I'm looking to buy a volvo 850 turbo from a private party, the guy is a minister and seemed to take really good care of it. I talked to his son-in-law and he said he'll probably sell it for really cheap. It has 177k miles on it. I own 2 volvo 940s and if this car was a 940, I would buy it in a heartbeat. How long do these cars last? Does anyone know what to look for? I heard from a friend that some of these cars get oil leaks that require the whole engine pulled out to fix. Do these cars require premium gasoline? gas is pretty expensive these days.

 

If the maintenance schedule is kept up they pretty much run forever. My first 850, after I dumped the real mileage from the instrument cluster, had similar miles and I am at about 207k or 208k today. I uses about 1/2 quart of oil between 5000 mile synthetic oil changes. That car has a stick an the clutch kinda chirps and is grabbyin the morning but it settles down in a couple of blocks. It is on the list of things to repair but the others are are taking priority at the moment with the rest of the fleet.

The big things to look at are oil leaks (particularly at the weep hole between the bell housing and the engine), suspension components, and does the transmission shift smoothly. The rest of the issues are, does the odometer actually work, does the glove box open, does the A/C work, how trashed is the drivers side seat. The timing belt should have been changed around 140 K along with all of the rollers and the tensioner. If a dealer did it there should be a "Byte Exchange" sticker either on the front of thetiming belt cover or the ECU boxes that outlines the mileage and datethat it was changed.

They do want premium but I run my turbo on mid grade (89) and it seems to do just fine. A lot of places in the Midwest sell 89 octane gasohol for the same price oreven a penny or 2 lessthan 87 octane real gasoline. When I do the Bonsai runs to the cabin on the fun roads I do buy the real (92) premium.

If you can wrench the car yourself and the price is right, go for it. If you need to take it to the shop for most repairs forget it - it will eat you alive.

My 2ยข,

...Lee

 

I will ECHO Ozarks comments and add a couple of my own.

1: At that mileage if you are not a decent mechanic. Be prepared for HUGE Expenses. Here in Connecticut I was just quoted $1360 to do the rear main seal at the dealer (Owned by Paul Newman the actor)

2: We run 87 in our 94 all day everyday. You will notice a power increase with better gas but it seems to run fine with no pinging on 87 (knock sensor ignition will give more timing on better gas)

3: If the car has been maintained at a dealership you can get the service records there. Check on timing belt and rear main seal if they have been done in the last 30K or so you should be OK. I would check the PCV system thoroughly if you buy it right away.

4: If you are a decent mechanic the common problems are relatively inexpensive to fix. For instance the rear main seal is like $20 and two days work.

Search the forum for how to pull codes if it is an early 850 and also how to get the ECU mileage if the odometer is broken (easy fix if it is).

I picked up my wifes 94 Turbo for $300 from a friend of the family. Her 23 year old son had driven it for 2 years and then parked it. It had sat for over a year when I went to get it. It started on the first try! In 2 + years we have put on over 25K miles and until recently (last month) all I have done is the PNP switch and oil changes, brake job. Last month I pulled the turbo to rebuild it (The kid who had it before did not change the oil for 2 years just added once in a while) and I replaced the Cam Position Switch and the Crank Sensor (no spark so I replaced both to be safe) Now I am pulling the tranny to do rear main seal. I am doing front suspension (struts, strut bushings, sway bar end links, tie rods and new axles (torn boots) at the same time along with oil sump o rings.

Overall in 25,000 miles of driving from 110K to 135K in a car that had seen a pretty hard life I cannot complain. As an accomplished mechanic though I might be seeing things "thru rose colored glasses" since labor is FREE! LOL

I estimate about $1,500 in parts over 2 years, BUT should need nothing but tires, gas and oil for the next 70,000.

 

NOthing to add, except it is good advice from Ozark Lee and 1996850Turbo. Since you are familiar with 940's, then you know most of Volvo's quirks already