Best Volvo used 1993 onward?

Hello,

I am looking to purchase a used Volvo in North America.

So far, I see 240s, 700 series, and 900 series - all very good - but I am worried because these cars are getting pretty old. 1986 Volvo 740 wagons are pentiful.

I am looking into the 850s - how are they for reliability, mileage and price?

What would be the best used Volvo to get for under $6000?

Opinions please!

Thanks,

Tmuld.

Reply to
Tavish Muldoon
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Love my 1993 960 wagon. 140,000 miles and going strong.

Reply to
OlsenSax

The best bets are the '95 to '97 850. My experience has been they get

25-27 mpg local and 29-31 mpg highway. Mine have been very reliable.

The Volvos to avoid are (reason being the others are better):

960 '95-97 S90/V90 ¹97-98; S40/V40 ¹00; S80 ¹99-00; V70/XC70 ¹98-01;

The ones that have the best reliability record are:

240 '91 & '92 940 '94 & '95 850 '95 - '97 S40/V40 '01 - '02 S60 '01 - '03 V70 '02 - '03 S80 '02
Reply to
Stephen M. Henning

Hi Steve,

What's the problem with the '93 240's?

Andy I.

| | The ones that have the best reliability record are: | | 240 '91 & '92 | 940 '94 & '95 | 850 '95 - '97 | S40/V40 '01 - '02 | S60 '01 - '03 | V70 '02 - '03 | S80 '02 | | -- | Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net | Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA, USA | Owned '67,'68,'71,'74,'79,'81,'87,'93,'95 & '02 Volvos. | The '67,'74,'79,'87,'95 and '02 through European Delivery. |

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Reply to
brackenburn

My 1994 945TG (940 Turbo Wagon) with 150K+ miles (original engine, turbo, tranny, radio, paint and just about everything else) runs like a top, looks great, and is still tight.

My 1992 944GL (940 Sedan) was also a great buy.

Reply to
GC

It is essentially the '92 240 since the 850 came out in '93 replacing all 240s but the wagon. There were not enough made to have a statistical sample. I would surmise it is as good as the '92, hence a best buy.

Reply to
Stephen M. Henning

Reply to
Rob Guenther

Phew! That's a relief, Steve. We have the '93 240 wagon, built in March, end of the line.. BTW, 240 sedans were still being produced in '93, as well as wagons.

Andy I.

Reply to
brackenburn

For reliability and minimum cost of ownership in that range I would buy the best non-turbo 940 I could find.

I'm not impressed with the problem rate on my '96 850. They have expensive problems like ABS controllers and A/C evaporators.

John

Reply to
John Horner
940's & 960's.....w/some tweeking, you can make the 940 very quick and responsive...for not too much $$...
Reply to
~^ beancounter ~^

Most '93 240 sedans were leftovers. The 850 was introduced in '92 in Europe and '93 in the US. When the pipeline became full of 850s, they stopped making 240 sedans. Dealers had a little trouble unloading the

240s and gave excellent discounts. The 850 was priced only slightly higher then the 240. However, no 850 wagons were built for '93 so any wagons sold were 240s, etc. The 850 was such a big improvement over the 240 that I switched to a sedan that one year. The '93 850 sedan held its value at least as well as the wagons had. In previous models, the wagons always held their values much better than sedans. If you look at competing makes, the Volvo is one of the few that has a wagon.
Reply to
Stephen M. Henning

Please tell me how! When I replaced my 740T with a 940 nonturbo I was amazed at how much power I had been taking for granted all those years!

Reply to
DOn

Reply to
Rob Guenther

Reply to
Dave Danielson

beancounter ~^

I think he was referring to a 940 Turbo...

Reply to
James Sweet

I think he meant what he said. The 740 was a turbo and the 940 wasn't and he had been taking the 740 turbo for grated until he got the nonturbo.

Reply to
Stephen M. Henning

i am refering to the 940t's...not the non turbo versions...they were a bit slow, but still, an ok car...i drove one up here, at denver altitidude, for > 200k miles.....you just have to "plan ahead" when driving.....

~^

Reply to
~^ beancounter ~^

In article , Rob Guenther wrote: :If you're looking at resale values, the 900 series, especially the :technically complex 960 is the bargain... They have terrible resale values :in comparison to their original price... The 240's still have the best :resale value, at least here in Souther Ont. : :Maybe people were afraid of the added gadgets in the 960, and it drove :prices down... maybe it was the low #'s produced.... who knows, but the :technology in them doesn't seem to break very easily. Everything still works :in ours, and the few people i've talked to who have/had one.

the 960 is a bargain if you do your own mainteanance. however, my mechanic prefers not to work on them - too complex - so i drive a

940T. they are not as great bargains, but they are more refined than the 740s and 240s of the same era - mine is a '91.
Reply to
arthur wouk

Start at

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and go from there.

Gary

Reply to
Gary Heston

Well i have have quite a few volvos everything from the old classic

142 to several 242,244,245 and 740´s but i must say that there is no more reliable car than an old 240 they are very boring to drive but they are reliable as hell,the car i drive today is an old 88 745 non cat with 182 original hp and i must say that it has been also very reliable i have had some small trouble lately but that was fixed then i changed the fuel relay a small cost 40$.

Lj sweden

Reply to
Lj

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