Hello,

Last year, my beautiful 1-owner 150K 740 turbo wagon was totalled by a drunk driver who ran a stop sign, and I had to replace the car in a bit of a hurry. Luckily the insurance co. payed me the full value of the car - $5500, but I need a car to get to work so couldn't shop around easily!

I ended up buying a 1994 850 wagon, in nice-looking condition but 193k miles on it at the time (now 196k). The seller had onl had it a short time and I believe her that she was selling it due to moving to MA (I helped her move her stuff out of her apartment!) so I think she was truthful that she didn't know that it had any problems. It has all the options plus rook rack and accssories, CD changer etc etc. I paid $7000 for it, figuring I had a steal.

The history of the car is foggy, several owners and it was a Massachusetts car. Since buying it last May I've sunk a significant amount of money into it and it still needs work.

So far I have had done:
- front stabilizer bar replaced
- LF wheel bearing replaced (broken as result of abive no doubt)
- new front tires (also chewed up due to broken stabilizer)
- brake pads, brake service
(all added up to ~ $900)

And it still needs:
- replace leaking valve cover gasket
- possible leaking main seal, replace timing belt while at it 'cause no record of it having been done
(right now I just check the oil every week, add about a quart every week or two)
- A/C leaks slow, probably won't bother fixing
- needs coolant flush
- undetermined possible problem with transmission? This always happens in the morning when car is cold: sometimes it doesn't shift or locks out first gear (can't tell myself what is going on) -it over-revs when gas pedal is pressed, no power slow accelaeration. The car is auto with "tracs" and winter shift options. No warning lights come on. Occassionally (3-4 times since I got the car) the arrow that indicates 3rd gear/tracs or winter system on dash has been flashing and goes away after a few hours, but that doesn't happen at the same time as the physical shift problem. I am hoping that a trans fliud and filter change will help, perhaps some sludge is accumulating when car sits? I have read that if the fluid has never been changed at high milage it should be left alone -n is that true and if so why? Also possibly related - checked the trans fluid as according to the owner's manual and it looked bright pink not dark, but it was quite a bit above the "hot" line - I have not touched the fluid since buying the car.

So the quesiton is should I invest another $500 to $1000 in fixing this car up, can I count on it giving me another few years of reliable service, or should I sell it and get a cheaper, older 740 model like I used to have? Recently I saw an ad for an '85 740 GLE wagon, 190K miles 1-owner all records etc for $2000. I could sell the car I have for $5000-$6000 I think, pay off my bank loan owing on it, and buy the $2000 car outright - maybe even talk them down to $1500. Even if it needs repairs I'd still be ahead - except that the resale value would be so much lower and it's not quite as pretty. The car I have is very good looking and drives nice, but the burning oil smell has got to go :(

How does the reliability of the older 740 models and the 94 850 car compare - any stories to share?

Thanks for any advice or help!

-Tina

IMO, you would be lucky to get 1/2 of your cost back selling that car, even here in the SF Bay Area (I live south of San Jose). $3,000-$4,000 is probably closer to retail market value than in $7,000.

If you are not willing and able to maintain the car yourself, you are likely to find that keeping a 200k mile 850 in proper working order is going to be an ongoingly expensive proposition.

The A/C problem might be the common evaporator failure and it costs over $1000 to have fixed due to the huge amount of labor involved (www.volvospeed.com has some pictures of the torn apart dash required for the repair).

Personally I don't feel that the 850 (I own a '96) is engineered and built in the same overkill manner as were the 240 and 740 Volvos. Also, parts cost on the 850 is often much higher because there are fewer in the repair portion of their lifespan and thus much less aftermarket parts support. Aftermarket parts tend to drive down the cost of dealer parts through the competitive effect.

My gut feel is that if you spend $1500 now it will probably keep you going for awhile, but the day when the next $500 - $5000 repair bill hits could be anything from days to months to years away. It is a bit of a crap shoot.

My personal opinion of course. Use your judgement, not that of someone you have never even met!

Best of luck,
John

Sounds like your tranny problem is the PNP switch.

I agree with everyone else, I think you overpaid for the car, even for the Bay Area, given it's multiple-owner and East Coast origin and high miles. I would seriously consider unloading the car and picking up another one from LA or even travelling out of state. EBay is also another option (and I'm serious about this) as long as you have the right to inspect the car after the auction before forking over cash (which some sellers in fact allow).

Thanks for your input, both of you!

I should also add that I bought the car in San Francisco, and car prices (as everything else) are a bit inflated here, so I don't think it's as much a rip off as you may think (I see similar cars advertised for more around here). I bought my previous '87 740 turbo wagon here for $5500 but it had all the proper maintenance including timing belt etc before I bought it... so I think it was a great deal (and now it's gone... sniff... well my passenger and I didn't even get a stiff neck from the crash so I guess Volvo earns that safety rep)

I have been quoted $700 to $900 to change the timing belt on this car by 3 different garages. Of course the seals could be replaced at the same time, so labor would be rolled into one session. I've been told the terrible things that happen if that timing belt breaks, but I haven't been able to cough up the $700 to do it yet.

I also just read on Volvospeed about the PNP switch, sounds like that could be the problem and it is not too difficult to fix myself. But I know I am not up for doing a timing belt and gaskets!

What I am hearing is that this car can be very expensive to fix up and probably I should do what I need to make it sellable and unload it for as much as I can get, look for a lower milage car that has been better cared for. This car had 3 owners before me, which seemed like a lot for a 1994 Volvo. The milage is a lot of highway miles, since the student who owned it drive home to the eats coats 2 or 3 times in this car.

I'm going to look at the $2000 '85 740 Wagon tonight, they say they have all maintenance records and they are the original owner.

Hi Tina,

I am not a car expert but like to tell you about my 850.

I purchased a ’93 850 with 90k miles in 1999. It was a good deal but a risk because I took the word of the seller about its service record and history.

The seller lied about the timing belt being done. I was blessed that the original belt did not break before my suspicion got me to check and replace it.

I have put about $4k for preventive maintenance and fix ups, so far. When I got the car, I did any serviceable work I can think of, since there was no record (spent about $1500k).

Later I searched the cars history, called dealers in NJ area and found where it was worked on. They faxed me the record that ended at 65k miles when the second owner took over. The service record was ok not perfect (7k or more miles for natural oil change was an abuse).

The car is in very good shape and was curious about what the dealer would give me for it. I told one that I would be happy to get $7k (with 120k miles). The guy laughed at me. His was thinking $2k.

To me, the car has a good value. I have invested money into it and hope for few fix in the future. However, due to the age and high mileage it will not go for more than $4k.

Here are few answers to your concerns:

> possible leaking main seal,
Replace main seal may go for $700 to $900. I will hold off and keep engine oil at a good level.

> replace timing belt while at it 'cause no record of it having been done
This is a must. Costs about $250 with water pump.

> needs coolant flush
If there is no service record I would flush Break system, replace fuel & air filter, change engine oil and transmission fluid.

> undetermined possible problem with transmission?
I cannot tell from the symptom what may be problem. I had a PNP switch replaced due to flashing arrow and the car starting at 3rd gear. This PNP switch is a common problem with 850.

>I have read that if the fluid has never been changed at high mileage it should >be left alone
I would definitely change this fluid (……left alone: you may be talking about flushing it. I am not sure if one can flush the transmission system).

Advices about finding records and values:
1. Get service record from dealers (you may have to call out of state dealers and give them you car VIN). I am not sure if state discloses ownership information. You may try finding how many owners it had. Too many previous owners may not be a good sign.

2. Check book value on the internet for that mileage and condition (site example: Kellys blue book, Edmunds and etc).

Ronjon
'93 850

Tina-

I hate to tell you this, but $7,000 for 193K miles is a little steep.

It sounds to me that your PNP switch might be shot on your tranny. There are various posts as to how to replace and diagnose this switch. As far as your oil, you could just be leaking at the valve cover, but the rear mains are known to go on these. Rear Mains run about $1,000 to replace, a valve cover gasket is a much cheaper and easier fix.

I can't really tell you if the car is going to hold up for you. You're creaping towards 200K and any car can go at any time when approaching those kind of miles. I've seen 850's with over 250K on them, but mine at 128K caused me so many problems I had to sell it because when I fixed one $500-$1000 thing, andother one would go before the next oil change.

I would bring it to a good indipendent Volvo mechanic and have them look it over and tell you if it is worth holding on to. A compression test on the engine will give you a fair indication of the the engine condition. However, everything attached to these engines is no cheap fix.

In my honest opinion the old 2 & 7 series with 4 cylinder engines are far superior to the quality of the 850.

best of luck to you.
--
96 850 GLT 5-Speed- Sold due to astronomical repair costs.