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JO
Thanks,
Matt
1) I understand that three car seats fit nicely in the back. And that there is another seat in the way back?? Is this standard, or an option that I have to ask about?
2) What are the benefits or disadvantages of turbo? Do you pay extra for it?
3) Do all models and years recommend premium gasoline? If not, which ones don't need it?
4) I'm hoping to spend no more than $2000 - $2500 - which year do I need to be looking at?
5) How does the wagon handle in the snow?
6) I have always been a manual transmission lover - but never have driven a wagon with it. Any concerns?
A rear facing jump seat was available as a dealer or factory option.
2 Turbo offers quicker acceleration w/ a smaller motor. The 850 Turbo is more expensive than the standard 850 wagon.
3 Volvo recommends Premium unleaded in all their cars. However, you can use regular. I don't recommend regular for older engines.
4 If you find an 850 wagon for $2000, keep looking. A good one will run $5-7000.
5 Wagon is FWD, w/ proper tires snow is not a problem.
6 The Turbo was never available in the US w/ a manual. Regular wagon was available w/ a manual but extremely rare. Auto tranny is a good one, early years shifted a bit harshly for some.
PS-We need to use premium gas, what is regular unleaded bad, for 850 wagons? :confuse:
The 850 has a high compression engine that will cause the cheap stuff to partially combust prior to ignition.
This is not good.
The 850's computers aren't as advanced as new Volvo's in dealing w/ the cheap stuff.
Now we're debating between '93 940 rear-wheel drive wagon with 107,000 for $5000 and '95 850 with 197,000 miles for $3000.
Pros and Cons of each model from those of you with recent experience?
many thanks -
It is also a simpler car to repair.
When I bought the 850 it was a "new" architecture car from the ground up for Volvo and it was the leader to all new Volvos sold today. That was a sort of scary prospect for me in the begining but over time I have found our 850 to be very solid and realiable. We've got just over a 100K miles on the car with absolutly no problems. We moved from LA to SF and are putting far few miles on the car per year but the automatic transmission is churning away just fine and is a near neccecity here on the steep hills of SF.
LOL- I have been using regular gasoline in my 850 from day one since premium was not required by the owners manual. Maybe some day soon my mechanic will be the one having the last laugh . We drive a non-turbo so maybe that is the difference.
IMHO- I'd buy the 940 because it'll remind you more of your old 1971 and represents a better value for the money. $2k more for 90K less milage is the way to go and the 940 is a fine car.
Peace,
FREDERICK
I am not a mechanic but if you have had continued problems with this gasoline smell I would wonder if the fuel injector rail was maybe not properly reinstalled after the head was refitted. There are of course many different possible reasons for the the gasoline smell but I check the fuel delivery system first.
Best Wishes and please update us when you figure out what the problem was. :shades:
Tired of unreliable cars, my current wagon the mercury sable had the 'famous' head gasket problem which will cost over a thousand since coolant has leaked in tot he engine and other problem s will soon following woul dmake this repair! The car is so comfortable to drive but the damn mechanics are so poor! please advise,, jeff
There are 389 postings about 850 wagons in this forum. If you are serious about researching real life 850 ownership experiences I suggest you spend a few evenings checking them out. That will give you the flavor of what to expect should you decide to look to buy an 850 instead of a Toyota....dark chocolate vs. vanilla.
Many thanks,
Peter
There are quite a few indy mechanics who can work on them.
Yes, the parts are more expensive than american car parts.
Prem gas is recommended for best performance.
I also read that non-turbo Wagons are pretty sluggish. Will I have problems with these if I have to pass a truck on the highway? Or drive up the mountain with the car full of camping gear? How much worse is performance if you only use regular gas? I am also looking for fuel economy and maybe I should think of a smaller car, it does seem Volvos aren't too gentle on fuel use and definitely out of the question for my budget if I have to put in premium. Any feedback is appreciated.
From what I've read in other forums and JD Powers reviews (it does seem Volvos have their cult-like fans just like Mac computers or VW bugs so the postings here are a bit biased - no offense!), the 850 Volvos can have serious electrical problems that are expensive and time consuming to trouble shoot (e.g $1000 to fix an ABS control unit!). I guess all those electronic sensors are a mixed blessing. However I did not want a car that would nickle-and-dime me to death with $300 bills each time one of those lights goes on (I am not a do-it-yourself kind of guy) so I went for the Toyota which has consistently higher ratings. Maybe one day I'll be able to afford a new Volvo and then the warranty will take care of any check engine light problems.
(everything on fuse box is good as well)
Please advise if any brake switch I have to check in engine compartment..or any best bet to keep trying before I take it to dealer...
thansk any kind of help..
White smoke from exhaust. So much smoke I could not see cars behind me in day light. Then car died and had to be towed home.
What do you think the problem is? And should it be repaired?
I hope I am wrong because if I am not this is gonna be a heft repair bill. If the car over-heated when this smoking occured then you could also have a warped head ontop of a blown head gasket. In any case.....this is probably not somethin you'd wanna just leave alone. :sick:
What is the correct way to set it back to normal? And in case the regular way does not work, what are the tricks and workarounds to get set it back?
Thanks
Failing that, its time for a trip to the mechanic.
Any help would be appreciated.
Also one of the turbo hoses could be cracked or ruptured and the air charge isn't getting to the engine.
I would like to know if the front left wing, the front left door and the back left door of a 1995 volvo 850 wagon fit a 1995 volvo 850 saloon?
Thank you.
Thanks
Volvo Newboy
Great to hear your car made 200K. There are many possible troubles with any car that has that many miles but if yours was decently maintained you could be happy with the ownership experience. A couple of the major troubles, of which I've never had with my own car w/ 107K, are transmission failure, and aircon failure. These things are expensive enough that most people just give up and get rid of the car. There also is also continuing niggling little problems that some people just cant handle dealing with. If you have complete repair records you will be able to research this forum for possible problems you might want to have checked out. At 200K who knows what is yet in store for you. The 850 was a whole new platform for Volvo and nobody yet knows if they'll still be tootaling around towns in 20 years the way the old 740s still do. :confuse:
I have had a very pleasant ownership experience myself and plan on driving this car into the ground whenever that finally occurs. The car was paid off several years ago so I feel like every trouble free year after that is one more at no additional cost. My car is still crisp and enjoyable to drive and gets decent gas mileage to boot. :shades:
LOL- my wife and I had this discussion last week and I thought it was pretty much brand indicative. My wife, who is from Japan, has a very high expectation for what her personal automovite transpertation will deliver. She thinks Volvo has sunk into the Ford Owned abyss.
Now think......this currently is an automotive nightmare. I dont like mini vans, SUV's, or any or their kissing cousins.......I like a frickin Wagon. If you had to replace your 850 wagon with something else......what the hell would that be?