Hi -<P>Thought I'd introduce myself, and let you know what I have (and don't have)<BR>to offer in this forum. Think of it as full disclosure, automotive style.<P>I ordered my white V70 T5 back in April of 2000, and took delivery of it on<BR>the last day of August. There were MANY hassles throughout the delivery<BR>process due, in part, to the fact that I ordered through CarOrder.com which<BR>went belly-up two days before my car was delivered. I ended up working out<BR>a deal with my local dealer, but it was a mess, to put it mildly. But it's<BR>exactly the car I wanted, made to order. The biggest hurdle I had (the<BR>reason I had to special order my car) was deleting the sunroof.<P>Though I've had several nagging little problems with my car, I don't regret<BR>the purchase, and think it is still the perfect vehicle for my new family.<BR>We have a new daughter, a medium-sized dog, and lots of crap. Plus we drive<BR>several hundred miles every weekend visiting friends and family....there<BR>just isn't a better vehicle out there that fits our needs this well. At<BR>least not one that's this fun to drive!<P>Since I've had the car, I have installed my own rear mud flaps, spoiler and<BR>tow hitch. If you're thinking of doing any of these projects yourself, drop<BR>me a line, and I can give you some pointers. I've also had the car<BR>professionally tinted, and won't own a car without tint now that I see how<BR>great it is. There are some pictures of my various Volvo projects on my web<BR>site: <A HREF="http://www.2001v70.homepage.com" TARGET=_blank>http://www.2001v70.homepage.com</A> <P>I now have 2600 miles on the car, and have switched to Mobil 1 synthetic oil<BR>(changed my own oil too, and it was the easiest oil change I've ever done,<BR>believe it or not). I try to have the dealer do as little as possible on my<BR>car - less chance for them to screw it up. Which brings up a sore point<BR>with me: I just can't believe there is no shop manual (printed) for this<BR>car. That bums me out like you can't believe, and makes my maintenance<BR>tasks that much more of a crap-shoot.<P>My outstanding issues on my car are: defective driver's mirror, erratic<BR>climate control, click/clunk in steering wheel, poor transmission<BR>performance, chipped door handle trim, and a defective part in the tow hitch<BR>kit. I have finally gotten the attention<BR>of my local "after sales manager," and he seems to be trying to streamline<BR>my process finally. The car has already been in the shop for a full 10 days<BR>since I've owned it, and my parts always seem to be on backorder. I've also<BR>brought up the mysterious T5 upgrade issue with this same gentleman. He's<BR>willing to look into it for me, though like everybody else who deals with<BR>Volvos daily, he's never heard of it.<P>So there's me and mine in a nutshell. Who are you? And what's going on with YOUR V70?<P>- Darell<BR><P>