Hello, I am looking at buying a 96 Volvo R with 113K. I looked at it today and it loved it!! However, there was smoke coming out of the dipstick and a drop of oil leaking underneath. The owner said he was not aware of either one and when he took it to his mechanic earlier in the day he did not mention either. He called his mechanic and confirmed that the smoke was caused by the PCV system and the leak from was from a valve cover. He is asking for 5,950 for it. Cosmetically its pretty nice and the only mods as far as I can tell are new shocks and springs and drilled rotors. He said that he can have his mechanic do all the work but not lower the price by much or sell it as is but for a "good price". He recommend that I have his mechanic do the work because he would charge him 1/3 of the price that I would pay for parts and labor elsewhere. Apparently he has known this mechanic for over 20 years and thats the reason for the cheap labor. What should I do? How do I know if the RMS is already blown on it? I apologize for the essay but I have very little experience with Volvos. Thanks in advance!

 

For starters, there is no such thing as a "valve cover" on an 850. The best term I have seen for it is from the Porsche guys that call it a"cam tower". The way the top end of the motor works, from the top down, is the spark plug cover - the one that says VOLVO - 20 Valve - to the upper camshaft housing, to the lower camshaft housing/ head.

The smoke from the PCV is plausible - If you wrench it yourself it is $140.00 + freight for the parts, figure $500.00 to $600.00 if you have it done.

The "valve cover" is not plausible. The RMS, when it fails,normally leaks more than a "drop". Could you tell where the leak was coming from? If it was dripping from the area where the engine and transmission mate up and it is not visible above that then it is, in all likelihood, the RMS. If the leak comes from above that in the same area it may be the oil line to the turbo. I don't yet own a turbo so my knowledge here is limited to the stuff I have read from others. The oil line problems to the turbo are not that bad to fix, a RMS is big bucks.

Unless it was a really pristine Yellow T5Rversion with perfect seats and perfect Volan wheels I am walking at that price. Keep looking, these cars are a blast to drive and they are very reliable when they get sorted out. You asked all of the right questions in your post so you have done your homework.

...Lee

 

I personally think it is overpriced, considering that the engine is not in perfect condition. A good owner would have serviced the PCV & oil leak. There are few oil-leaky locations on 850s, but they are all stoppable with proper care/servicebut this owner didn't bother.

I would consult Moderator JimKW as to what he thinks about the deal. Jim couldgive you a lot better perspective than I possibly could. Also, see what Moderator Tech thinks; the top-dog of the forum.

BTW, Lee provided a very accurate opinion already.

Good luck,


JPN

 

Lee's answers are right on, except that the yellow T5R was only made in 95. So we know it's not that car. I paid less than that for my T5R about a year ago, but mine did not have the original wheels. Does this one have the 17" seven spoke Volan wheels with good tires? If the answer is yes that's worth about $1,000 right there.

The guy should have the PCV fixed before you buy it or even before he sells it to anybody. Once he has it fixed, I would have another Volvo mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection at your expense. The mechanic he uses may be too much of a buddy of his to give you honest answers. Maybe not though, it's hard to tell. Once the PCV is fixed the oil leak may go away. With the clogged PCV that is causing pressure which will cause leaks. Ask the mechanic to find the leak when he does the PCV.

If it has the Volan wheels and decent tires I would offer him about $4,750 as is. What color is it? Both interior and exterior. No matter what, I would not buy it if it has the tan interior. I would only buy one with the charcoal/black interior, but that is my personal preference. Some prefer the tan interior.

In 96 Volvo made an orangeish red instead of the bright red. That is a very hard car to find, but I don't think it came with the charcoal interior, but not sure. The black ones are the easiest to find follwed by red then white of the common colors. I really like the looks of my white one with charcoal interior. Black of course is black, and you either like it or you don't. I personall have never owned a black car, but love the looks of them when they are clean, but too hard to keep clean.

That is pretty low mileage and the car in perfect condition would probably go for around $8,000.

Let us know what you decide.

 

Hey guys, so I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I took the car to a mechanic and he told me to stay away from this car. Heater core issues, pcv issues, oil leak is possibly from engine block and on and on and on So the bad news is that I will not own an 850 R anytime soon. It has been really hard for me to find one and will probably take me quite a bit to find another one. Do you guys have any insight as to where I could look other than autotrader, ebay and craigslist?? Thank you so much for all the info. You definitely saved me from a crappy deal

Thanks

 

I look on Autotrader mostly. I look on e-bay some, but for some reason I'm not sure I would buy one of e-bay. I've bought all three of mine from Autotrader. Just be patient and be willing to travel a little. I went 500 miles to get my white one and 440 to get the V70. Only had to go 200 for the yellow one.

I always seem to see them in the state of Washington and in California for some reason, but not willing to go that far.

 

don't be afraid to go to craigslist either. that is where i got mine locally! owner even financed for 4 months as long as i have full coverage at 0%....!

 

Got my Yellow one from Craigs List as well.

 

Thanks guys! You have been much help. I will try and be patient in hopes of that perfect T5R or R!

Cheers

 

When I bought my Yellow T5R from Autotrader I found it as it was being posted. I was looking at one on e-bay for a guy on some message board and I just checked Autotrader and there wasn't any. I went to e-bay and looked at the one he was looking at, actually called the guy and talked to him about it and told the buyer to not buy it. When I was hitting the Back key, I refreshed the Autortrader screen and a yellow one came up. Said it had nine pictures, but didn't have any. I called my son and he brought it up and had one or two pictures, then a few minutes later had all nine pictures. It was at a Honda dealership. I called about it and they were just closing. I called again when the opened the next morning, gave them a $100 deposit over the phone then drove three plus hours to Indianapolis to look at it. By the time I got there they had three other people waiting to find out if I bought it or not. So I had to buy it. There was no "let me talk to my wife" or "let me think about it for a while" to try and get the price down. I got $500 off the asking price because I went to their webisite and it said to print the ad out and get $500 off the list price.

 

Hey...I LIVE in Washington, and I also lived in California and I never saw an R or a T5R for sale. I would like to know where you find them. You know......help a brudder out <grin>

 

Don't see any right now on Autotrader. I keep a search where I only look at T5R's from 95-97 and just run the search every once in a while. Right now there are 11 of them on Autotrader in the US. I did see one of them in Oregon, but none in Washington right now. You can do the same type of search on e-bay and have it notify you if one shows up in your area.

 

Hi Glenn,

It seems that I find many 850 owners in California. Theirs may not be T5-R or R, but there seem to be quite a few 850s there, not sure why.

According to the statistics Jim has posted somewhere, more yellow T5-R's were exported to Japan, but I never see them around either. I found one a few months ago, and the asking price was over US$10,000!!!


Kanji/JPN

 

Hey guys, sorry to bug you guys with this dilemma but here is where I stand. The guy with the black volvo that had all those probs and 113k miles came back to me after I let him know that I would not be buying his car as a result of the pre inspection result and came back and said he would take care of all the repairs if I bought the car for 6,500. I am hesitant just because like I said before his shop is run by his buddy that gives him great prices. What should I do?!?!

I also found a white volvo with 144k about 2 hours from my city. I spoke to the owner and he is actually a volvo mechanic. According to him there are no leaks, new breaks front and rear, great interior, new serpentine, T belt has been changed, and new turbo return line seals. He wants 6800 for it. Does this seem like a better buy if in fact all these things are true? Thanks in advance I really appreciate any advice!

 

I would buy the one from the Volvo mechanic. I like white better than black also, but that's just a personal preference. If you would rather have the black one I sould offer less money after he has everything fixed. When you had the pre-purchase inspection done didn't they find other problems too?

 

I would just forget that "buddy " place for good.

Jim, isn't $6800 too much, unless it is a fully-maintained yellow T5-R or other rare models?


JPN

 

All of these car you're looking at are quite expensive...

 

Yeah, I guess they are quite expensive. Those are just the ones that I have found in my area. Maybe I will try and give the guy with the white one 6,000. I will keep you guys posted. Thanks!

 

It depends. If it is an "R" with the volans and good tires, I don't think $6800 is too much. Especially since it has so many new parts already done. I don't think I would pay $6800 for a T5 though, but the "R" is getting harder and harder to find.