I have a toyota corolla now and need a larger car for my children and I .
went to a local car lot that has a 94' 850 torbo.......on start-up it smoked then it faded shortly after.......that is good for me to get the price down but what problems might it have......bad eng.??.........it sounded good while running

thanks

 

It is very important to know what color the smoke is. It is not un-common for a car to smoke a little if it has been sitting somewhere for days then started. Also, if you can find out the miles and if they have any maintenance history, those details would help. The color of the smoke is important. Usually there is white, dark grey and black.

Here is a thread that may help you if you choose to purchase a used Volvo: https://volvoforums.com/m_72405/tm.htm

Sometimes when a car is cold, it will put out a little condensation smoke as I call it. After it is warmed up no smoke at all. I usually look for a puff of black smoke when the car is started, but this test is done with the car COLD and someone else starting it. I had a car inspected last week by a professional car inspector, and he let the car warm up, then pulled the oil dip stick out a little and looked for smoke coming out of the oil dip stick hole.

The professional car inspector cost me $160. I was able to talk the dealer down $1,200 with some of the inspection results. I should have knocked off another $300 but I needed his help and did not want to get stuck without it (needed to be picked up from the airport with the car).

Most importantly would be how the car drives. When you take it out, be sure to let it warm up before you put your foot in it. It is not good to gun an turbo with a cold engine. The temp guage will be square in the middle and Volvo's are designed to warm up quick, like a mile or two.

Hope things work out for you...

 

My guess is vent system not working properly.

 

I went today and spoke with the dealer
I started it up without him a small amout of white smoke came out of the tailpipe.
i looked under the hood and took the dip-stick out and there a vapor (looked white) coming from it.
drove ok for just around the block....need to put it on the highway.....didnt see any oil under the car....I will have it checked out friday before I buy it.

Cornell

 

yep tech guessed right the first time..its your vent system.if not taken care of, you will see oil leaks soon.but if it is reasonably priced i wouldnt let the pcv discourage me.see if you can work the dealer down some xtra $$$.

 

I would be willing to bet you got an oil burner there. Take it on a good test ride; have someone follow you in another car and tell them to look for any smoke out the tail pipe. Get on a long downhill, gas it up for an 1/8 mile or so, then coast for awhile; if it going to smoke it will do it here. If it smokes (white in color) during this test, count on adding a quart of oil every few hundred miles.

Also, as rspi says, have a pro tech ck it out thoroughly (including compression test and maybe even a cylinder leak down) before you buy! This will save you money in the long run!

Good luck!

 

I agree with gdog. Get a spotter and womp on it!