A used car dealer i have bought at least 3 various Volvos from in the past called me with 2 more today. The one that piqued my interest this time is an 855 95 "sportwagon". It's an n/a. Car needs a few things, The #4 injector on the far right is leaking pretty badly, car is missing right side door trim, oil dipstick registered pretty low on oil, couple of quarts. Car has some servive records with it and seems to be in fairly nice condition overall. Have not driven it yet though, only has 111k on it and he wants $1500 for it. Just wondering what the designation "sportwagon" signifies on these cars, is it optional equip? suspension or what. I'm basically a 27&940 guy so this is a whole different beast to me. Have had, bought and sold, over 150 Volvos, lost count. Currently driving and loving my 91 745t w/244.5k miles on it. Bought this one a year ago Oct. w/235 one owner miles on it. Tom Wasney 27940aholic

Hi t_wasney...

You've been given some excellent advice. All the kind folks who have responded thus far are regular contributors to this board, and have always provided great suggestions.

After 95, 850's came with OBD II diagnostics, so the method of reading codes on this car is a little different, but it's quite easy.

The N/A 855 isn't going to give you breathtaking performance, but it is quite adequate.

The car has a few well known weak spots, such as the A/C evaporator coil (which costs over $1000 and is not a backyard job). The fuel pump and its relay are frequent bugs. And the tailgate can develop an enormous rattle (there is a very inexpensive repair kit for this problem... costs about $15). The car will also eat front brake pads and rotors if you do a lot of hard driving, or spend much time in hilly terrain.

On the other hand, the seats are terrific, and you certainly know about Volvo's reputation for safety. The brakes are excellent, the steering is direct, and the handling is surprisingly good. These engines routinely go well over 200,000, so many Volvo owners would tell you that this car has a long way to go, providing that it has been serviced regularly, and hasn't been in any serious accident.

The price being asked is quite low, so I think that you should spend a few bucks to have a good independant mechanic give it a good going over. Could be a good one, but they usually sell for twice that price if they're in good shape with no major repairs looming.

My car has 125,000 on it, and I love it.

If you keep the board posted after having the inspection done, you'll get some inputs that may help you decide whether or not to buy it.

Good luck

Marty
'96 855T

Spending $100-150 to have an Indy check out the mechanicals would be very cheap. When you take it for a test drive, listen for rattles. Look closely for replaced sheet metal because of collision repair. That car is not the fastest in the world and is hardly "sporty".
Down 2 quarts? You have an honest dealer, most would just top off the oil! If the SRS light is on, walk away from it. MIJ gave good advice about checking the dash lights with the key on and not started.
If you decide to buy the car, I have extra right side trim from my 95. It is NOT new and is slightly wavey in places. Shipping + $5.

Klaus
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(1975 164, 1995 854T, 1998 V70R)

Didn't notice which lights came on when i switched it on yesterday but after starting only the service light was on. Klaus, i notice you've got a 75 164, when i first got into my obsession with Volvos over 20 years ago i had 6 the first year, 3 of those were 164's. What sweet cars they are, looking at those motors was like popping the hood on a Ford Falcon etc. Except that the Volvo had nice smooth power to it, whereas the Ford could not get out of it's own way. Beautifully styled cars....... Tom Wasney 27940aholic

Are there any lights on the dash...if so, you should get the codes read. Make sure they all light up as you turn the ignition too...if not, the bulbs could have been removed. On this car, there is a diagnostic box next to the windshield wiper fluid-fill that you can read the codes with. If not familiar with this car, read thoroughly, the following site: http://www.volvospeed.com/maintence.htm Good luck on your decision....yes, $1500 is a great price if Most checks out. Check the transmission fluid too...if brown, black or smells burnt it could be bad, or at least it needs a good flush. A/C is a weak point and known to go bad on these...$1200 replacement of the evaporator that leaks because the entire dash has to be torn down to get to it.

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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon. My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.

Does the a/c compressor go on with the switch in the defroster position like 7 &940's. I did switch it to defrost to see if the compressor would kick on but it did not, the outside temp was in the 30's though so not sure if that would have prvented it from coming on too........... Tom 27940aholic

It's actually an optional badge that was available through the Volvo parts department at one time (don't laugh). It doesn't mean anything, except a Volvo wagon is probably sportier than uncle Bill's '79 Mercury Colony Park wagon was. It seems some dealers stuck 'em on the cars and some didn't. The 855T that Road and Track magazine tested in '94 had the badge.

If you just walked in here from a Toyota Camry and asked, I'd say you're nuts. But if you know Volvos you probably have some idea of what you're getting into.

$1500 seems a good price if everything works, or even if most of the stuff works. The big $$ repair items are the AC and the AT. The FWDs can be a dream if they're maintained correctly and a nightmare if they aren't. At least they don't leak like colanders and rust like the 240s. Have fun!

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 166k mi, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, e-codes, V-1, Mobil-1 since new

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair." -- Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

1500 is a damn good deal considering those things are minor to fix.
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87 244, 235K (sold) and 87 245, 314K (RIP), 95 850 GLT 158K---Woodstock, CT