My 1994 850 Wagon has 135K, runs great and looks great. I love it. I just inherited my mom's old 1991 Honda Accord, however, and I'm thinking of selling the 850 (on which I owe $$$) and driving the Honda. I've had advice from two separate Volvo-specific mechanics to sell the 850. Are these cars really that costly to maintain as they age? Right now I know my car needs an engine mount, a CV boot, a new distributor cap & rotor. Possibly a new water pump, and soon the timing belt. Are there any people out there with high milage 850s? Do you regret the decision to keep 'em going? Thanks!

The 850's are great cars but eventually some become too repair needy to justify continued ownership. You should also be concerned about the AC evaporator failure on your car if it hasn't happened yet. Its going to depend how attached you are to the characteristics of the 850.

I had a '91 Accord EX sedan that I traded on a used '93 850 8 years ago and I still have the 850 - its been great. A couple comments about the '91 Accord if you haven't spent much time in one: No airbags, and even worse, it has the "motorized mouse" belt that slides in a track around the door frame. I had to learn to keep my head away from the thing anytime the door was opened or closed, I was always forgetting my lap belt because the automatic shoulder strap would trick me into thinking I was fully belted, and when you sit in the car the solid metal seatbelt bracket is 3" away from the side of your head. It seemed to me I had a big head injury coming in even a minor side impact. Beyond that, minor annoyances were the auto trans would "bang" every gear especially the 1-2 shift, and it rusted out in the corner of the rear quarter like every other '90-'91 Accord. Nice things were durable engine and interior materials, and I especially liked the styling of the interior that year. I had only 1 repair, an oxygen sensor. Overall a decent car but a clear step down in safety.

I'm not Anti-Honda. I actually traded my other Volvo, a '98 V70, for an '03 Odyssey last night. The third kid forced me into a van but the driving dynamics on the Odyssey are reasonable and the 240hp engine is outrageous.

Good luck on your decision.

Mike H. II '93 850GLT '03 Odyssey

I bought a 1995 850 GLT a couple of weeks ago. It has 147k miles. Items replaced in one week, Oil change $20, right side CV axle $70, Right front Caliper $47, New cross drilled Discs all around $220, Bosch +4s $25, Glove Box door fix $65, the new timing belt is on the rear seat waiting for a dry day $50. The windows are tinted $240. Also have the kit to do the rear door trim repair $?.
Volvos are not hard to fix. Find a Hobby shop maybe on a military installation near you that charges hourly with a lift and tools or do those things in your driveway or garage on jack & stands. The Haynes manual is a good thing to have but I did all of these repairs without any books, just some resourceful usage of the SEARCH function on this site. The CV axle took me 45-60 minutes (depending on who is timing) to complete and that would have been the most involved. Keep your Volvo, there is a certain degree of distinction involved in owning one, you won't get that in your Honda. By the way, all cars require maintenance, even HONDA Accords, CV boots tear and timing belts need periodic replacement, everything covered is maintenance and not necessarily, poor design or longevity. KEEP YOUR VOLVO.

A 240hp 2003 Accord EX-L V6 is nice Japanese interpretation of a Volvo 850T, right down to the big gauges, rotary HVAC controls and seat heater switch location.

A 1991 Accord isn't exactly the same kind of animal. I'm a Honda fan, with a Honda Oddy, lawn tractor, lawn mower and garden tiller, but I don't think I'd trade my V70 for a '91 (although I am considering an '04).

How many miles are on the '91 Accord, and what kind of shape is it in? Did they have ABS back then? Airbags?

My brother-in-law drives an '83 Accord that he gave to his son, his son gave it back to him with 280k on it when his son bought a new Civic. The '83 is a "freebie" and runs amazingly well for something with that many miles. It makes sense to my brother-in-law, who can afford to buy just about anything.

There are plenty of 850s with north of 200k around, but as you may have noticed they're pretty maintainance-intensive and it doesn't get any better when they get old.

-Punxsutawney Phil

Thanks y'all -- i'm soaking up the diverse opinions. Safety is indeed something I don't want to put a price on -- I almost died in a Jeep Cherokee (flipped five times) ten years ago. But I don't wanna ignore my pocketbook, either. Just finished losing an expensive battle with a 1986 740, and I know the 850's not necessarily going to get any cheaper. Maybe I should look into a Haynes manual. I'm sure some of this I could do myself. . . just a little bit of vertigo before taking that first step. Hmm. Keep the opinions coming. I'm taking a poll!

Which car would you rather be in if you Go End over End at 80 MPG. I am alive because I was in a Volvo when I was 3 that hydroplaned and went End over End 6 times. My family lived,,even our dog survived!!! Hondas are Great cars, but they too need periodic maintenance. But as far as total car strength integrity, I don't think anything matches the volvo. Just take the door apart some day and look at the reinforced Steel in the Volvo!!!

Having said that I have a 1995 with 125,550 miles on it. It has been flawless. Sure, I have replaced brakes, pads, rotors, timing belt, auxilary belt but I don't consider these out of the ordinary. The car is 8/9years old, zero rust (Live in NH), the velor seats are virtually new..no wear. There are few cars that look, and wear this well with time. My local shop has several (At least 5 that I know of ) 850s with well over 200K and one with over 350K. all with the original tranny's, engines.

Personally, I would stick with the Volvo even if it is a few more bucks to maintain. Integrity, comfort, style, economy and above all CRASH PROTECTION.

1995 Volvo 850 Wagon (5 Speed Stock) 125,550

1999 Volvo S70 (5 Speed) 96,000

Yeah, that's why I specified a 2003 Accord.....

Which would I rather have a Lincoln Navigator plow into the side of, a 2003 Accord V6 with side AND head airbags, or a 1998 V70 with seat airbags ONLY?

Based on the IIHS crash test the 2003 Accord performs BETTER in frontal crash tests than the S70 or S60 Volvos. As you can see there is a problem with structural integrity of the Volvos.

While there may have been MASSIVE differences between the safety of a 1967 Volvo and a 1967 Honda, I doubt there is too much difference now.

At least not enough to justify the trouble of exorcising the endless stream of electrical poltergeists.

-Punxsutawney Phil

I have a 850T. I've had no repairs on it since I've owned it.. about a year and runs the same (besides vac and free rotors that I got)
I also before that had a 90 Exr. I ended up replacing the whole front end.
Shocks/drive shafts/spings/balljoints (upper and lower) Wheel Bearings etc
Brakes - Front Rotors are expensive to replace - U cant do it yourself unless you have a press. And that Car had 160km (100mi) on it.

The items are your volvo that you need arent much (besides timing) but the honda may be due for it too?!