I'm in lower bucks county, pa - outside Philly.

I need a mechanics opinion on an 850r I want to buy off a lot.

 

What opinion are you looking for?

 

I'm looking for someone who can check the car out before i buy it

 

There are car inspectors in the phone book, internet, etc.

 

lawrenceseveren,

A bit of common sense can be applied here. If you ask a mechanic for an inspection they have a few things they can do - they can give a visual to look for oil leaks, torn CV boots, rust, loose suspension bits, after-market or missing parts, then do a test drive to listen for creaks, groans, whistles, see if any check engine codes exist or things not working etc. Most of this you should be able to do on your own as well - you should be able to google for a "100 point inspection" list you can do on your own. Next thing is the mechanic can also do some testing - compression leak down, voltage checks etc but this starts to get into tech time and costs money.

The more practical approach would be 1) ask the seller if they had a tech inspect the car 2) Get a Carfax report to see if there's sufficient data about the car's history 3) see if the prior owner kept maintenance records (either receipts or stamps in the book) 4) recognize you're buying a used car and to expect some repairs - just budget that in.

For 850s there are some common fault areas, not all of which are expensive to deal with, but some require some skills/tools to address on your own. I've owned a 95 850T since new and can list out the various fixes over 20 years - Worst was the AC evaporator... Second worst was the AC compressor (due to part cost) and a replaced ABS pump (used part has worked 10+ years). I've done front struts 3 times in 200K miles (bad roads in CT), the OEM exhaust lasted 18 years! Done 2 sets of O2 sensors (2nd was done as part of new exhaust), Did the PNP switch once. had to do the turbo oil return seal gasket ($.99 part) twice. Did the blower resistor once. Brakes many times including emergency cables. Only jobs I've send out were the AC and ABS work, the brake cables and PNP switch (I'd do this one on my own now). My recent fixes were a stuck horn and the odometer gear. $30 fix it kits did the job.

So if you have access to tools and a garage, most of the DIY stuff is readily available online. If you are not interested in DIY, then you may need to consider the cost of repairs in your budget (ie $500-1000 a year).

If you decide to buy and don't have a good history of the car, my advise is drop in the maintenance parts right away - full tune up, oil change, filters, consider a transmission flush (DIY options are out online), check the brake pads and flush the fluid (DIY requires a power bleeder)

 

If you don't DIY do NOT purchase one of these cars.

 

Have to agree 100% there - I see posts where people complain about a problem here or there but seem to forget they are dealing with a car that is anywhere from 10 to 20 years old. If people expect new car reliability and low repair costs, budget up and get a newer car! For some, my crystal ball says "I see a Camry or an Accord in your future". For others who prefer some personality and have access to tools or a trusted mechanic, there are more options. My 23 year old daughter loves the 850T (and its a wagon) - then again she has a dad who's 40 miles away with tools. She recently came home with a cracked headlight lens - no prob, FCP ships same day and before the weekend was done, her car was good to go... IMHO, the 850 is not a difficult car to work on, you just need to do some research on root causes and have a plan for repairs (ie waiting on parts, warm place to work or a mechanic you trust for those jobs you don't want to take on).