Hi All,

It's a 95 850 Turbo wagon with 155,000 miles. The odometer is broken, of course.

He bought it from his friend about 4-5 years ago. He put about 50,000 miles. He never changed coolant, brake fluid, power steering fluid. The shocks/strut haven't changed since he bought it.

The AC works!!! lol
The leather is great condition.
It has a broken front turn lamp front dent from Brooklyn parking.
A miserable person keyed the passenger side, sigh...
The major problem is turbo oil leak.

He's asking $2000. Should I not even bother with a test drive? Thank you as always.

Hi All,

Thank you all for your input & information. I will look for something else. He and I had a good laugh during a glove test. :-)


As always, thank you.

Given the issues you mentioned, had you thought of making a nominal offer of, say, $100-$200?

As an owner of a 1995 850 turbo sedan, bought new 21.5 years ago (and now with >200k miles), I would still say that this is the best car I have ever driven on both sides of the Atlantic and both sides of the Pacific (including several very high end German-made cars)! Of course, in our case, a lot of credit now goes to another member of this forum who really helps with the maintenance of our 850.

Hi YCT,

I want to be fair to him and to myself. The rear main seal leak is my major concern. I can give a shot to replace it but I want to spend my time wisely.

I may help him to replace the PCV breather & hope to stop that leak so that he can sell it at a fair market value. We are looking for a heated garage in Brooklyn. :)

My 1995 855T had a rear main seal leak when I bought it. I changed the oil with 10W30 and added a bottle of RMS sealer I found at Wallmart. After two tank fulls, I think the RMS stopped leaking??? There are other leaks, but now I will have to wait until warmer weather. I have already replaced the PVC system, cleaned out the PTC nipple, and reamed out the EGR valve.

I suggest to the current owner to do the same. Of course, it does take a few hours to pull off the breather box and a warm garage makes a big difference. As does a couple of beers!!

But the car still isn't worth that much, yet. The good 850's are getting harder and harder to find, 94-95 turbos. These cars are fast, comfortable, and safe.

When I replaced the plastic odo gear on a 1996, I have a mechanic look up the actual miles and then spun the odo gears to the correct mileage. If this is a replacement instrument panel, no one knows what the real mileage is and it can not be found out.

Timing belt will need to be replaced, along with water pump. All fluids changed. Who knows what condition the control arms are in, PS rack, oil cooler lines, radiator, tranny, brake calipers, ebrake cables, and the list goes on.

It will take a long while to call this one "reliable" and "dependable."

But, it could become a good car...
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new

Hi Klaus,

I gave him 6 options. I like the number 6. Find a heated garage, pull the breather, clean it with brake cleaner, put back together and wait for a good result. That will cost him $25 including a new intake manifold gasket. Not too bad. I will look into using heavier oil & seal leak stopper additive. As always, thank you. :o)

Looks like a $1000 buck car to me; but I'd be inclined to walk. These cars are cheap today cause they are old, but if you find one that had some maintenance and you can do some (or more) yourself, they are pretty solid. good luck.

Hi Guys,

OK, I didn't go for a test drive but I met the owner. The PCV breather system is clogged. The oil is leaking thru oil cap, oil dipstick & RMS. The timing belt hasn't changed.

I politely told him to sell it to other potential buyers. He told me that he doesn't want to lie about the leak & its possible bad outcome for a new owner.

So, here is a question of the day? Knowing all these issues, he wants to know how much the car worth? Please give us a fair price.

The interior is in a great condition. The AC is not super cold. I didn't test drive it because he will have a hard time finding a spot.

As always, thank you.

The leaking RMS would be a deal breaker for me. If you clean/replace the PCV and breather box the other leaks will stop. If the leaking RMS doesn't stop after servicing the PCV then the tranny will have to come out. Really BIG job! It is possible to stop an RMS leak by servicing the PCV. That worked on my 240. Might work on the 850 too if the leak isn't too bad....

MilanoMike is right - $800-1000 buck car.

http://s1170.photobucket.com/user/87_flying_brick/media/850/20160103_180556_zpskmnzsbma.mp4.html?sort=3&o=0

The odo reading is kept in the instrument cluster and you can get it from A-7. A cheap fix, there is an outfit in San Diego that will sell you a new gear for $9.99, check Ebay.

Last timing belt? Turbo return line gasket and O ring are also cheap. Struts and shocks are probably original, but that can wait until the weather gets warm.

I have an extra turn signal, left side? Knock offs are around $25.

Check the E brakes, the cables tend to freeze up or the shoes delaminate.

Check the ATF for color, time to flush is when it is dark red. Your coolant is OK so long as it is the expensive stuff.

On my 1995, the heat shield around the CAT came loose and caused a lot of rattling noise. I fixed it with an 8" screw clamp.

Because it is NYC, the price is almost reasonable. Deduct $500 if it needs a T belt soon - look for a sticker on the computer box - after checking the actual mileage.

The best thing about the 1995 turbo is the OBDI boxes in the engine compartment. That's why I bought mine.

To get the miles, watch Robert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K-1WChRr9k

--
Keeping it running is better than buying new

Hi Klaus,

"Your coolant is OK so long as it is the expensive stuff."
Good to know.

"Turbo return line gasket and O ring are also cheap."
He told me that the leak is the main reason for selling. I just don't get it why his mechanic didn't fit it... He said, there is no leak on the transmission housing side.

"Check the ATF for color, time to flush is when it is dark red."
His trans went bad, it has been replaced during his ownership.

"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K-1WChRr9k"
Cool stuff. I believe he changed the instrument cluster.

As always, thank you.

Pass. Changing the instrument cluster is a no-no in my book, there is no way to determine mileage of the car. A leaking RMS might be fixed with oil additive, might not... The RMS should have been changed when the tranny was repaired.

Cleaning out the PCV and the PTC will cost $150 in parts and 5 hours of your labor. But what if it is ring blow-bye?

This car was not maintained enough for a Volvo nut, unless you have a place to store it and wrench on it for a few months. Plus putting about $2000 in parts to get it mechanically sound.
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new

To the best of my recollection, the coolant was not changed in the 855T over the course of my wife`s ownership & no head gasket issues whatsoever. The radiator was replaced as well but not due to a cooling issue. The plastic bracket had broken on it
$2K sounds kinda` high to me especially given that it requires some work. We sold our wagon for $1K, maybe let it go too cheap. The only issue with the 855 was cosmetic in that Volvo`s "environmentally safe" paint had begun to peel in a few spots on the hood.
The guy who bought it flipped it within a few weeks & I saw the woman who bought it several months later. I introduced myself as the former owner & she said she was totally happy with the car.
Just my .02!
Rich

Others will give a mechanical perspective but my owner experience for 7 years was almost entirely positive. My wife commuted 100 miles 5 days/wk with the car for most of the 7 years. The only non maintenance issue we had over the period was whl bearings. Sold the car @ 400K & it was still running strong. Very comfortable vehicle for long drives & it had the HPT which was fun.
Just re-read your post & was reminded the turbo oil return line was replaced shortly after we bought the car.
Good luck!
Rich

Hi Rich,

That's great to know!

It looks like I need to spend about $2500 worth of parts to get to stage 0. After all said and done, how resilient is the 850 head gasket? He hasn't changed the coolant for at least 5 years.

Thank you.

At 98,000 miles, our '95 854 base blew a head gasket.

It wasn't just lealing, an inch or so of it could not be found.

This happened in '03.

On the other side of the coin, in 2013, I traded in out '96 855R with 185K on the clock - it still ran strong.

Hi SB,

I've owned 2 850's. A 93 and a 95. Sold the 93 but still have the 95 although it too is going up sale. After all, it is 20 years old and has it has 249k on the clock. I needed a newer, more dependable car for work. The 95 needs some work, but still runs well with its original engine and tranny. Should go 300k plus...

For informational purposes, neither car required a head gasket replacement. It is my take from reading this forum and talking to other Volvo owners that the older 5 cylinder cars (850, S60, S70, V70) rarely need head gaskets. Unlike the high mileage 4 cylinder RWD cars, it isn't typical for the head gasket to go on 850's.

BTW - the 95-97 850's and the 98 S70, V70's are probably the best of the breed. Simplest and most DIY friendly. And they don't rust...:)

Good luck,
J

Good luck selling your brick! Too bad, we don't live in the same city or state. That's great to know about the 850 HG.

I have been looking for our second car, it's really hard to find a well maintained car.

As always, thank you.

Don't fret about a spare car. There are a few V70 wagons on CL. Stay away from 2001-2. There are a couple of 2004's at a cheap price, I wonder if they pass inspection? Stay away from the XC90 that just got a timing belt change, and now doesn't run...

--
Keeping it running is better than buying new

Hi Klaus,

Thank you for making me feel better. Worse case, I can always look into 2011, 2012 & 2013 S60 models...

From your wallet's perspective, your best bet is to hold out for a well-maintained 850 or early V70 through model year 2000 (essentially an 850). A badly maintained example will eat your wallet!

The 850 does need some work, but the body and especially the interior are in excellent condition for a 20 year old car. It does need a good home with someone mechanically inclined.