I am looking at possibly buying a used 1994 850 wagon, 120K miles. Automatic, turbo, leather, 15" alloy wheels - all original. It has received correct maintenance and repair from the original owner whom I know very well. Basically perfect mechanical condition, and as it sits, the car needs tires, brakes, and an alignment (according to the honest owner).
The price to me would be very low, but I'm concerned about costs and reliability down the road. Of course, any thing could be a time bomb - transmission, turbo, etc. And I get it that some level of expense will be required to keep this car going into old age. But if anyone has thoughts on what I'm looking at with this car, I would appreciate the info. Just as an example, something like the valve guides needing replacement (which I understand Volvo now requires replacement via a re-built head versus the individual guides replacement) seems like it would start to approach the book value of the car. I'm willing to accept a certain amount of yearly maintenance/repair cost, but I don't really want to dump $3-5K every year into a car with no book value.
Can anyone help me get a realistic picture of what I would be looking at with this car?
I've always like this car since it's introduction, and I can do a lot of work (such as brakes) myself.
Regards - Dave