There's a 1996 850 turbo with 31000 miles on ebay.

I have an 850 and a V70. No issues on either. Yes, they are harder to work on than the old 240, but they drive better and have more safety features. Just make sure you can trust the person you buy it from and it has maint records. Read them before you buy. You don't want to be surprised later.

I like the 95 because I can read the codes myself. Autozone for the V70. Both of mine have high pressure turbos. I love the rush of speed. I don't think I would want to be passed by an aging Volkswagen Beetle while going up hill :)
The turbo is well made and will last the life of the engine.

Klaus
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98 V70Rawd(108Kmi), 95 854T(88K mi), 75 164E(173K mi)

I say dont get an 850 at all. I owned mine for approx. one year and I bought a well maintained 850. I could not trust the car - every month there was something new and every month I would think this has got to be it for a while. I was proactive in my maintenance too.

I dropped three grand in no time - I could afford to maintain the car, but who wants to? I was so desperate to get out, I bought my next car while still owing money on the 850 and took a loss. Fortunately, the car was fully functional at the time I traded it in, although I think one of the new bearings was going bad - again!

I bought a Mazda6 - V6 - the car is sporty, handles better than the 850, and I have yet to have any problems. I will have to admit - it does not get up and go like my turbo 850.

Honestly - anything other than engine block, you have to wonder or worry about.

Rear spring bumpers come loose. Check the "front" motor mount under the crank pulley. Thumps when going over bumps mean a front strut bushing is probably bad. Check closely for signs of burned tranny fluid. Shouldn't be too much wrong with that mileage but warm the tranny up good with some freeway miles. Come to a stop (not on the freeway) and shift to reverse and back a few times. Shouldn't clunk too much. If there's any question about whether the timing belt was changed around 70k miles or not get it replaced ASAP. Rear engine seal shouldn't start leaking anytime soon. The non turbo is definitely not a fast car. Check for the presence of a cabin intake air filter. This will forstall expensive ac evaporator problems. If the "recirc" mode is always used this will help also. If you do get the car just go ahead a replace the camm sensor if it hasn't allready been done. It's easy to do and costs about $50. It's going to fail soon.

Doug--everything Erik said on the earlier post is good advice. However, I would look around for a 97 GLT, rather than a 96. In 96 the GLT engine was aspirated, i.e. about 160+ horse. The 97 GLT has the light pressure turbo with 193 horse, which is what I drive. When you get in a jam, misjudging the distance when passing a car, that extra thirty horse will keep your hairline from going back sooner than programmed. Given today's driving conditions, instantaneous response with an automatic and the necessary horsepower behind it, you really need it. Unless you're a very conservative driver living in the country, I wouldn't have that heavy a car with that little horsepower. Additionally, I would never buy an 850 without the trip computer. Being able to check the mpg after a trip will tell you instantly whether your O2 sensor is going/gone or that you have a hole or leak in a vacuum line. Ditto the winter package, which includes seat warmers, traction control, and headlight wipers. You can tell looking at a front pic of an 850 if it has the winter package by whether it has the little headlight wipers or not. There are a lot of very cheap but beautiful 850's out there from Texas, southern Cal and Florida that do not have the winter package. If you're from any of those areas, forget it. If you're from a northern state, don't buy one without. Dick

I've had a 93 850 GLT (the original) for a little over 2 yrs now. Here are a few things I'd check out of experience

"timing belt records" - interference engine, if the belt breaks engine is done very expensive repairs

"rear main seal" - check to see if its leaking any oil, this again is another expensive repair which happens around 100k+

"rotors / brakes" - just the basics, but no worries since this car has tons of brake dust

the stock speakers suck, not sure if you care, but it is very easy to replace if you are handy with a soldiering iron. Also the radio can have issues with volume control with age

The interior usually is pretty good regardless of age, just check your normal stuff.

email me at erikill@gmail.com if you have any more questions, I love the car although they can be high maintenance :-)