I found a 1995 Volvo 850 turbo for sale for 950 dollars. It has 127000 miles and the owner said she always took it to a Volvo dealer, for repairs. I haven't had a chance to go see it. She told me it will need towed, because it won't start and the brakes need replaced. Should I pull the trigger and make the deal or let it go.

 

really depends on what you think can be wrong. Worst case is the no start is due to a timing belt and you'd be looking at replacing the head. Brakes on the 850s may be the easiest car to maintain ever. Parts are available, only special tool is a 7mm hex bit. If you can pop off the timing cover (if I recall, you need a T25 torx and a 12mm socket), you can see if the belt is intact and turning the cams. If you got that, a simple compression test can tell you if the internals are good. Assuming the internals are good, common no starts are as simply as a FI relay or could be a fuel pump.

Also check out volvotips.com on how to read the OBD1 fault codes via the LED box.