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Comments
Going down hill the weight shifts to the front wheels, the rear wheels can then lock up easier.
The pulse is what your feeling with the abs cycling.
As with any old car, look at the maintenance records.
Timing belts on those old cars were every 60-80,000 miles depending on model and year.
Engines are very robust, electronic failures are the most common thing.
If the car has been well maintained I wouldn't be afraid of it.
All my fears are gone. Now I just have to pay for the 80K scheduled maintenance.
I actually installed my Volvo roof rails on my 850. I had to remove and cut those strips to fit the new rails. The rubber strips are probably only available at a certified Volvo parts dealer because they have a steel core and are specifically designed to fit the body panel seem for the 850 wagon. If you want cheap you might be able to get some decent ones at a junk yard. They are rather simple to remove.
Peace,
Another source for comprehensive parts is Borton Volvo . Borton Volvo (a dealership) has decent prices, and lots of sales on parts, it seems. I've gotten good deals when I've found something there.
How much of a gamble is this?
Hey if it were my car with that kind of miles on it I say...sure why not, but then I know the true history of my car and it'll probablly be really dead (i.e. 197K) by the time I get rid of it.
Advice skip this particular car. 94's were very problematic. This one in my opinion probably has some serious repair bills undisclosed with it's sale. If U R shopping for a $5,000 car I would not get and 94 850 turbo.
Honestly, I think you might be barking up the wrong Volvo Tree. Go out and get a clean early 90's 240 for that kind of money and skip the head ache. The 850 is a really nice car and most every owner loves them to death outside of their sometimes astronomical repair costs.
We have a 96 non-turbo wagon with 75K on it and have had no major problems with it. 96 seems to be the year things got a little better at Volvo with their quality assurance program. BTW- regular maintenance on an aging 850 ain't gonna be cheap.
Best Wishes
To give you an example, this is the list of things I've done in the couple years I've owned my car:
Brakes (rotors and pads) $780.00 (I splurged a little and got Brembo rotors when OEMs were a little less.)
Exhaust $300.00
Tuneup $100 (bought the parts and did it myself)
Thermostat $100
Repaired exhaust manifold gasket leak $120.00
Battery $100
Tires $450
Stuff that really should be done:
New steering rack ~$600 (slow leak in the present one)
Fix faulty A/C $? (I'm afraid what they'll tell me)
Shocks ~$500
This is in addition to regular oil changes and routine stuff. A lot of the items on the list are wear items and can be expected to be done to any car, but Volvo parts are not cheap (you can source them yourself for some savings...there are many good websites for this.)
My point is, although these are really great cars, very safe, etc., they're also progressively more expensive to keep running in top form as they age. This is true of any car, but European cars tend to cost more to maintan than their domestic or Asian counterparts. I'm not trying to dissuade you from buying a Volvo; I'm just giving you fair warning so you know what you're getting into.
Oh, and you should be able to get that '93 850 (I'm assuming it's a sedan; there was no '93 850 wagon) for about $4,000.
Good luck.
Mind you, I have just spent $500 on a new set of not over the top tires, a third set of brakes brakes etc. know very well what a really nice older 850 can cost. I love the car and probable would do exactly as Lancerfixer has for his 940. However I have to agree that one should never own a modern Volvo on a budget. (BTW-a 93 850 is included as modern although barely)
After the trans has been replaced then you'll need a new airconditioning unit......which then after replacing that there always seems to be incessant rattles in the dash.....etc., etc., etc.
Do not buy a modern Volvo on a budget, they are seriously a luxury car with a low brow snob appeal. Believe it or not I bet we'd buy another one when our 96 850 is dead. Now how is that for a mixed review? Most modern Volvo oweners could have chosen and afforded a BMW or Mercedes but they simply liked the Swede better. Don't think you are buying some sort of modern European Chevy Caprice when you go for a Volvo these days.
2 cent from a low brow-
Peace,
F.
Now.... post that on your Volvo's bumper and people will believe you mean it.
Price is $5,000 with new Turbo, Ac evaporator.
He's also willing to repair anything up to 1 year for parts cost and he lives 1 mile from me.
Yea or Nay???
How's the rest of the car? I can't imagine w/ 150k it's pristine, but has it been in a major accident? How does the transmission operate? What about the suspension? It'll ride stiff (turbo, and 850s in general do), but shouldn't have rattling suspension pieces.
However, $5k isn't a ton of money, right? But, that's just my opinion.
What worries me is the new Turbo. The turbos in the 850's were pretty reliable, it should not have needed to be replaced.
I'd take a long hard look at hte rest of the mechanicals.
I like the idea of the way you found this car and the verbal agreement that this seller is willing to stand by and fix the probalems at no labor charge. Does he own the shop?
The 850 is the "new" Volvo platform from which most current Volvo's are derived. The old rear wheel drive platform are completely different machines. They were more Chevy Caprice in their nature and Swedish road going tanks. The new Volvo's are quite buttoned down and sportier in nature.
Do not relate your friend's 760 experience to what you might expect with an 850.
Javadoc- maybe you can jump in here but it is my understanding that the 850 engine was a totally new power plant. Along with the fact that it is a front wheel drive car it was a nearly ground up new design from the Volvo's we'd known before.
My final concern is that you have documented proof of the work that is claimed to have been done on this car. An automatic transmission replacement on 93-95 850's has been a common complaint and it alone could cost $2,500-3,000, of course a lot of that is probably labor.
I own a 96 850 auto wagon with 82,000 on the odom. I have seen none of these problems with my car that you are reading about. If Dad is not a big mileage guy and the tranny is good, you probably are not too far off for $5,000.
Best Wishes,
F.
I had all kinds of warpage issues w/the stock rotors, until I installed some quality slotted units. Haven't had the problem since.
my .02
My car is on it's second set of rotots since new. The first set was resurfaced just before we bought the car the second set I assume was Volvo certified since it was done at a dealership. Where did these slotted rotors come from Jav and how much did they cost?
My car's brakes still hum when you apply moderate pressure while stopping on a decent but I've been assured that this is most likely the ABS working. The car stops no problem and there is no shudder felt in the steering wheel so I left it alone.
Peace,
D.
ipdusa.com. It'll be your favorite Volvo shopping spot if you don't already know about it.
I have metallic pads, and they're pretty noisy. They squeek nicely when cold, but they stop nicely, for stock calipers. The rotors are about $200 a pair.
Thank you.
You are looking at a rare bird on that VW lot but I'm affraid I already see a lot of potential road kill with buzzards already circling in your future with this car.
My recomendation, since you obviously have not deeply researched the past history of 850's posted on this board is that you not buy this car.
Here are my reasons: You state it is being sold by a VW dealership, i.e. a total "As Is" purchase. Heck, I'd bet even they would not have a clue as to what potentially could be wrong with this car nor would they likely disclose it to you anyway.
2nd: If you are going to buy the car used from a new car dealership they will not disclose anything to you about the true condition of the car beyond the summary of it starts, it drives, and the brakes and blinkers work. They will not have any of the previous owner's records on what repair history this car has been and if they did they would have immediatly chucked them in the trash for legal reasons before they put the car on their lot for sale.
Potential Problems in a Nut Shell with 850R's:
1. Transmission, has this been replaced?
2. Evaporative Cooler/Air conditioning unit,
has it been replaced, and now does your
dashboard now squeak?
3. Does this R still have all the orginal rims
with the low profile tires and are the rims
all in good condition?
KCC- these are the major problems you'd need to know about before buying an 850. If any one of them becomes a problem after you own the car you are looking at an additional 1/4 of the bargain price you think you are gonna pay in repair bills. If you still want think you want to this car go to really qualified independent Volvo mechanic and get a total no $'s spared inspection on the car.
If I were to hazard to guess, the owner of this Volvo traded it in for a new Passat Wagon or Tourage and probably knew some hefty repairs were lurking under the hood of this car.
So think about it and research, research, and research this car some more.
Peace,
Frederick
Be wary of this particular car, and have it looked at very closely. You said it doesn't have the Volan wheels... I wonder why. What kind of rims are on it? Some nice HREs or some cheapo rims? That will tell you volumes of what to expect from the vehicle, imho.
Still... pass. There are others out there in seriously fine shape for good money.
Thank you.
I also recommend getting some good rotors (Brembos or Zimmerman slotted rotors), or warped rotors will be the norm.
Still... I'd be wary of this car, service records or not. The motor should still have tons of life left, but the miles worry me for the transmission. It'll set you back $3k-$4k if that goes out on you.
Alot of people replaced the low profile tires on those cars because of ride and tire issues so no concern there.
ANY car w/ 137,000 miles isn't going to be a paragon of reliability, there will be things that need to be replaced.
I'd have an experienced Volvo shop look the car over and go from there.
The problem was that the right rear passenger window would go down no problem when my friend activated the switch but it would not go up unless I activated it from the forward console.
Any good cheap ways to maybe solve this problem without ripping out the entire interior door panel? I hate doing that sorta stuff cause invariably there are fragile plastic clips that you don't have a clue how they opperate until you break a few. Then the panel never seems to fit back into its orginal position.
Questions: #1 Can the rear door window switch be easily pulled without removing the panel? #2 What are the tools and tricks? #3 Is it possible to just lie to you friends and tell them you'll bring your Yugo next time they want to go touring in Napa?
Thx,
F.
Your potential purchase concerns will be nearly identical to KCC455's except for the rims.
I have not comment on the price because beyond price and mileage nothing else is listed. It is within the ball park though.
Peace,
F.
I'm considering buying a 1997 Volvo 850 wagon ("S" model? Probably the base model - 168 hp, no sunroof) from an individual (the current owner). Current owner bought the car from Volvo in 1998; it had apparently been an "employee" car before then. I do not know the seller.
Car has almost 68,000 miles, new catalytic converter, new O2 sensor, new brakes and rotors about 15,000 miles ago, transmission was serviced about 10,000 or 12,000 miles ago, owner claims no electrical or AC problems. Car looks very clean on the outside and my gut tells me it was probably pretty well maintained, but I haven't yet looked under the hood or driven. Owner wants just shy of $9000.
1) Any general thoughts?
2) Anything to be concerned about other than the general possibility of big repair bills as the car gets older?
3) Does the asking price seem fair, high, etc.?
Thanks very much!
-- Doug
The 97 reads like it is pretty norm in the miles and brake department. The O2 sensor and catalytic converter replacement on top of the brake and rotor job probably killed the "joy of ownership" for this Volvo owner.
I have not had to replace an O2 sensor or catalytic on my 96 w/ ~84K miles so I don't know what that costs. Probably a pretty penny or two.....or three. Not a happy experience I imagine.
My guess is that after the last repair bill for this O2 sens., catalytic convert. on top of brakes and rotors this owner got wet feet about the up-coming ~70K mile scheduled maintenance. I don't remember exactly but I think ours was a timing belt on top of the second set of brakes and rotors. Call a Volvo dealership and find out what and when exactly that maintenance is and how much they charge for it. I'd deduct this from the selling price and make an offer.
The 168 HP engine is the "base" non-turbo engine like my 96. If the car U R looking @ has leather, dual power seats, in trunk CD player, moon roof, alloy wheels, third row seat etc. then the $'s U state R maybe close to market value but still maybe on the high side.
Best Wishes,
Frederick
If you are gonna spend $10-12K, may I suggest you spend a while and read maybe half of the prior postings. The tranny problems mostly relate to 93 and older models. In the late 90's the 850 Wagon became the V70 and that is a slightly different bird.
In the 850's the CD player was only a single CD w/ an up-grade remote trunk unit available for multiple CDs. The system won't blow your sock off if you R an audiophile but it works pretty well.
94-97 is the 850 you want. 97 is the last year it was called and 850. After that it became the V70.
Later,
F.
Also check engine light is on. New O2 sensors and major tune up were done. I also changed the mass air flow sensor. I'm thinking it is a vacuum leak. Comments? (90,000 miles, auto trans, non turbo.)
http://home.earthlink.net/~vicrocha/
$130.00 later everything works fine. He was prompt and I would recommend his service.
Swapping out for a single CD player unit should be no problem. I'd get one out of a junked 850. Seems like only the base 850 came with a cassette only unit so U should have no problem locating a since in dash CD unit.
Happy New Year,
F.
On the 850 I would check the following:
1. Timing belts should be replaced every 70,000 miles; $260.00. At the same time you’ll put on a new serpentine belt, about $75.00.
2. Brake fluid flush? $105.00.
3. What is the condition of the brakes?
4. If he has not replaced the ABS Module, chances are it will go bad in the next 5-10,000 miles. Cost at dealer about $550.00.
5. I would pressure test the A/C.
6. Why doesn’t the horn work?
I would try to get the car for as close to $3,000.00 as possible.
I’m not as familiar with the 960.