I went to a hole-in-the-wall used car dealer in Bloomington today and saw a Platinum Edition 1996 Volvo 855 Turbo wagon. I remember sitting in an identical car in the Volvo showroom in 1996, being ten years old.

Anyways, a seemingly honest old man old enough to have served in WWII owns the dealer. He said he picked it up at auction for $3900. He said the car was owned by an Indianapolis doctor and his family. I could pick it up for $4200 plus 7% Georgia Sales tax.

1996 Volvo 855 Platinum Edition, 114k miles.
222 HP Turbo Inline-5, 2.3 liter.
There was a squealing noise in the suspension, probably a bad wheel bearing. At full steering lock there was a loose feeling, and a slight clunking noise. The steering in my Pathfinder was more accurate and less vague! But the turbo sure as hell was fun, and I blew by a cop and he didn't notice! White Volvo wagons have their benefits...













Would you go from a Pathfinder to this? I may keep looking for a cheap Bimmer, but not sure I want an E30 as a DD. Maybe a decent E34.

 

I would pick the wagon.
I love them.


If you can wrench then the noises can most likely be fixed easily.

 

I love the wagon, I've always been a hatch/wagon fan, and I've had a soft spot for BMWs and Volvo wagons, because my first memories are in my car seat in Mom's 1986 740 Turbo wagon and Dad's 1988 BMW 535is.

Anyways, I have been reading that the Timing belt is a big deal in these cars. I'm assuming the motor is interference? How long is the T-belt good for. I saw no stickers on receipts saying that the belt was changed.

Also, I have very limited mechanical skills; I have a tendency to make matters worse when I start wrenching! I would have to take the car to an independent Euro/Volvo mechanic for most repairs; I can do a tune-up, but that's about it.

I can't figure out how to upload images, but not too important.

 

The timing belt usually lasts 70,000 or so.


Lets see if this works.
It worked in the reply/Edit screen click on the Image [IMG][/IMG] it will look like that. Copy and paste the Link in the middle of the 2 Image words.
Kind of like this
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/Georgia4Runner/Random%20Pics/IMG_1041.jpg[/image
But I modified the above so it wouldn't post the pic. I just removed ] from the end so it wouldn't post the pic.

 

Thanks tech! Every forum is different with posting pics.

The leather is worn on the driver's seat and the bolster has a hole.
The A/C isn't very cold, but it works
Squealing bearing that is hardly noticable
Possibly bad CV axles when at full lock? Not sure what that is.
Needs an alignment
Brakes are marginal; that would be first thing I do.
I guess the T-belt needs to be changed- Water pump and tensioner too?

Everything else was fine. The car was really clean, and the transmission shifted smoothly. The turbo was a lot of fun! I could see myself getting terrible gas mileage because I can't stay out of the boost!

$4200 a good price?

 

Not to bad of a price.
The A/C may just need a recharge. They usually blow very cold.
The squeeling may just be soemthing simple. Like after marked pads that maybe have squeelers on them.
When at full lock if you hear a creeking like noise then the steering stops need to be lubbed.

I would do the Timing belt and tensioner and idler pulleys. Inspect the water pump. Some will last till 200,000 miles.

The turbo's are really fun. You should be able to get somewhat decent milage out of it.

 

For what it is worth, if you are handy with a wrench (or can read step-by-step instructions which I can provide) then changing a timing belt is not that bad. In fact, we picked up a 95 850 Turbo for my son's first car. Granted it has 170K on it but it ran ok. Owner didn't have a clue when the timing belt was changed last, but not in the three years he had owned it., so it needed to be done.

I bought the parts from various vendors and figured while I was in there I would change not only the timing belt, but all the pulleys/rollers, the tensioner and water pump too. I also changed the serpentine belt, tensioner and all rollers, and figured as long as I am draining out the coolant to change the water pump, I would change all the radiator and heater hoses.

It took the good part of a day (as I showed my son the finer points of car repair) but it is done. Now the car runs better, and quieter.

Just my two cents.

Glenn

 

That's pretty much what I wanted to hear.

I doubt I'll buy this particular one, simply because I'm not ready to, or even sure I want a Volvo, but your advice has been vey hepful. I like the wagons!

When I was on the car lot, some guy in an old Subaru wagon pulled up and asked me if I wanted to sell my Pathfinder! I told him $6500 and he got my number!

If I got it i would want to find a good indie mechanic but that's a question for regionals.

Thanks for the advice Glenn. I don't really have many tools, but maybe if I got an 850 I could check the regionals forum to see if anybody can be of assistance, of course with compensation. That would be a fun project and a great learning experience. I also wonder if there is a "Bentley" manual for these cars; in my experience the Haynes manuals have been less than helpful to a repair novice like me.

 

Get the wagon, get the wagon

 

You are a little to far away for me.

But if you bought it and decided to take a trip to see Mickey mouse then I can help you.

BTW hard to tell but in the Pictures it looks like the white Opel paint if so then it is hard to find them. They were limited I would buy it.

 

If by Mickey Mouse you mean Orlando I'm closer than you think. My Mom lives off the coast of GA about an hour north of JAX, and we have a place in Tallahassee. Trust me, I could easily make a trip out of it and bring a keg or three for wrenching! Seriously, I'm severely limited by the fact that I can't sell my Pathfinder, but if I can this looks like a good candidate. Of course, I could magically make money appear if a Saffron V70R came up for sale!

This is the Platinum limited editon, with the Ivory paint that looks gorgeous. I just so happen to be a detailer by hobby, so it's particularly appealing to me, plus I've never had a white car before.

My Dad owns the Pathfinder and, well, technically he would be buying the Volvo. He likes them though, and he does want a cheaper car to put miles on so he doesn't have to drive his BMW everywhere. Not to mention my brother needs a car too.

$4200 is cheap for these cars, I was looking on Ebay and most have more miles and are pricier. Not to mention, except for the hole in the driver's bolster the interior is immaculate and everything works.

 

The seat is really no big deal if you think about it.
There is a place here buy us that redoes seats with Pleather. Looks and feels like Leather. They charge $250.00 a seat. I have heard of people paying $500.00 per seat to get then redone.

Oh and BTW I don't Drink. And yes in Orlando about 5 miles from Disney.

 

Yeah, the seat isn't a big deal at all. I just like things to be perfect. I thinkt the seat is too far gone for Leatherique, definitely needs to be redone with leatherette.

Very well tech, you're a better person for not drinking! Replace "kegs" with "Pizza and brats and money, etc." and you've got it. Orlando is a nice place anyways.

 

Sounds good to me But I must for warn you I have 4 Little ones running around(Well 3 running 1 crawling)
Can be a pain sometimes. But well worth it.

I wouldn't ever change a thing. It just takes longer to get what I want. LOL

 

Hahah, I'm not quite there yet, I'm having a blast at Indiana University, named the 4th biggest party school in North America!

I'll report back to say if I got it or not, but if I don't get this one it will probably be a different one. Those seats were just too comfortable!

 

Ok keep me posted.

 

yah i have the same car only sedan and i love it...good buy...have fun.....i blew by a cop too and he didnt notice...well mine came with a radar detector lucky me

 

850's are nice cars, but i would buy a sedan instead of a wagon >_>, wagons are for old people

 

NOT

I would prefer a Wagon over a sedan anyday.

 

oh no!!!! hell no i would prefer a sedan over a wagon ANYDAY