855 glt or 965, opinions please.

[arnold]

Hi there !! I am looking to buy a wagon, currently have a 1993 245, very
happy with it, have all the books and do my own maintenance on it, but
looking to add another wagon to the house, I am currently torn between a
1997 965 with 138K on it, or a 1995 855GLT, non turbo with 122K miles on it,
they both go for about US $5,000. Any tips on estimated cost to maintain,
reliability and such would be greatly appreciated, since I am very happy
with the reliability and cost to operate of the 245. Another question, OBD,
I think they use OBD 2, I was wondering about things like oil reset and
such, are they done by flipping the key a number of times, pressing a reset
switch somewhere, or are these and other things dealer (bad around me) only.

Thanks

Arnold

 

[Robert Lutwak]

We sold our 1989 240 DL wagon and replaced it with a 1996 850 wagon.

Only the dealer can reset the oil change light (or you can buy a $100 tool
that does only that).

The 850 WILL require a new $3000 transmission.

The 850 may also occasionally kick out a check engine light
just-for-the-heck of it. You'll have to take it to the dealer, who will
read it for $100 and then charge you $500 to replace some component your 240
didn't have.

Otherwise, we like the 850. It's more comfortable than the 240 and just as
sturdy. It spends a lot more time in the shop and costs a lot more to fix
than the 240 ever did.

All things considered, I wish I could buy a brand new 240.