im looking to buy a 1996 850 wagon for my fiance within the next couple days from this online seller.

we went to go check it out and he wants $2400 for it...

i guess ill start listing the info about it, and i need your feedback and maybe your opinions and guidance.

the body is completely perfect! not a single dent or anything. for it being a 1996 i would completely agree that it looks just as good as a brand new car. its absolutely gorgeous and the owner has done a well job keeping that maintained. the interior is just flawless. no rips or scratches. power everything

the bad:

engine has 241k on it. i know sometimes that doesnt mean anything in the volvo world, but the engine seemed to run quite well. i think it could use a tune up and some belt tightening, but i dont know much. engine/exhaust was loud but pick up was pretty fine, except when the ac was on. which is usually normal i suppose.

some of the electrical on the inside needs to be fixed. the head light button goes straight in and out loosely and can be a small hassle for it to correctly turn the lights on. it seems like a small short or something. a couple bulbs behind the dash are burned out..

and the last and final issue is the front suspension. it sounds like the bushings bc whenever we go over bumps you can hear it kinda clunk and move around some


and thats about it. the car runs fine and looks absolutely amazing for it being 10 years old... i need some insight from other volvo owners and some experts. were probably going to make the decision tomorrow

 

That's quite a few miles, but it looks like it's been very well taken care of. For only $2400 you can hardly go wrong with the body and interior being in that good of condition. You might want to get a pre-purchase inspection by somebody who knows Volvos. Now days you have to expect to pay around $3,000 to get a car you can rely on. So, to me, this looks like a steel for $2400. There are stories of these cars going well over 300K. That's my .02 cents. Good luck.

 

By no means am I a Volvo expert but when it came to buying a used 850 or 960 I read all the FAQ's and ran many VIN numbers (here in the States)
Sevral owners tried to say that all Volvo's leak oil (not true) this is a sign of a major expense (rear main seal)
I would drive the car hard then smell the tranny fluid (burnt smell bad) IMO all the cluster electronics should work when I test drive, could something simple or could be one of the many expensive sensors. When I drove a 960 and it needed a headlight assembly or some other part I would researched the replacement cost and adjusted my offer.
Do the bounce test, pushing down hard on all four corners and watch for a second bounce (bad) it should come up and stop.

Forgive me for going on and on it's just that we spent almost four weeks everyday searching for a Volvo we could love and drive for another five years or more without sinking a ton of money into. I feel I did my best when researching our NEW to us 1997-960 w/195xxx full power w/all the bells and whistles (cup holders also) picked this up for $1900....

Good luck in your search