Hi all. I am considering purchasing a used mid 90s volvo 850 turbo wagon. I have always loved the looks of these cars and finally decided I wanted to buy one. I was initially looking at the V70 XC, but in my price range, I can only get a late 90s model and I have been warned against one of these because of problems with the AWD system. So, now I am looking at 850 turbo wagons. I am looking at vehicles with high miles (90k - 130k). I will be using this as a second vehicle and for any long trips that I may go on.

Anyway, now to my question. What do I have to be concerned about when looking at a mid 90s 850 turo wagon? What are common problems with this vehicle that I may run into? Do these vehicles have significant problems to the poit where I should consider another type of vehicle?

Thanks, Mike

The '96 and '97 850 and the '98 SV70 are mechanically/electronically similar. The main difference between the 96-97 850s and the '98 70s is that they have the later body style and somewhat better ergonomics, eg. with the window switches in the driver's door. But they still have a throttle cable (and, unfortunately the also have the leaky evaporators, just like the 850s).

Avoid the AWD versions and look for lots and lots of stamps in the service logbook.

The surveys on Kinos's website point out the common trouble spots. http://kinovolvo.velez.ws/

Sad weekend. I have 158,500 miles on my '98 and for the first time I needed to add one pint of oil between changes. :(

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 158k mi, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, e-codes, V-1, Mobil-1 since new

97 is the best year for the 850 turbo. (Mech told me that.) It's also the last as the V cars came in 1998. That mileage, I would suggest: Check AC, has the t belt been changed? routine main. Trans fluid changed? Volvo doesn't sched that, but I do our 2 97 turbos every 30 K. It's cheap to do. Break fluid, I change thermostat every 30K along with anti freeze every year. But I do over kill. But it's all fairly inexpensive, until you get to the steering rack, and the AC condenser. PNP sw will come into play. And so on.

Also, look in the 700/900 FAQ. There are a few 850 tips there.

(Wouldn't an 850 FAQ be nice on the Brickboard? I could name 3 or 4 guys here who could write it very well. Just the general tips on buying used would be very helpful to newbies.
Easy to ask for, but not easy to get!!).

Don M

Thanks for the help guys. After viewing kinovolvo.velez.ws, I am really debating if I want to take on one of these beautiful cars. I love the looks, performance, and saftey, but I am not sure if I am ready to take on the potential problems. I was hoping to buy one of these cars and get 200k trouble free miles. I had always assumed that Volvo produced better vehicles than what is built here in the US. I guess I was wrong.

Remember that you are looking at forums where problems are discussed. I have a 96 850T that I bought new --103k miles now. I maintain (myself mostly) the car carefully and don't abuse it by driving it hard (lots of full throttle accelerations, hard cornering, hard braking, etc.). It is the best car I have ever owned and I intend to hang onto it for a good many more years. I used to trade cars about every 2-3 years. I certainly don't expect a trouble free next 100K miles, but how many cars can you expect that from?? This 850 looks great, is very well built, safe, and a blast to drive because it handles well and has a ton of power. And I get 28 mpg!

You don't always know the driving habits or maintenance diligence on these forums, or whether they bought their car used from someone else who mistreated the car.

Mnn, Well I would not be dissuaded by whatever you read on that site. You see it seems that Volvo owners epect more from their cars, and tend to know more about them (and notice when little things go wrong). In my opinion, an american car owner will just hand money over to the garage to fix whatever problem whereas a Volvo owner will come online and complain about it :)

I have owned 4 Volvos now, and I will probably never buy another brand for several reasons;
1. I know enough about Volvos now to do a lot of repairs and maintainence myself and save lots of $$
2. safety - one of my Volvos was totalled by a drunk driver and my boyfriend and I were not hurt at all, that is very valuable to me. In another car there is a good change we would have had leg injuries or worse. I have checked out the independant crash ratings - that rate cars in realistic crash situations, not the insurance ratings which penalize for repair costs... and Volvos are still the safest cars on the road and always have been.
3. Reliability - no they are not perfect and some years/models are worse than others but friends with other cars have way more problems than I do.

A few rules of thumb;

- old RWD Volvos are generally more reliable and easier/cheaper to fix

- maintainence makes the car. If you (or the previous owner) takes good care of your volvo it will last a very long time. Neglect it and it will lead to expensive repairs.

- clean the flame trap every year, check PCV nipples and system
- clean throttle body
- flush coolant every 2 years
- flush transmission fluid every 50k or so
- change oil regularly and use VOlvo brand oil filter
- run the A/C every week even in winter to keep it from corroding
- run the heat in the summer sometimes to keep heater core from corroding

So, buy a Volvo from someone who understands the above, and continue to do these things yourself, and you will have a car that you can expect 300k miles or more from. Good luck!