Is it ****ing worth it. Cause **** bro. Okay so. I found a 95 850 glt turbo on Facebook a couple days ago for $600. And she said it needs a new motor. It has 140,000 miles. But I really want soemthing like this to work on cause I’ve been into cars forever but never had the chance to learn or work on anything. I’m only 19 and this would be my first car. I have a couple thousand and I have a decent job that I could get money for the car. But don’t want to spend so much on it just for it to **** the bed a year later. I already found a motor with 87k miles for like $1,800 and my uncle said it would be another $2k to put it in. Lmk if it’s worth it. Oh and It has a brand new radiator brand new front struts brand new timing belt and tensioner

 

NO, it will never be worth it. If it was the seller would be fixing it himself.

If you got it running it would be at best a $2500 car. (if the transmission and ac worked, the interior was not falling apart, seat were not shredded, tires and brakes were new, etc) Run away as fast as you can!

 

Everything else is fine with it. It’s literally just the engine. It’s an old lady tho. So she probably just doesn’t want to put in the work

 

OK - what's wrong with the engine. Those engines are very reliable. Yes the cam belt can come off and bend the valves - but that's just a valve job - not an engine replacement. And if it needs an engine - that means whoever drove it either did not do basic maintenance, or was totally oblivious as to what the car might need. In other words everything else that needed attention was either ignored or not noticed. Not a good sign

And - how do you know the transmission and ac are ok? If it needs an engine that means it does not run. How can you test the transmission without the engine running?

Generally if a 850 comes into my shop and needs something major - head gasket, trans, major ABS work - the customers decline the work and just leave the car. They throw them away. I've probably towed off at least 20 850/s70s that customers have just left (and left ME with the towing bill)

So - I understand, you are 19 and excited about your new "car". I've been there and done that. When I was your age I had access to a Porsche 356 engine. So - I went on a mission to find a body - and low and behold I did - It was beautiful - white with a red (redone) interior. Only later did I find out that it was not a 62. It was a spliced body with a 62 front end and a 63 rear end. (window sizes were the tip off ) But it was fun!

 

As a 19 year old, if you are into cars and want to give a go at replacing an engine or rebuilding the top end then its a hobby and not about the money. If you are looking for a reliable car on a budget, fixing up a car with issues has its own math that works like this: Take the book value of the car from KBB - as hoonk's post shows its in the $1600 range for a car in "fair" condition (meaning its cosmetically rough or needs some minor repairs) then subtract the cost to repair the major issue. In this case if you plan on doing an engine swap and the replacement costs you more than than $1000 (ie 1600 minus the 600 you paid) you're under water. So specific to this car, you need to find out what is actually wrong with the engine and if you want to fix it yourself. To pay somebody to do the work is a budget killer here. If you can't do the work yourself, find a car that doesn't have major issues.

PS - if that's a 95, its a high pressure turbo per the trunk badge not a GLT. That year only had the T5,(and its R variant) and the NA engines. Good news is that the T5 is highly desireable so in good condition they can draw upwards of $3K. Best way to confirm is to open the hood and look at the engine code on the timing belt cover (something like B5234T ) and check for the over the engine air tube found on the turbo engines). One last thought - Also, $1800 for a used 850 turbo engine is way too much - $500-700 is more the market price for a B5234T replacement. The 1800 quote was probably for a motor from a T5-R (lol its the same block, just a different ECU tune - which you can buy on eBay....)

 

Define "worth it".
As a straight-up financial transaction? No. Of all the old cars to work on, a mid-90s Volvo isn't something you're going to make back your money on.

As an experience - learning or otherwise - or something to do because you want to do it? Maybe.

I've always liked working on cars. I went to technical school after high school to be a mechanic, but after I brief tenure as a tech at a dealership, I haven't made money as a mechanic in decades. I love nothing more than taking some old beater and fixing it up... but only if I like it. I like hunting for parts, and the war stories, and intimately knowing my car. IMO, these things are priceless.

Now if you're doing this with a daily, that is a whole different equation. I used to do that to, and it was stressful.

 

+1. I liked working on my 850T. Just didn't have enough garage space or a barn to keep a 250K mile project car otherwise I'd still own a BMW 2002, an Audi Quattro, a Jeep Cherokee (ok maybe not the Jeep) and the 850T Wagon :-)