Hey guys,
I'm brand new to this website but do belong to the jeepforum. I am here today because my girlfriend is looking into buying a volvo. Can you guys tell me some stuff to look for when we go to look at it? I know nothing about volvos. Also I would like to know if the $1250 is a reasonable amount?

Here is the link:
95 volvo 850 turbo

Thank you guys in advance.

 

looks to be in good shape, I would take it for a test-drive to check out the suspension
also remember to pull the oil dipstick and trans dipstick (if it's auto) to check for color/sediment
judging by the tinted windows, the current owner took care of it.
you can see as high as $2500 for pretty much the same thing in good condition
I'd say it's a good deal

one thing to keep in mind is that being a '95 you could have OBD-I OR OBD-II
depending on where you live, that can be the difference between having to pass emissions or being exempt

easiest way to tell is to pop the hood and look in the front passenger corner by the washer fluid cap, here's a picture
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n...9/DSC_0016.jpg

I have an 850 N/A and love it, it's served me well for the last 2 years and I expect a lot more out of it

 

Looks like a decent deal. There is a buyers guide link in the Hot Topic thread. I'm on JeepForums as well. Not active any more since I sold my '04 Jeep for a '97 Volvo 960.

 

Thank you for answering do you know what I need in New York as far as the OBD-I or OBD-II?

 

That car has both, or it should if it's a t5 as those are the wheels that are on it.

If the odo doesn't work you can check mileage with the obd-1 port under the hood.

When you test drive it, make sure you drive it at least 30 minutes, then check the coolant overflow reservoir to make sure it's not trying to boil over. Check the res before and after the drive. If it's trying to boil over, it likely has a bad head gasket or bad reservoir cap (should be green cap). Get it checked out real good.

 

It will likely need a full emissions test. Before you start it, turn the key to the run position and make sure the CEL light works. It wouldn't be a bad idea to read the OBD-II port for present and / or pending codes.

 

Thank you guys so much. Hopefully she will want this car :lol: She really wants a 240 but none for sale right now on Long Island :/ But I figured the price and the state its in, its a good deal for her to get. If she likes this car I'm sure I will be back on this forum.

As for the head gasket does it have to be running for awhile to check? I read in the buyers guide that you can just look at the top of the oil cap and look for the milky oil on it.

 

I know of a great volvo mechanic/car dealer in deerpark long island. I bought my 850R from him. He is honest, reasonable and always has nice volvos for sale. Lemme know if you want his number.

 

hey volvomunch welcome to this forum.listen l am located in brentwood newyork.l see you are close to me.just private message me and l will message you my number.l can give u more hints on what to look for since am closer to you.you could use me and this forum for whatever help you need.l will be willing to help you look at the 850.again welcome to the volvo world.

 

l got my 850 from this guy too. his name is roger right.in deer park.he sold me a car with a lifter problem.too bad l was new at getting a car so l didnt know much.l can never trust this guy no more. and he is expensive too.l wouldnt recommend him to nobody

 

That is weird. he gave me a great deal on the R and it runs like a top. I took my T5R to him too. I would recommend him to anyone. I think that he is a fair guy and a straight businessman. He knows his stuff and doesn't charge too much either.

did you take the car with the lifter problem back to him? What did he said if you did? How much did he sell that car to you for?

 

yea l sent it back to him and he told me it was normal.not knowing much about cars l believed him. l brought it up to this forum and people on this website said its not normal.thats a problem and needs to be fixed.l sent it back to him and he told me he is not fixing it because it wont hurt the car.one time l sent a friend of mine to him.my friend had a radiator and over heating problem.he didnt do anything but change the thermostart and charged him 120 dollars. thermostart run like 20 dollars here with gasket.easy to replace.not 120 dollars labor. l was shocked he did that.l will never recommend him unless someone needs parts.but for repairs l wouldnt dare recommend him.he sold that car to me for $4500.l wasnt lucky because l knew nothing about cars then

 

he would try to screw you up if he notice that you know little to nothing about cars.l intentionally called him to get a quote on replacing my sway bars.this crazy guy wanted to charge me almost 200 hundred for labor.l had my parts.l did it myself and saved $200. l wouldnt say this if it never happened.that guy is no good.my friend was really pissed off at him and said he will never go back to him.my friend was pissed off at me too because l recommended him.may be he knows you and has a good relationship with you.

 

he did not know me. I found him on craig's list. He sold me a 96 855R for only $3K and he gave me 700 for my base 850 as a trade in. So I was only 2300 out of my pocket for a nice R wagon. When he got a totaled V70R in, he offered me the wing for $200 installed. I have nothing but good things to say about Roger. I do not know why your experience with him has been so negative. He did solid work for me and it was cheap. I am no car expert either.

 

Small world.

I don't know why some people do well with someone and another person doesn't. Not sure why he charged the guy $200 to change a thermostat but maybe he did an hour of trouble shooting before he did it and he got charged for 2 hours labor.

Truth be told, that's how this world is. I have friends that can't stand each other. I just keep my relationships with people between me and them. How they get along with someone else is none of my business.

Personally I think he did Slim wrong by selling him that R with that bad lifter and telling him it was fine. Heck, my guess is that a bad lifter can cause a valve not to close properly and end up burning a valve. Then you have the noise that is simply annoying and I promise you, you can't sell a car with a lifter ticking like the motor is about to blow. Sad situation but I guess he thought it might go away and simply didn't. I communicated with Slim about it several time and he was actually defending Roger for several months. I didn't know the tide had turned. The used car business is tough but selling a car and telling someone something is fine is tough business.

It's sad when someone needs a indi shop and can't use them because of something like that. Heck, our nearest Volvo indi shop dropped off my list about 7 years ago when they blew up my muffer and claimed it was already damaged. A stupid muffer that would have cost them $25 and 30 minutes. Then 3 years ago I went there to get a light assembly and she tried to sell me a broke one, freeking wasting my time. So now I can't even get parts from the crazy lady. Just sad.

 

L don't know l might be wrong,may be he thought he could get away with it cuz l am a teen looking to buy a car.l might be wrong.l had good reviews about Roger too.rspi told me the lifter noise was not normal and l didn't believe him because Roger said it was normal.thanks to rspi he opened my eyes about the dangers it could cause and made me get on my toes to change the lifters.l ordered new set of lifters and l will be changing it this Monday.nevertheless charged my friend that much and didn't fix his problem.parts wise he is reseanable but neverwill l recommend him.
not making up any stories,l have another friend who knew roger before me.he went to roger for a head gasket job. he told me there was other things that needed to be fixed and roger knew it but personally my friend didnt know there was such a problem that needed fixing.roger ignored it and didnt tell my friend there was such thing to be fixed.fixed the head gasket and later on that week something happened to his motor again.he went back to roger and he tried charging him extra money to fix the problem.it could have been a simple fix he ignored waiting for it to cause something serious to his engine so that he could charge him more money.he was smart enough to outtalk roger to fix it for him without any extra charge.that guy cant be trusted. we all have different experience with him.thats my experience with him.

 

@RSPI
l will never trust noo mechanic. they mess up something on your car and they try to blame it on you.l had a green volvo, went for an oil change at walmart. after an oil change my steering rack was leaking badly.not dripping but draining.l went back and they denied it.too bad l went home before l noticed l had a leak.l knew nothing back then,could have sued them big time. l had to go to roger to install a used steering rack for $600 dollars installed and it was my first time meeting him.l thought l had a good deal but for a used steering rack now l thought about it and realized l paid too much.could have done it myself for less than 200 for a used rack.

 

You have to trust somebody sometimes, eh? Don't be so cynical and jaded at such a young age, there are good people out there. Some of those good people are mechanics. Don't let your experience at Roger's shop put you off to all mechanics. There are good ones out there. I still happen to think Roger is one of the good ones.

 

with such experience it would be hard to trust someone.l know there are good people out there but they have to prove to me l can trust them.l dont have a problem with roger but personally what he did was wrong.l still go for parts from him.we all have different experience with people but l respect your opinion about roger. l just happen to tell you my experience with him.l wouldnt recommend him but you would and that fine