Volvo V40 (1996 - 2004) 2.0 SE 5d Auto Owner Review

This car was bought as a 'stop gap' vehicle, as I'm scheduled for ankle surgery on my left ankle and My normal vehicle is a Landrover Discovery manual, and my wife's car is a Fiesta manual, so we needed an auto, or I would be unable to drive for 5-6 months. I searched out a single owner, low millage model with a very comprehensive service history, (serviced every 12months regardless, often after only doing couple of thousand miles since the last service), along with full receipts to collaborate history, and every MOT from the first one, which I picked up for what I though to be a reasonable price (£1200). I can honestly say I've been amazed with this car (I knew they were good - I was a vehicle mechanic for the Met Police for years, so I know a thing or two about vehicles), but this car is amazing, especially for its age. It's the SE LUX version, and comes with A/C, Climate Control, Cruise Control, Information centre, Full Leather interior, Electric windows all round, 16' Alloys with 205/50 tyres, as well as all the usual Volvo kit like heated seats etc. and even at 16yrs old, every last switch and button, feels like new, and everything works without a single fault, and it even still has the original tool kit, book packs, and cargo net (still in the carry case in the spare wheel well) in it. I know it has a lot to do with the service history and previous owners attention to detail, but even so, this is a fantastic credit to the original build quality. Yes it has a few body scuffs (it's 16 yrs old, what do you expect) but nothing I couldn't have remedied easily if I felt like it. In fact it drives so well, my wife prefers it to her 2008 Fiesta, in fact the ONLY thing it lacks is Bluetooth, but a aftermarket kit has cured that! In a nut shell, so far this car has far exceeded my expectations, so much so that we are considering getting rid of the Fiesta and keeping this.