|
|
|
I ve had a few RWD volvos, and im totally into the preformance aspect of the beloved brick, im also a mechanic so all maintenance is done by me. (ya may have seen threads by me in the RWD forum:P) Im very versed with the RWD volvo, but im looking for a first car form my younger sister, and im looking for something that will be low maintenance and easy for her to drive. Its would be RWD all the way for me, but for a first car, and the handeling aspect and predictability of a FWD vs RWD, espically in wet weather, may sway that decision. Im thinkin I may look at some FWD cars. Budjet is 8 grand, but id like not to spend that much. Basically my question is what have people seen with the 850's and other FWD models, in terms of common problems, failures, reliability. I want to guage what i may expect to see in a FWD that will be in the family for a long time. I was told by a local volvo shop to steer clear of 93-94 850's, mainly because of electrical problems. Any info, comments, suggestions are greatly appreciated!!!
Mark
--
1985 765 Turbo totaled 6/25/03 Saved my life. Volvo for life. 1990 765 Turbo, mods galore with more to come!
|
|
-
posted by
someone claiming to be Punxsutawney Phil
on
Sun Mar 7 00:35 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
|
|
Free replacement airbags? From VOLVO???? They won't even cover obvious safety stuff like the ABS modules that always fail!
As you have discovered the NA 940 is sooooo slow that even Consumer Reports, that pinnacle of rational car-buying behavior, recommended springing for the turbo when they were new. Better to have extra HP when the cement mixer is bearing down on you in the acceleration lane.
I was going to suggest a 940T (or a Camry) but I see you're already there. I have a '98 V70T5 that's probably worth about $8k but I doubt most other $8k ones have been as obsessively maintained. If they've been well-maintained they can be OK, if not they can become maintenance nightmares. If your sister fits the typical new Volvo buyer demographics the maintenance costs of an FWD Volvo won't bother her. Otherwise, suggest 940T, Camry, Accord or Subaru.
Don't forget the snow tires if you go with the 940T!
Resources:
Car safety: http://www.carsafety.org/
Consumer Reports Best and Worst Used Cars: http://autos.yahoo.com/consumerreports/best_worst_used.html?refsrc=autos/eyak
850-SVC70 Common Problems - click on the owner's survey: http://kinovolvo.velez.ws/
http://www.volvospeed.com/maintence.htm
-Punx
|
|
-
|
|
|
Thanks for the info phil...funny you should mention subaru, cause this volvo is gonna replace my parents extra car, an 82 subaru wagon. Owned since new, has 92k on the odo, never left us stuck, but man i hate that car now, cant wait to dump it. and snow tires, not here in sunny los angeles :P
Mark
--
1985 765 Turbo totaled 6/25/03 Saved my life. Volvo for life. 1990 765 Turbo, mods galore with more to come!
|
|
-
|
|
|
1995-1997 850 would appear to be what u'r looking for... 1995 is obd I, 96/97 is obd II i believe...whether or not that matters to u is up to u...codes access may be the issue. but considering u have turbos, i would suggest getting the turbo from the following years:
1995: 850 turbo, hpt
1996: 850 turbo, hpt
1997: 850 glt, lpt or 850 turbo, hpt
u could also get some of the t5r and r cars available. but considering it's for ur sister, the glt (97 only) or turbo would probably be a better buy with their 15" and 16" standard rims respectively...these cars tend to get rough with 17".
engine and tranny seem to be of good reliability, just make sure the tranny is flushed according to service recs, also make sure the engine is stock, and not over boosted with aftermarket chips unless u feel like u would get one... turbo seem to last at least 150k... small amounts of oil may be seen leaking from the turbo, but that's normal... electrical system, only pnp switch for the gear selector and the trip computer switch seem to be the big issue...simple items to replace. the ac needs recharge at around 70k...and people have experienced diff things about what needs to be replaced for the ac... main thing is to look and drive the car, make sure the interior doesn't rattle incessantly...very very annoying in my car (which i've had from day 1...so these rattles have started to take a hold of my old car)...volvo's use of bio-friendly glue doesn't help either... suspension rattles are also worth checking out... oh, the airbags would appear to be near the 10 year replacement time...so be aware... speakers sometimes fail due to the plastic mounts...
good luck...
|
|
-
|
|
|
good post..
10 year replacement on airbags now extended to 15 years (if you take your brick into the dealers for service they SHOULD change the stickers...
For a first car I would AVOID th turbo cars...just to damn fast IMHO for a first car....(particularly in FWD where you can smoke fronts going round a corner with too much right foot...)
I have both FWD and RWD bricks...I would say the FWD handles better in absolute terms...push it too fast into a corner and you get progresive understeer..
BUT the RWD car lets go much sooner into what I think of as progressive and controlllable power slides (but then again i have over 500000 miles of experience behind the wheel) ...dont ask me what the FWD does because I havent managed to push it that far yet (way scary before the point it lets go...)...but i suspect whilst it takes a LOT longer to let go when it does it will go far and nasty...(from my previous experience with FWD...)
I think on balance I would go FWD partialy for the handling, partialy for the newer car and largely for the increased airbag count over most RWD....
Maintenance..well my 850 compaired to my 940t..nothing in it, perhaps the 850 is in some ways easier for everyday stuff ...
|
|
-
|
|
|
Hey, tahnk both of you guys for the info, its exactly what i needed to know. As far as code retrieval goes, ive got the equip at work, so mainteance would not be a big deal, its just how much of it am i going to have to do. Im thinkin no turbo, espically for my sister, being a first car, dont want to have to worry about her being hard on the turbo (no warm up or shut down time, is all im worried about) driving fast, i dont think she would. But i dont want to get her a car that wont get outa its own way gettin on the freeway, thats why i was going with a 940 turbo (the non turbos are dogs) but ive driven the 5 cyl non turbos, so i think it would be fine. Thanks again for the info!!!
Mark
Question though, what is the deal with the air bag replacement at 10 or now 15 years, cause my 90 760 has an air bag, and i know its origional. Is that a free thing they do? or is it one of those things they tell you you should replace but then charge you 2 grand for the bag.
--
1985 765 Turbo totaled 6/25/03 Saved my life. Volvo for life. 1990 765 Turbo, mods galore with more to come!
|
|
|
|
|
