Faults:

Nothing so far, quite the "brick" of a car. It's got a bit of rust, but what car doesn't in Ohio?

General Comments:

Very comfortable car, handles fairly well, and has a nice ride to it. It's nowhere near as quick as my previous car, it takes about 9.5 seconds to get to 60, sometimes 10. Not complaining considering most SMALL cars today take that long to get to 60, and this is a mid-size Volvo.

Faults:

Vehicle speed sensor went bad, $25 replacement.

Some of the trim tends to crack after 17 years.

Light bulb burnt out in the radio.

Air con needed a recharge.

Had to replace the shocks and struts.

Annoying service light tells you to change the oil at 5000 miles, and the reset button was broken.

Transmission pan bolts were loose, leaking fluid.

Obligatory Volvo dashboard cracking.

General Comments:

Overall, I think this is probably the most reliable car ever made.

Some quirky things bother me sometimes. Drivers side leg room is a little cramped. It's a little slow and lumbering. Gas mileage is not terrific, but the motor design is from the 70's.

On the plus side, the timing belt is easy to change. Parts are cheap, but you usually don't have to fix anything. Easy to work on. Amazing condition for a car with 226000 miles, most things still work like new.

Handles great on highway. Always seems to get me there; I routinely drive 1000 miles to Florida. Easily drives 80 mph all day long.

Great in a small parking lot.

Seats are real comfortable.

Easily passed emissions test.

Statistically the safest car ever made (see Wikipedia).

Faults:

The driver's side seat leans considerably towards the center of the car.

The tailpipe fell off about four months ago, but I haven't done anything about it. Seems to run fine without it.

The SRS light came on once. This, quite literally, is the only thing that has gone wrong with the car that required repair.

General Comments:

This is my first car and I've owned it now for three years.

It has been just incredible in terms of reliability- I paid a pittance for it, and I haven't taken it to a mechanic in two years.

It starts every time, runs smooth, and pretty much all of its original features work with the exception of the AC.

When I bought it, the AC was not working, but I didn't notice this due to the fact that it was the middle of winter. Since then, I've become accustomed to riding with the windows open in summer. The heater has the ability to melt plastic, so the car handles the cold Michigan winters quite nicely.

The car has just under 179,000 miles on it, yet it still starts the first time every time. I've driven it from Connecticut to Seattle twice (over 3,000 miles), Connecticut to Michigan (700 miles) countless other times, and not once has it given me trouble.

The only complaint that comes to mind at the moment is the fact that it is quite horrible in snow. That said, the manual transmission helps to get the car moving (sometimes).

I've kept track of the gas mileage of the car, and it averages about 28-30 mpg in the summer, and 25 or so in the winter.

Overall, I have been incredibly impressed by this car. I will mourn when the old Volvo bites the dust- it has been so reliable, I feel guilty when I consider buying another car. I imagine that it could very well last for another 180K miles, seeing as it shows no signs of stopping (knock on wood).

I would recommend a Volvo to anyone without any reservations.