Hello,
Thanks for the advice on my post about trading my Ford Ranger for a Volvo 850. Anyway, I ended up passing the trade up, and I just sold my truck for cash. It is a great truck, but I want something with interior room and a little more performance.

I found a 1996 Volvo 850 Turbo Sedan with 166,000 miles for sale. It is at a dealership, and the owner is the bosses wife. The car supposedly has no rust or body damage whatsoever. It needs nothing and runs great. They want $3,000 for it. To me, this sounds like a great deal. Is it? Also, is this car, with that kind of mileage going to be pretty reliable for many more miles assuming it has been maintained well?

-Thanks

 

GREAT DEAL!
My wifes white one is 3K from 200K and runs and drives great.

 

I am sure it varies based on the sample, how hard it has been run, and how well it has been maintained, but a guy I know who is fairly meticulous and also isn't the type to beat on his cars had a Volvo wagon for 350,000 miles.

 

I would jump right on it for $3,000. 166K is not bad at all, and being that it belongs to the dealers wife, it was probably serviced regularly. Check the service records though, and it still would not be a bad idea to have a pre-purchase inspection by a Volvo mechanic. It's usually money well spent. Especially if they find something wrong and you don't buy it. I actually did that twice and did not feel like I wasted my money at all. One time the car was in Chicago and I am in Columbus, OH. Somehow I found an independent Volvo shop and they went and got the car for me and inspected it for $65.00 and told me it was pretty beat up and the paint did not match in some places. I was in the process of getting plane tickets when they told me. Actually ended up saving me money.

 

Way to go, Keith. I hope everything checks out with that turbo you're looking at. That price sounds great. See, it pays to be patient.

 

Go for it.

 

Yes pre-purchase inspection is well worth the money.

Visually inspect for obvious damage & fluid leaks. Test drive it, and expect a few hundred dollars worth of parts in the first few month. And most importantly, make sure that the timing belt has been replaced at every 70,000 miles /5 years and if not, have it replaced immediately.

Good luck to you,


JPN