I just bought a '95 850GLT 2.5 A/T from a mechanic friend of mine, I cant seem to find reviews of this particular model, can anyone help me decide if the car's a great buy or not? it runs fine and the mileage's at 98K, no major trouble/repair where done to this vehicle except routine maintenance and replacements of engine parts and wirings and connectors. As you can see i'm not exactly an expert mechanic, i may be able to replace the oil and air filters but that's as far as i can go. Anyone got any suggestions or opinions, you're very much welcome.

 

Good mileage for that vehicle. The only thing is that your at that 100,000 mile mark where specific parts will start to go and need replaced, routine maintenance type stuff. So just be prepared for that. Otherwise it's a great buy. If you maintain it, it will last for a very long time.

 

definitely good buy, these cars will run for a really long time and don't seem to really rust.

Repairs that you will do at some point
1) Timing belt (every 70,000 miles). Needs to be done or the engine will be destroyed.
2) PCV system. ~150 dollar kit from FCPgroton (volvo parts website). it gets clogged eventually.
3) the odometer will stop working, and you will have to replace a broken gear in it to make it run. I just did this today. not too hard, have to take it out of the dash and be careful though. I am not a mechanic, but with patience and pictures+instructions I managed to get it done.

of course, there is also regular maintenance like filters, oil, etc. It seems like a good idea to change the transmission fluid also, as there is no user serviceable filter on it as far as I know.

I also recently got a 95 850 GLT, and am quite pleased .

Oh as for the particular model - GLT stands for something like "Grand Lux Touring", it is the luxury model.

 

thanks guys, be sure to hear from me for other advice.. hehehe... like i said, this is my first volvo and am still finding stuff to love about this car. i drove a Nissan for close to 3 years (it was a company car) and before that it was a Toyota Camry, the 850 looks and feels better (for me) than those other cars... it's far more heavier so its more stable and it feels like you're driving a tank rather than a car... hehehehe..
by the way is it ok if i replace the air filter with a K&N? they say it improves the performance a little bit...
again, thanks for your thoughts i'll keep you posted and i'll keep asking you guys for advice...
good day!

 

slight performance curve, and you never need to replace it, thats the best part.