Hi All, I'm considering buying a 1996 850 Turbo sedan for my 17 year old son. It would be our first Volvo. The car has 88000 miles on it. It's very clean, loaded, and seems to be in pretty good shape. It drives well, and is more powerful than I expected. The dealer, a used car lot that specializes in Volvos, is asking $5300. That includes a 60 day 2000 mile warranty. It may need some front end work, though, ball joints possibly. I have a few questions I hope the group can help me with:
1-How are the turbos on these cars? Do they last the life of the car, or am I possibly be looking at an expensive repair in the near future? 2-There is no sticker showing replacement of the timing belt (chain?). How expensive are these to replace? 3-How good are these in winter? Is torque-steer with the turbo tricky? I know front drive is usually good, but I've had front drive cars that I never trusted in bad conditions no matter what kind of tires I had. 4-What other wear items, other than the usual like brakes, can I expect to replace soon? 5-Are gas and maintenance reasonable? TIA to all posters!- posted
17 years ago