Hey guys,

My 1983 Mercedes just died, and I am now looking into volvos. I found a '96 volvo 960 sedan which I really love, but the mileage is a bit high at 150,000. How far will these cars usually go? How sturdy is the transmission and the A/C? They are asking $2900 for it, which seems a little high, unless it'll last me for another 75,000 miles.

Thanks -

 

High Mileage on a 1996???? That's about 10k a year. In all honesty, as someone who wholesales cars on the side, that car is under mileage. Depending on the condition $2,900 seems about average money, as long as it is in exellent condition. The 96's were bulletproof cars. Those will last forever as long as you take care of them....

 

First of all, welcome to the world of Volvos.

If it's well-maintained, there's absolutely no reason it shouldn't go 250k miles. If you're willing to replace some things as they go out, 400k isn't out of reach on one of those 5 cylinders.

Oh, and you can get a nice 960 for under $2500. Talk to him about it, see what he says.

 

I haven't seen any 960's with much more than 200k. I sold one to my cousin with 205,000 on it and I expected it to go another 100k. Most of the people that purchased those cars were more mature and did not drive much. I picked up one 2 years ago with 53k on it. The thing rides like a dream and it gets almost 28 mpg on the highway and I don't think it has ever been tuned up.

The 1st one I had was driven real hard on the highways on the weekend. I wrecked it and got the important stuff fixed before I sold it to my cousin, and purchased the one I have now that looks EXACTLY like it.

Price does not seem bad but try to get them down a little. Make sure the timing belt, tensioners & roller has been done within 50k or get it done yourself. Other than timing belts I don't think I have done anything to it. Oh, I did have to get a plug or wire replaced once, it was missing, and the sunroof started leaking.

It's a straight 6 cylinder and I would think it will go 300+. I wish I drove mine more but it's my wife's primary car and she can not drive now.

I love it, super nice car that can roll down the highway.

 

The lifespan of a car depends on two things. How much are you prepared to spend on maintenence and parts, and how long do you REALLY want it to last?
The 940's are a fundamentally very reliable, well refined car and any repairs on them are not horrendously expensive or difficult, so as long as you accept that any car will need money spent on it at some stage you will be happy.
If you want an old car that requires zero maintenence, well, I can sell you a bridge cheap!

Regards, Andrew.