Ok so I'm a reformed hot rodder in my late 30's and while I have never owned a Volvo, I have rode in a few friends older Volvos. I'm just tired of muscle. I can personally attest the the crash resiliency of a Volvo as I was in one when we were hit in the rear quarter at around 40-45mph and my friends 83 Volvo GL Turbo was hardly damaged yet the Ford F150 was toast (its still had paper plates too).

Ok well enough going down memory lane. So I'm looking at buying a '95 850 Turbo with 106k on the clock. If this falls through I have a few more I'm looking at, a few are even turbo wagons. My questions are:

1) As long as a major failure doesn't happen, are Volvos expensive to maintain?

2) How complicated are these cars to work on, pending it isn't something major?

3) And this one is to satisfy my inner hot rodder, how friendly are 850s to mods?

 

Very nice, 52 views and not one reply. I'm loving the Volvo community. I guess I will come back around here if/when I get one and see how that works.

 

I'll tell you my experience ... I had the following: 144 / 262 C Bertone / 1800 ?? (wagon) 240 /740/ 760/ 940/ 850 and presently a 1998 C70.
The worst one: 262 C Bertone beautiful design in and out car, as per the engine is the worst ever, you'll need to buy a Peugeot 645 carburator to feel the power.
Best one for power: C70 no a good pick up but when the HPT kick after the movement .... is amazing it can take anyone.
Best ones for DIY repair: 240 / 740 / 760 / 940. Same engine, plenty of room and you can make that engine works forever.
Safety: 144 / 240 / 262 C / 740/ 760/ 940 / 960 / 850 / C70. Saved twice my father's and once on my kid's life. Roll over and a drunk driver crash from behind on my father's side accident (different cars 240 and 740) and a head on collision on my kid's car (760 turbo with 274,000 miles).
My C70 (150.000 mls) is in stage 2 right now; acceleration is great and is getting a new S60 intake exhaust manifold, 3" exhaust pipe, new ECU? .. new 302 mm brakes .. so far I'm happy ... I use Premium gas .. Syntetics Mobil 1 oil (planning for ams oil) volvo spark plugs ... the best ... I'm very happy with this one and I'm still learning, is not as easy as the 940 (repairs) but I get my kiCks leaving BMWs and others behind. I didn't touch the S60 / S80 / X ?90 and all the other (Ford) stuff ... too many bad stories ...
Best family car forever: 940 / 740 / 240 (wagon or sedan)
timing belt ... pumps ... cap / rotors / intake manifolds .. whatever .. it can be done. these cars are just great !!!! They run and run .. electricaly is a pain but you can do it yourself too.

 

Thank you for your reply. That is quite the laundry list of Volvos you have owned. You have owned more Volvos than I have Mustangs and that's saying something. I'm 99% set on one of two 850 turbos, unless a nice S70 pops up in the area.

 

Welcome to the forum. You really know how to endear yourself to the forum.

1) They aren't cheap to maintain but if you take care of normal maintenance you can keep from having some major problems. e.g. change the timing belt at normal intervals to keep from having to replace the head because you broke the belt and bent some rods.

2) Some computers but not as many as in today's cars so kind of in the middle of the pack on difficulty of working on.

3) Good number of mods available. Check out IPD web site.

 

Thanks jks2. I guess I'm just used to some of my other forums where almost everyone at least says hi. That being said, thanks for the reference to IPD. I can see that they are going to get a log of my money once I get everything checked out and in order on which ever 850 I get.

 

A lot of our members that have been around for awhile don't frequent the new member area. That's why we recommend just saying hi in this forum and asking model specific questions in a particular forum. As a mod I usually look at all the new posts. Was very busy this past weekend therefore I wasn't on for a couple of days. Once you're around for awhile I think you'll see that we are a pretty helpful bunch, when we have something to add to the discussion.

 

850 turbo ... what to look for: ABS control module will go off soon (contact tech@autoecu.com $50 rebuilt, lifetime warranty). Outer CV rubber boot: keep watching that there are not broken. Clean all electrical ground connections.
On the 850 you have to watch the timing belt replacement time. (not on the 940 /740/ or 240s). The 850 turbo is not as powerful as the C70 or the s70 but it will run and run . I hope you get the right Volvo car if not I will feel very guilty ... you have to learn to understand these cars ... when you do, you'll have a ride forever. Good luck!!!