Help! 1995 Volvo 850 with 95K?

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.

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.

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

Mercedes and BMW are also very well made cars, much better than the average Ford, Chevy, Kia, etc which are so common.

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_

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

cheers,

Henry

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

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.

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.

OK, fair enough.

cheers,

Henry

Some people take care of more than one car, and don't make the notes that you do.

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

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

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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