2002 V70 2.4 SE Petrol – New Owner Seeking Advice

[Georgeandkira]

The ETM fault is caused by "shedding" of iron oxide off a mylar wiper just like old audio tape wearing out. You should have plenty of time before you wear it out but the 20 year old strip may have plans of it's own.
One symptom of failed ETM is hunting. The central computer won't have steady position data. The fix here, again, well down the road for you, is to remove your ETM and have it rebuilt. No programming will be necessary.
There are companies in the UK with turnaround times of under one week.

The previous owner of my V70 was dutiful re maintenance but specified only regular oil be used. My car lived in a hot, moist climate and the engine, while well lubed and filtered, had black chunks within. I've used synthetic oils for years and they cleaned my engine well. The cost difference for a synthetic wouldn't be much.

Get this baby on the road. See if Summer driving makes the heretofore dormant dampers leak. In all my readings and experience, never have I heard of 20 year old dampers coming out of hibernation. This could be interesting.

Similarly, engines which aren't run are "always" said to have dried out seals and gaskets which will leak once the car is back in service. Going by that caveat, all you can do is hope the car's low use was evenly distributed over its life.

If truly idle you might want to examine the engine air filter and cabin air filter for rodent damage. However, the PO's annual service might have included filter changes. By the same token, the cabin air filter, may have been assigned a non-important / non-impact status and thus ignored.

You want the cabin air filter to be clean as a blocked one limits your AC's output.
Check your "Recirc" button. If it has one LED you take the plain paper filter (the thinner of the two) and if it has 2 LEDs you have the IAQS system which takes the charcoal impregnated filter (the thicker of the two).

I always tell people to run their windscreen washers as disuse lets them accumulate "crumbs" (aka blockages). Squirt away!

Needless to say, we're all jealous of you.

Best of luck with it. Also, get back with colors, overall description of condition. Does it have roof-racks? Does it have the booster seats built into the rear seat cushions?