V8 Redux

[Lawrence C Katzenstein <Lawrence.C.Katzenstein-1@tc.umn.edu>]

Hi,
  Well I lost my small claims case against the mechanic that did the
timing belt on my V8 as I couldn't get the dealer's mechanic to testify
and the bozo referee wouldn't admit the letters from you kind folks into
evidence. So now I will have to go to district court and subpoena the
willing mechanic who works for the unwilling dealer. Even with the used
heads the bill came to $3000 at the dealer which strikes me as kind of
high. In fact, since the heads were $1500 and the installation was $3000 I
wound up with the same $4500 bill as the original estimate to rebuild the
heads. Go figure. My Volvo dealer in lower Manhattan (Wolf) was like that.
Every time I went there I always paid $1000 no matter what the repair. 
  So now I have the new UFO brake pads from 10,000 miles ago, a new O ring
fix to the power steering, a new bomb, and a new set of heads. The car has
112,000 miles and was reasonably maintained. What disaster should I expect 
next? How long will the tranny last? Any defensive measures that should be
taken (ie- S4 or A8 brake setups to replace UFO's or should I just forget
that since the rotors are okay for now?).
  Glad to have my car back, but it's like a Tennessee Williams
character-great in appearance but scary for what lurks below.
Best,
Larry