very different cars. I personally don't like the way they drive. They also suffer from a much more cramped engine bay and various electrical demons. They require a lot of maintenace and some of it is hard to do.

The bottom line: If you can find a nice E320 with all the updates and a good service history, that is a good car to buy for about 6-8K. If you can find a nice E320 without all of the service updates, buy it, but deduct the cost of the repairs.

If you want a Volvo wagon, you can expect to look for a long time before you find one with low miles. When you do, expect to pay about the same as the E320.