Hi,
I recently came across a '97 850 sedan with only 25,000 miles on it. It's being sold by a major dealership. Looks new. No accidents. They want $7000 ($5500 USD) + tax. They're firm on the price. You don't see such low mileage 850's which actually look and ride new but I'm just wondering if this is a fair price and if I should got for it? What do you guys think? Thanks in advance.

 

Hi CJacek: It's a 20 year old car in my opinion. What kind of maintenance records does it have? How long has it been sitting? To be honest with you, I fear low mileage cars more than standard mileage cars. That car should have 10 times that mileage. Mine has 273,000.


In my opinion, a Volvo 850 in good condition is worth about $5,000. I would put them up against any 5 year old car on the road. Mine has been across the USA 10 times in the past 9 months. Now, the thing with low mileage cars is they usually have NOT had the proper scheduled maintenance that should have been done. Example, Volvo recommends that the timing belt on that car (a $1,200 dealer service) should have been replaced twice so far. Once in 2004 and again in 2011. Do you see any record of it ever being replaced?


If properly serviced, $7,000 is probably not a bad price. If no service records, maybe $4,000, then you will need to start DUMPING money in it.

 

This is a classic case of when the market will usually pay more for a car than it is worth. A buyer will come along and snap it up looking only at the miles and condition of the car and compare it to others with 100K+ miles not realizing that lots of things age on cars whether they are driven or not, and to Roberts point, sometimes more when they are not. In the case of a Volvo, with a DIY aptitude or a reasonably priced Volvo capable mechanic, they can be fairly cost effective to keep on the road, but if you insist on dealer service for everything it will eat you alive. The bottom line for me on this type of car is what you want to accomplish. If you are a Volvo enthusiast, or want to be, then this would be a great car. If you are looking for cheap basic transportation and you are scraping every last penny you have to buy this car with no funds left to deal with the likely repairs it will probably soon need from sitting too much it probably isn't.

 

Thank you very much to all who have replied. Much appreciated. The car in question has service records (tho I don't know if it was serviced when not in use and for how long). The car was completely serviced when the dealership bought it from the owner and thoroughly inspected. Again, this is not some shady used car place but a big name dealership. I do agree about being careful with low mile cars such as this but it went through a complete mechanical and safety inspection, all proof of work done etc.... Do you think that this is still a problem if all this work was done, even if it lacked some service during the 18 years of barely being driven?

The reason I chose this car (other than it being a tough Volvo) is because I'm pretty tall and also safety is of importance. I also love the look of this car. That or the wagon. I also wish to get out of a $400 / month lease on my current (more recent) car, a VW. I'm paying $5000 / year on that. I always wanted a Volvo, an older one and it was suggested to me that I look for an 850 because it has more room for someone of my size vs the other earlier models. I don't want my Volvo to be a money pit but, again, I'm already paying a lot for my current car in monthly lease payments and when the lease is done, I'll be facing a 10K buyout and no warranty on a German car, which could be more pricey to maintain than an older Volvo.

I'm also considering whether or not to wait it out for a Wagon 850?? I feel it would be a far more functional car with all the space vs a sedan. Not sure what I'll do but a wagon would be cool, as I always found myself with hatchbacks or wagons, very helpful when moving or transporting stuff (sleep in there too ). But, again, this low, low mileage 850 sedan is very tempting. Maybe, on the other hand, I shouldn't fear higher mileage cars (regularly serviced), as was hinted upon and rather wait it out for a wagon (or sedan) and probably have it for less. I dunno. Just some thoughts running through my mind.

Not sure what else to add..... but I appreciate all your thoughts and advice.

 

Have the dealer provide a Carfax (VIN) or Carproof (Canadian VIN) report or go online with the VIN to see how many report records are available. This will tell you a bit about the car history. Considering its still a 17 year old car, you'd suspect it was stored for a few years, driven less than 2000 miles a year (really hard to do - that's 40 miles a week) or has an inaccurate odometer. I picked up a great running 12 year old used s40 a few years back that had 27,000 miles on it - we took away my mom's keys when she turned 85... But driving too few miles will have its set of issues - rubber bits go brittle with age, short drives never fully heat engine/tranny, fluids needed to be changed regardless of miles etc. If you are ok with DIY, then the age is not a problem but I'd discount the super low mileage somewhat in assessing the value of the car. Its probably in great shape but that doesn't imply its the same as say a 2012 with 25,000 miles...

 

I think 850 is a terrific car, I have owned two. Presently driving the T5. Frankly, I really doubt that is accurate mileage, it is almost infeasible unless it sat parked for years at a time, or Ms. Bessie drive it to church down the block once a week. I think it is overpriced, my policy on cars that I want, even if I love it and want it - and especially from dealers - if it is overpriced - I walk.
Beyond that, you can probably find an excellently running 850 with 180,000 miles that would cost you a fraction. Personally I do not give much credit to vanity car finds with low mileage - especially with regard to Volvo's. These old lines are remarkably durable.

 

I currently have a '97 850 GLT wagon. It was bought for my mother and she didn't like it, so I bought it off of her.

It has 175,000 miles on it and runs great -- but I had to put some time and money into it to make it reliable.

There are some concerns, though. There is no way it has that few miles on it w/o it having been sitting for a long time. All of the rubber -- belts, hoses, and tires will dry-rot if sitting. [I recall having an old Caddy that had been sitting and the bushings were all dry-rotted, so even though I got it lubed, the grease was not held in, so the entire steering and suspension was grinding as if there was no lube. All of it had to be replaced.]

All of the fluids for cooling and lubrication may need to be flushed.

And of course, the timing belt is specified to be replaced every 70,000 miles. An 18-year-old car with the same timing belt? I would replace it. Not doing so is a disaster; as I'm sure other have said elsewhere on these forums, the pistons and valves occupy the same space, so if the timing is off, they may crash into each other.

Make sure these are accounted for before you sign anything. Make them fix everything first. And definitely have it inspected by a mechanic -- preferably at a Volvo dealership.

 

No. You can get the same car in nice shape with 150k miles and all new maintenance parts for 3k. Why would you pay nearly twice that simply because of the mileage? As soon as you drive it it's going to lose that premium and these cars have no collector interest so it's not worth mothballing. Plus as people are pointing out, a rarely driven old car is usually no bargain.

 

Thank you ALL very much once again. Much appreciated for the time you took. I decided to wait it out for a nice wagon instead, taking into account everything you suggested.

 

Chances are that car had a big case of 'lot rot' going on. Good choice on passing it up.

 

Lot Rot, LOL!! Nice. I never understood why people get all gooey over a super low mile car. Unless they've been stored in a climate controlled garage and properly run time to time, there can be issues. I see this one needing a timing belt and new tires at a bare minimum, and possibly a PCV system, belts, hoses, and possibly a lot more.

Let's face it, these cars are worth next to nothing. $5,500 is huge money for an 850, a Barrett-Jackson style price. I don't know whether that's because the Volvo brand has suffered due to the Chinese buy out and weak recent product or simply because the cars aren't considered all that interesting outside the Volvo enthusiast circle, but it is a fact.

Unfortunately, parts are not priced to reflect this, and these cars are somewhat expensive to service if he's not handy. So my concern would thus be that if he buys this, he's going to have to address needs and will have an 12k vehicle that he'll sell for about 1/4 that price 2 years from now. IMHO, these are only worth buying if they've had completely updated maintenance (timing belt, PCV, tires, belts/hoses, etc.).

 

My buddy called me not long ago, all excited about buying a 2000 Toy Cam. Said it only had 33,000 miles. As I approached it, I was thinking, man that thing has some wear for 33,000 miles. Sure enough the cluster said 33,000. However, the oil change sticker still on the window said "next change at 316,500" and the timing belt sticker under the hood said "287,000 4 years ago". He was in instant shock. He was able to get his money back after a 4 day fight.

 

Exactly why I suggest the $40 for a Carfax report. Each time the car gets serviced at a dealer or a major computerized shop they log the VIN and the mileage for part warranties etc. Same when anything goes through DMV. So unless you have an original owner who never serviced the car at a dealer (like most people do to make good on the warranty), there's always some useful insights to be gathered. When I was shopping for a newly used VW CC, I could tell which cars had private owners, which were leased and which were rentals.