Looking at a second car for my girlfriend and I. We commute to work in my 92' Civic. We are looking for another car for when we want to drive something quieter and more comfortable.

I was thinking that these cars look fairly comfortable on the inside. I don't know how reliable they are. I've heard anything from them running 300k miles with rarely an issue and I've seen people complain that they are nothing but trouble.

What's the scoop?

Lets get some responses, this is one that we are thinking about going and looking at here in the next couple days.

Thanks for the help!

1996 RARE FIND VOLVO 850 TURBO WAGON PLATINUM

 

IMO the 1994 850/5 through 1998 S/V70 were the best cars volvo built.

But you're talking about a vehicle that's is going on 30 years old. Ck out rspi's buyer's guide (sticky in 850 area).

These cars only make sense to own if you can do most (if not all) of the maintenance yourself. If you have to pay a tech for every little thing you should get something newer.

I could say a bunch more stuff but it's already been said ad nauseam; again ck out the buyer's guide.

 

They are not quite that old, its 17 years old LoL. Even if you can't do all the work yourself, if you can read the error codes and bone up on this forum, and others like it, you will at least have an idea what you need a mechanic to do. Also if the car has been well looked after... and you do or get done the preventative maintenance work, such as replace or clean the breather pipes on the top of the engine and replace the cam belt, fluids etc You should avoid the big expensive labour jobs, leaving you to fanny about with the smaller tasks. That's my two euros

 

For most of us looking at an older used vehicle doing some or most of the maintenance is a necessity. If you're lucky enough to be able to pay a tech and keep your hands clean it's still a wonderful car in my opinion. I'd only warn someone with limited skills and funds away from one because a Volvo is a bit more expensive to maintain if you're paying someone to do it or even if you're just buying the parts and installing them yourself. It's also a little over engineered and sometimes confusing to the point of frustrating, like the PCV system !! But I love the way it handles and it is a little rocket with the right modifications Mine is red with one green fender and looks a little beat (previous single mother owner spent nothing on maintenance) so they don't suspect all the stuff in the engine and suspension until I snap past them.

 

It is good advice, I keep forgetting how cheap and simple Americans cars are. Sadly no such thing as a cheap mechanic where I live (Spain), in fact a Volvo dealer's mechanic is less than half the price of a Citroen mechanic, I expect that DMC, Chevrolet and so on are equally expensive in Spain. American cars do sell well here. Volvo is about 90 USD an hour in official workshop, no indies touch Volvos..

 

There are two resources that a lot of people don't think of. One is a local Automotive Vo-Tech. You need to be in a larger city and not all instructors are going to take a Volvo but it's worth a phone call to find out. After all you only pay the cost of materials in most cases so it's as cheap as doing it yourself without having to touch a thing.

The other is a Volvo nut in your area. He might be willing to pitch in and for a few beers or bucks tackle a problem because he likes to work on them.
That's why it's nice to post your location so it pops up in your posts. Never know when you have a "friend" willing to give you a hand.

I know people used to hunt me down in south Minneapolis, MN when I worked at a service station because most independants wouldn't even let a Renault drive into much less get towed into their shop. I worked on enough of them I got to know them and that's the thing that makes mechanics turn jobs down, not knowing. I was open to a challenge but I have to say the first few I learned on killed me in time and materials. But it's a learning curve.

Same with Jaguars with electrical problems. I love electrical work. It's more thinking than muscle and usually it's cleaner. But if you've ever worked on anything Elglish you fully understand why those of us in the trade call Lucas "The Prince of Darkness". I'm not even sure if they are still around but back in the 60's, 70's and even 80's their charging system components were ...... crap !!

 

When you mention Citroen all I can think of is that hydraulic suspension and how they would leak everywhere. Compared to that the Volvo engineers are looking a little tame.

 

Crap! For some reason I was thinking 1985...

I guess math skills are the first to go... What's the 2nd thing again??

 

Man Kfrog, bringing back memories; good ol' Lucas; Delco-Remy they weren't...

For those who don't know what we're talking about, ck this out
Lucas - Prince of Darkness - Lucas Electrical Humor Jokes

I was always told that's why Brits liked warm beer; because they had Lucas refrigerators!

 

Hey thanks for the responses in this thread guys. I am mechanically inclined. I am a "Honda person" not a flaming rice burner though. Commute my car daily to work. Lowered on proper coilovers, swapped my motor for a 1.5 D15B VTEC motor, everything wired correctly, no check engine lights like the butcher jobs you see nearly everywhere.

It's a plain white car that's fun to drive and gets nearly 40 mpg.

My source of entertainment was mainly autocrossing... until I picked up my 2000 SV650 for trackdays. It saves on the wear and tear of my car, plus I get to go much faster.

The Volvo will be for my girlfriend, we want a comfortable car for us to drive on the weekends. And if it's slightly faster, that's just a perk.

 

I want a Platinum for my wife. The wagon's are even more rare.

 

my son has a 2007 volvo s60 and loves it

 

You think OP is still looking after nine years?