We bought the 95 Turbo for our son as his first car. Yes it was fast but we explained it to him and let him know the responsibility of driving that car. IT was a very safe car and kept him safe through a few scary moments (both not his fault) We have since passed it down to both of our other sons when they started driving. Outside of the blown head gasket issue a few months back, they have treated the car well, and all three aid to date it was the most solid car they have driven and they want to find one for themselves. Just throwing in my .02

Glenn

 

Good to read. A lot of people I talk to express concern with owning older cars and driving them further than the city limits. LOL

 

Good to read that some of you guys out there have success with young drivers not going crazy with a faster car. When I got my daughter her S70 GLT my friend said the same to me (my initial car for her was a 960). I trusted her and overall she did very well. I'm with you, I also wanted her in something that I considered safe and reliable, and I guess all cars can break 90 mph so they are all capable of dangerous high speeds. But I must say, my breath was taken away by a speed locked into the back side of the GPS.

 

I promise you, there is a big difference between a 850 NA and a 850 T5 (turbo).

 

114,xxx on my 97 855R.

The odo was broken for awhile, guessing 10-20k put on it while broken. I need to take it to the dealer for a couple recalls, will ask if they have any way to check the true mileage then.

I've owned it for less than a year, my Dad bought it when it was about a year old. No real failures to date, just maintenance stuff like brakes, oil changes, PCV system, timing belt, water pump, plugs, etc

 

The dealers can check it but most don't know how.

I'd like to make a connection for my car to test other people's clusters. I'm thinking about splicing into my cluster harness and making a splitter to check other clusters.

 

I found my 96 850 T in 2005 and she had just rolled a 100k. Drove it for years with no issues, just oil changes every 3-5 k.
In 2011 my job took me out of town on Monday and I rolled back in on Friday adding about 1800 miles. I was changing my oil every couple weeks.
This last for 5 months. Split my drive axles covers, blew its grease all over my Columbia wheels (what a freakin mess).

Rack went out and I replaced the steering rack myself. that was in 2012.

Last year (2013) parked the car for about 2-3 months and did the following changes, maintenance.
New IPD stainless steel exhaust
IPD heavy End Links
New IPD strut mounts
RIP Kit
Did the Flame trap system
plugs, wires, cam seals, rotor, cap, plugs
Short Ram Air Intake (this sounds cool when you let off the gas)
BBS wheels for summer (Columbia's have my studs)
Stainless Steel brake lines.
replaced both front axles
Blistein HD struts (front) and shocks (rear) did this shortly after buying car
R rear sway bar - added
IPD overload springs for the rear ( really cool as the rear doesn't sag when loaded with camping gear, etc.

Love the adds, makes the car drive real fun since I used to autox an ex-GT-1 Corvette Race car (about 550hp and torque) a real E ticket ride.

Today, life has changed and my wagon gets driven about 5k a year. Just this month the odometer read 193250.

Love this car and expect to have it for years to come.

Though allot was done recently, think I spent about $1800. Mainly because of the big discount IPD gives at the time of the garage sale in the spring.

 

Hi, 850 Peeps. Try this link for finding your car's actual mileage. This technique works! Thanx, Hot Topics

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...0-volvo-27012/

I am adding benchmarks to this thread for the 850 turbos. Of course, it all depends on location, care maintaining, and useage. I am religious about replacing oil and hoses on my 850 turbos. These cars eat tires, and Continental is the best 16 and 17" I've found for high speed and nasty weather.

My '97 T-5 has 268,000 miles and has had much front end work, as a result. I also hauled trailers loaded with college kid stuff for most of those miles, and over roads from Cali to Tenn, from NMex to Illinois and back to NY. The trouble mostly was with the turbo return-line O-ring. So many times it failed me that I started carrying spares on my key ring. It's a nine-dollar part and a 1000 dollar headache. I blew 5 quarts of oil out the back by hitting a bump on a crappy Pennsylvania road and knocking that O-ring out. Volvo has since redesigned that O-ring because it would crimp as the person replacing it slid the pipe back into place way under the car. Can't believe this car is still on its original enjin and tranny. Last Summer, the sunroof slider jammed, and is an expensive, back-breaking delicate repair. SO if yours still works, give it some loving lubrication (I used spray, white lithium goo in the absence of better advice). The parts are Volvo only. Junk yard buyer-beware the parts are brittle plastic. As for the car, I would buy another 1997 T-5 in a minute.

Next, the T-5Rs:

One: 1995 850 T-5R sat in Binghamton, New York, till I rescued it and drove it to New Mexico. Dashboard odometer broke at 101,000. OBD1 says the car has 126,984 miles. My son reprogrammed and recabled the frozen front seats. Mechanic did rear Bilsteins. I recently did timing belt and pullies, complete brakes, replaced dash lites and repaired the odometer, reglued dash pad over SRS bag, and rebuilt PNP switch. My spousal unit did the a/c compressor and drier for me. I will have my mechanic do axles and oxygen sensor, next. Driver side seat heater now not working (replacement pad is @$167)

Two: 1995 850 T-5R was a one-family owner, daily driver from the mountains of Vermont, now in the mountains of Northern New Mexico. Dash board odometer says 171,514 miles. I did complete brakes, replaced instrument cluster and odo cog, rebuilt PNP switch, rebent wiper arms for contact with glass, removed and reglued dash pad over the SRS bag. Mechanic replaced a/c compressor and drier (spousal unit refused to this time ). I am cleaning and ungreasing all turbo pipes and plan to do flame trap, turbo return lines, etc. Previous owner had T-belt and water pump done at 140,000.

Three: 1995 850 T-5R, new to the fleet is a California, sea-level escapee, now at 7200' altitude. Dashboard odometer differs from actual mileage in OBD1 of 151,191 miles. Several issues including seat heater not working; dangling driver door curtesy lamp; broken headlamp wiper motors and window washer motor; flapping headliner; non-functioning fob- cigarette lighter- and dash bulbs; non-Volvo gas filler cap; broken glove box door and cup holder(holeyhell-that's thirty bucks, right there), are all owner-related, not manufacturer-related, IMO. Worrisome is sticky residue on oil dipstick. That suggests over-heating or leaking head gasket. Driver seat heater not working.

These 3 T-5Rs have similar design/manufacturing probs that make me cautious when buying: Peeling dash pad; PNP sensor; a/c issues (pin holes in receiver-driers); breakable odometer gear; wiperarm fatigue; fragile plastic parts on sunroof/moon roof; Many 1995 T-5Rs were totalled when their seat heaters caught fire. If you buy one, check for seat heater and gas tank filler recall repairs in previous owner's service records.

At these mileages, I've done regular maintenance: brake rotors pads calipers, e-brake(hundreds to thousands of dollars+labor); timing belt, hoses, and water pump at 140,000miles(hundreds of dollars+labor try Pelican Parts); recharge a/c(can be as cheap as 15 bucks at AutoZone); clean or replace MAF switch(I recommend Volvo only-about $160 plug n play); replace most lighting and odometer gear(try IPDUSA); Oxygen sensors (approximate $84 each, front and rear). Heater cores can become leaky at these mileages and are a human pain to replace. Altho, my 1997 850 T-5 went about 250k before needing the core. I haven't had to do exhaust parts, yet. WooHoo! (But I live in the desert) The paint, esp the Yellows, needs intense care. (But I live in the desert) The color is a major headache to repaint, and thus, $$$$$$$$$$. The rear wing-spoilers scratch and fade way before the body panels do. These cars seem to attract icky people who ding them, key them, and back into them. Prolly just jealous or blind. These three T-5Rs were assembled in the Volvo Ghent (Belgium) plant, and all have different emissions packages.

I think that the Turbo 1997 and following 1998(no longer called 850, but S70) are the best quality, design, and speediest of all Volvos that I ever owned. I had 2 P1800s, a 122s, a 145, 2 242GLETurbos, a 245GLE Turbo, many 240s(still driving 86 and 89) and a 260GLE. I love the 1995 Rs but they have many design flaws that Volvo didn't work out till 1997/8. If you own an 850, enjoy what you are driving. An FYI, Dear Posters; Be careful of being ageist and sexist. It doesn't suit the Volvo demographic.

 

148000k on my 1996 850R

 

105,000 on my 1994 850 T5. Have done timing belt and water pump, cleaned PCV and modified the intake.


In October I did 4800 miles in 16 days and apart from the A/C evaporator freezing over in 111F weather (fixed by switching it off for 10 minutes) the car drove perfectly.