Help! 1995 Volvo 850 with 95K?

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Daniel Anderson

I just ran across a 1995 Volvo 850 4 Door sedan with 95K miles for $3750.
I've been looking to buy a Toyota/Honda for under $5000 and ran across this.
But, I'm totally Volvo illiterate. Is this a good model and year? Are Volvos
reliable? The car has only had one owner and seems to be well-taken care
of -- can I get the same mileage out of a Volvo as I could a Honda or
Toyota? Chime in, anyone, please!
 
i have a 1995 850 GLT with 122,000 miles on it and I love it....just keep
the maintenance up and you shouldn't have a problem.
 
Daniel said:
I just ran across a 1995 Volvo 850 4 Door sedan with 95K miles for $3750.
I've been looking to buy a Toyota/Honda for under $5000 and ran across this.
But, I'm totally Volvo illiterate. Is this a good model and year? Are Volvos
reliable? The car has only had one owner and seems to be well-taken care
of -- can I get the same mileage out of a Volvo as I could a Honda or
Toyota? Chime in, anyone, please!
Click to expand...


There's a few issues with the 850's, but they're well documented and
they're overall good cars. I'm not aware of a car that lasts as long in
general as Volvos, there's quite a few of them running around with well
over 200K on them and I've seen a few with the 300K badge on the back in
my area. Heck mine will be deserving of that badge in about a year if
things keep up.
 
In <ADbgf.1311$Nx2.902@trnddc09>,
James Sweet said:
There's a few issues with the 850's, but they're well documented and
they're overall good cars. I'm not aware of a car that lasts as long in
general as Volvos, there's quite a few of them running around with well
over 200K on them and I've seen a few with the 300K badge on the back in
my area. Heck mine will be deserving of that badge in about a year if
things keep up.
Click to expand...

On alt.autos.mercedes and alt.autos.bmw, you'll find lots of people
who'll say the same about their MBs and BMWs. One of my cars was a
1981 300TD wagon with just over 350K miles. Ran great, minimal
maintenance - until Katrina hit. Living in the South does help with
the diesel though. I just looked at a 84 BMW 633csi today with
223K miles, but the asking price was too high. Car was in great
shape.

To the OP - any good European car that's maintained well will outlast
a Toyota or a Honda. But - maintenance will usually be more expensive.

AC
 
On alt.autos.mercedes and alt.autos.bmw, you'll find lots of people
who'll say the same about their MBs and BMWs. One of my cars was a
1981 300TD wagon with just over 350K miles. Ran great, minimal
maintenance - until Katrina hit. Living in the South does help with
the diesel though. I just looked at a 84 BMW 633csi today with
223K miles, but the asking price was too high. Car was in great
shape.
Click to expand...


Mercedes and BMW are also very well made cars, much better than the
average Ford, Chevy, Kia, etc which are so common.
 
Daniel Anderson said:
...can I get the same mileage out of a Volvo as I could a Honda or
Toyota? Chime in, anyone, please!
Click to expand...

If by 'mileage' you mean 'longevity', then, as others have replied, yes,
indeed. Well-maintained Volvos last a very long time.

If, however, you mean 'fuel economy', then...well...maybe not. :-)

cheers,

Henry

'95 850T with 71K _km_
 
Daniel Anderson said:
I ran across a 1995 Volvo 850 4 Door sedan with 95K miles for $3750.
I'm totally Volvo illiterate. Is this a good model and year? Are
Volvos reliable? The car has only had one owner and seems to be
well-taken care of -- can I get the same mileage out of a Volvo as I
could a Honda or Toyota? Chime in, anyone, please!
Click to expand...

I had a 1993 Volvo 850 and have a 1995 Volvo 850. It is a very good
model. We get about 25 mpg around town and around 30 mpg on highway
driving. We get dealer service every 10,000 miles and will keep the car
for at least 180,000 miles and then sell it privately. It is still like
new. The only problem I had was with the automatic transmission. The
pnp switch failed causing the idiot light (a flashing up arrow) to come
on. The dealer misdiagnosed the problem and fixed other things before
he finally (through help on this group) was told what the problem was.
I have a review of my 850's on my website.
 
Daniel said:
I just ran across a 1995 Volvo 850 4 Door sedan with 95K miles for $3750.
I've been looking to buy a Toyota/Honda for under $5000 and ran across this.
But, I'm totally Volvo illiterate. Is this a good model and year? Are Volvos
reliable? The car has only had one owner and seems to be well-taken care
of -- can I get the same mileage out of a Volvo as I could a Honda or
Toyota? Chime in, anyone, please!
Click to expand...

I have a '96 850 and like it very much. As with any car of that age,
problems are going to start coming up and they can be expensive. Known
big dollar trouble spots include the ABS controller and A/C evaporator.

If the vehicle has an impecable and complete service record you might be
on to a good buy.

John
 
Henry said:
If by 'mileage' you mean 'longevity', then, as others have replied, yes,
indeed. Well-maintained Volvos last a very long time.

If, however, you mean 'fuel economy', then...well...maybe not. :-)
Click to expand...


My non turbo, manual transmission 850 is completely acceptable from a
fuel economy point of view. 20-25 MPG in local driving, 28-33 mpg on
highway trips.

John
 
I have a 95 850 turbo wagon that I purchased with 60,000. It now has 115,00
and has been very reliable and a joy to drive even for a wagon. Earlier 850
had automatic tranny issues but improved with the 95 model. The only costly
repairs were the a/c evap changed at 100,000 and the fuel pump at 110,000.
Where are you going to get a reliable used car that could last, with proper
maintenance, another 120,000 or more for $3750? Ask the guy for the
maintenance records. If he took good care of it, don't think twice.
 
If the vehicle has an impecable and complete service record you might be
on to a good buy.
Click to expand...


People always tend to say that, but I don't think I've ever even seen a
used car with what I'd call an "impeccable and complete" service record.
When you buy used, you take what you can find, check it out as well as
possible and if you like it, go for it. You could get a complete dud
with a great service record, or you could pass up a sweet ride because
the paperwork wasn't saved.
 
In <2uwgf.243$Dx3.143@trnddc07>,
James Sweet said:
People always tend to say that, but I don't think I've ever even seen a
used car with what I'd call an "impeccable and complete" service record.
When you buy used, you take what you can find, check it out as well as
possible and if you like it, go for it. You could get a complete dud
with a great service record, or you could pass up a sweet ride because
the paperwork wasn't saved.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

I'd say that knowing that major maintenance has been done is a good idea
- like timing belt changes, tranny flush, coolant flush, brake pads.

Something you can tell while test driving - warped rotors, other unusual
sounds.

Little shit like oil changes, I don't care too much about - can tell much
more by looking at the oil, and other fluids.

AC
 
James Sweet said:
People always tend to say that, but I don't think I've ever even seen a
used car with what I'd call an "impeccable and complete" service record.
Click to expand...

Then you never bought one from me. Mine are always serviced by the
dealer that sold it to me. The dealer transfers the record over to the
new owner. No problem. I think all dealers will do that.
 
Aawara Chowdhury said:
Little shit like oil changes, I don't care too much about ...
Click to expand...

Heh. The single most important thing you can do for your car.

cheers,

Henry
 
In <1h6f1al.1yu2snh4fz92gN%[email protected]>,
Henry said:
Heh. The single most important thing you can do for your car.
Click to expand...

If you change the oil yourself, you're not going to have any
records of having done that - and I was referring to having
records of maintenance, not the maintenance itself.

AC
 
Aawara said:
In <1h6f1al.1yu2snh4fz92gN%[email protected]>,



If you change the oil yourself, you're not going to have any
records of having done that - and I was referring to having
records of maintenance, not the maintenance itself.

AC
Click to expand...


I do 100% of my own maintenance, from oil changes to engine/transmission
swaps, so if I sold a car it would be in fantastic shape mechanically
since I'm super anal about that stuff, but it wouldn't have any
maintenance records for the whole time I'd owned it.
 
Aawara Chowdhury said:
If you change the oil yourself, you're not going to have any
records of having done that -
Click to expand...

Erm...why not? You take the receipt showing what oil and filter you
bought on what date, you make a note of the odometer reading on the date
of the change, and you stick it in the folder with the owner's manual
and the other maintenance records. OK, so this is not _proof_ that you
actually performed the oil change. But if you are scrupulous about
taking care of your car and have 'official' documentation for getting
other things done on time, then a prospective buyer will most likely
recognise your 'good faith' and accept the receipts as evidence.

Having said that, I will add here that I keep these records entirely for
myself. I am 54 years old and my '95 850 has only 71 000 km.; if it
lasts another ten years or more (and why shouldn't it?), I expect (and
hope) that this will be the last car I ever need.

and I was referring to having
records of maintenance, not the maintenance itself.
Click to expand...

OK, fair enough.

cheers,

Henry
 
In <1h6f3md.y0m0gptv3rzhN%[email protected]>,
Henry said:
Erm...why not? You take the receipt showing what oil and filter
Click to expand...

Some people take care of more than one car, and don't make the
notes that you do.
Having said that, I will add here that I keep these records entirely for
myself. I am 54 years old
Click to expand...

I'm 48, and have never kept records of car maintenance. I do keep
records of major items purchased (new exhaust, tyres etc.). We're
down to one car now - my wife's '89 240 that went to Texas with us.
My car was totalled by Katrina.

AC
 
Aawara Chowdhury said:
My car was totalled by Katrina.
Click to expand...

Unlucky, mate. That of course is the kind of thing that even the
best-kept records can't help. No hurricanes here, thank luck, but my
nightmare would be having my 850 totaled in an accident that was 100%
not my fault, because I know full well that any insurance settlement on
a ten-year-old car is never going to come close to reimbursing the
actual value of this lovingly-tended, little-used one of mine -- not to
mention the cost of replacing it with something comparable.

cheers,

Henry
 
John Horner said:
I have a '96 850 and like it very much. As with any car of that age,
problems are going to start coming up and they can be expensive. Known
big dollar trouble spots include the ABS controller and A/C evaporator.
Click to expand...
What's the issue with the ABS controller? My 94, with 220K turns the
ABS light on occasionally, and shows almost every fayult in the book
when I read it. ABS still works though, even when the light is on.

(Only major repair needed on mine was a leaking rear crankshaft seal)
 
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