Maybe its one of those Sheep Skin seatbelt cushions.

 

Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhh. Found the post in the S70 section.
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If you are handy and don't mind fixing things yourself, the late 90's Volvo's are awsome. If you drive a lot and enjoy a little power, get a turbo and change the oil often. Don't abuse the turbo by stomping on it while cold or not letting it cool down properly. The turbo can last forever as well.

The good thing about Volvo's are they usually don't fall apart like most cars do. They look good and are respectable, are pretty economical. You can get 32 mpg with the 850's and S70's. And if you have a smaller frame, like under 5'-6", the seats are super comfortable, compared to the 960's. I have a little bit of a hard time getting real comfortable in my 960, I'm 5'-4" short.

Another good point is that the Volvo's are made for the mechanic. Pretty easy to work on. The only head aches are the PCV system, Speedo gear, and the AC evaporator. They are hard to get to and labor intensive. Other things can be fixed in minutes. I hope I never have to purchase a car newer than what I now have. Unless I strike it rich and never have to work on my own car again. These cars have what most new cars have and are pretty solid as well. Most people can not tell that the S70's are 12 years old. Awsome!

Did that do it for you? LOL
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ohhh that thing. thanks for the arrow, i was lookin at the "a pillar" still not sure what it is but the sheepskin theory seems plausible


rspi, that was in the thread i started in the s70 section so once again thanks for the helpful info

 

I purchased my 850 T-5R from a New York used car dealer and I really have no complaints. Just maintenance on it so far. I have posted most maintenance & repairs in the "What Did You Do To Your Car Today" thread in the General Volvo Chat section.

The AC was out when I purchased it and that has just about been the extent of repairs for me. Almost everything else has been maintenance other than LOW PROFILE TIRES (I HATE THEM). The car runs smooth, fun to drive and I really look at the Turbo as a safety feature.

Things to watch for are as mentioned above:
1. Timing belt.
2. PCV system.
3. Leaking turbo (mine does and has not)
3. Engine mounts, especially the touque mount near the fire wall. Also the passenger side engine mount.
4. Speedo gear, no big deal.
5. AC Evaporator (age thing).
6. Heater Coil
7. Parking brake.
8. Power seat recliner (I did have to repair that).
9. Radiator leaks (an age thing).
10. Cruise control vacuum line problem (small thing).

Every once in a while my car hickups and pops a cel. I usually reset the code and keep on driving, no real problem. Parts are not bad, especially since I have not needed many. Maintenance/repairs are a little tougher since Volvo decided to get ahead of the power curve with options because they almost went bankrupt in the early 80's. To be honest with you, I hope I can get parts for my 90's Volvos for 30 more years, I'll still be driving them.

 

I would not touch a New York City's car with a ten foot pole. I live in it and every mile on that odometer has been very painful to the car.

A Carfax is the best way to know. Often NY dealers get their cars in auctions in PA, which is ok. I also used to live in Westfield, New Jersey and can tell you that it is a big difference. In New Jersey people like to show off their cars, they maintain them and roads are much better than NYC's.

I am talking as a point in general, but there can be exceptions.

 

Hello Guinness,
A good question ! I have listed what I replaced below:

• Timing belt
• Serpentine belt

The above two items I would have replaced on any used car I bought of this vintage. It gives me piece of mind. Although, I should have replaced the 'tensioner pulley to the timing belt' had I been reading this forum before I changed the timing belt.

• Stabilizer links (2). I prematurely wore out two good front tires because of this error. When I noticed the tires were wearing out too fast I assumed the wheels were out of alignment and had an alignment job done. Later, a Volvo mechanic at a dealership told me it was the stabilizer bar links. The stabilizer bar links cost as low as $ 10.77 each at Rockauto.com. The tires cost $ 150.00.
• The heater coil: $ 90.00 ( from Ebay). I bought the updated version made in Estonia. You can buy an aftermarket copy of the original heater core from FCP Groton EBAY store for only $ 79.99 shipping included and save $ 10.00.
• Spark plugs and spark plug wires. The car was running fine but I decided it was time for the old ones to go. One caution here - I bought a good set of wires. Do not buy cheap wires. I did buy a cheap set of plugs "Autolite platinum' and regretted it. The car ran terribly. I went back and bought a set of Bosch OEM replacements plugs and the car runs superb.

Two additional thoughts:

• The Volvo wheels bolt on. They do not have lug nuts. The guys at Cartalk radio show had an article of a Volvo owner. Her front wheel popped off because the bolt heads snapped. They were over-torqued. The correct torque strength is 82 pounds.
• The 850 transmission does not have a transmission filter. I am used to changing transmission fluid in every car I owned. I did a LOT of READING in these forums before I did mine. I did the drain and fill method - three times. You should search these forums before you change the transmission fluid.

 

Henry10 brought up a good point. I grew up on Long Island and also lived and worked in NYC. There are good and bad cars to be found anywhere, but heavily populated areas are different. Throughout the USA most people judge the total wear on a car by 'mileage'. You cannot do that in NYC. I have known cars in NYC with 50K mileage on them that were junk. Just look at the life of a cab in NYC. Manhattan is only 7 miles long. Those engines are running for hours just to go a few miles. The wear and tear on brakes and transmissions from stop and go traffic is tremendous.

 

Oh please, its not a location that makes a car bad...its the person that owns it. There can be people there that love their cars. This is a rediculous statement. You should evaluate the cars condition and make an educated decision.

 

you guys r awesome im learning alot here already big thumbsup to all the info just provided that i have to go back a re-read. thanku for the list of replaced parts "NCdad" and "rspi" thats a big help in trying to figure out what im in for.

one question though now that the issue of a heater core has been brought up...

i replaced the heater core on one of my cars and it was a MAJOR PAIN!!! the entire dash had to be removed to get at it. and i had to disconnect the AC lines to get a certain piece in the engine bay out so they had to be drained. other than that changing the actual heater core took two seconds.

my question is whats involoved in changing one on an 850?

 

the heater cors on the 850, from what I have heard, is pretty easy. MUCH easier than most cars. It's a couple hour job.

 

+1 piece of cake compared to other cars.

 

Where are you from? How many pre-owned cars have you bought in NYC and/or Jersey in the last 30 years?

 

I am from a place called Common Sense.

 

As for my NYC car, it was there when I purchased it, from the looks of the wheels, it did spend some time in the city because all of the wheels are damaged and have curb rash. However, the car was always registered at least 100 miles from the city. So, I'm not sure if it has spent much time actually in the city.

But back to what Boxpin says, someone can really service a car and have it in the city all the time and the car can be great. This car really was in pretty good shape other than needed maintenance and the wheels. One thing that I really care about is the wear on the drivers seat, and how filthy the interior is. The interior of this car was a 4 out of 5, which tells me that someone cared about it and kept it clean. My experience is that many people that live in a big city have their cars fixed quicker than someone that doesn't. They are to afraid of having their car break down in the city and having to leave it somewhere for a few hours.

I'm now looking at a car that has 199,000 on the clock. It's a 1995 and the 1st two years it spent on the euro autobaun. The guy drove 100 miles to work every day and put 117,000 miles on it. Then the 2nd owner, who now has it, had the car shipped to the us and has driven it an average of 6,300 per year. So for my view, the last several years, the car has very low miles. My worry is... how worn is the motor from doing 130 mph for 117,000 miles . That's what makes me get a mechanic to do a compression test before I pull the trigger. Other than that, the car is real clean.

 

Of course each car is different. However, we are talking about general tendencies; I thought I made it clear that there are cases which don't follow with the general rule. My own Volvo did not follow the general rule of geography, but it followed other tendencies.

I just ran a CrazedList search and there at least 30-40 Volvo 850s around here. Which one are you going to check?

 

The other side of the big city argument is that cars in areas that have emissions testing HAVE to be kept up to a certain mechanical standard, where someplace like here (south bend indiana area) they do not.

 

Hello rspi,
I was a former NYC resident. Allow me to give you some insight into NYC cars -- some good some maybe - not so good. Out of curiosity and some nostalgia, I checked out Craigslist today for cars for sale BY OWNER - no dealers. I was pleasantly surprised at the low prices. Here are some thoughts to consider.

• Notice that none of the cars were parked in a driveway. That may indicate why the car is being sold. If one lives in an apartment in NYC he must rent garage space to safely store the car. That can easily cost $ 500 per month or more ( figure $ 6,000 + per year). As a result many men (or women) seek other options. Although the owner may work or live in Manhattan, he will park the car on a public street in an outlying county - reachable by train or subway (or both). One really has to be good at choosing the location, or the car will be stolen, vandalized or towed away (or all three of these). This type of owner is a weekend driver mostly and you may get a good deal.
• Most of the cars I saw were located in Queens County - where I once lived. If the owner parks in the street, he MUST move the car every other day as I remember. This is called 'alternate side of the street parking'. Any car left on the wrong side of the street will be towed away by the city. This is a game some owners soon tire of, and decide to get rid of the car.
• Beware of 'low mileage' if the owner admits he drove the car to work. It may take one hour of stop and go traffic to go 10 miles, so the fellow may only drive 20 miles or less a day but had to run the car for over two hours to accomplish that. NYC cars run a much longer time to go a much less distance than where you live. Mileage comparisons are not valid.

There is more to tell but I've taken up enough space for now. Good luck.

 

all the ladies love them...

 

I have this Volvo for 6 months, and it already got a few secrets, damages due to life in the City.

"City MPG" it really means driving through suburban towns. In the City the proper measure is HPG (Hours per Gallon). How would I otherwise measure when sometimes spend at least 1 hour driving around the block to park, or idle for 1 hour to wait for the cleaning truck to make its run, and then move to a spot?

I really don't drive much during the week personally. But I do drive out from NYC every weekend. I usually leave Friday evening. It ususally takes me 45 minutes at least to go through Manhattan and the South Bronx (FDR or 1st Avenue, through Triboro Bridge or Willis Avenue Bridge, hop onto the Bruckner, go through the Bronx River draw bridge and finally get onto the parking lot I-95).

Am I the only NYer on this board that pray that my Volvo will not break in half when going through roadway expansion joints around Westchester Avenue and White Castle Avenue Exits on the Bruckner going North, or through any bridge?

Another thing -- you guys have heard the term 'New York Driving"? It is torture on the car even on a smooth street.

I have driven through most cities (incl. LA, Chicago, Boston or Dallas). But I can really say NYC is much worse.

Besides the kid who was looking to buy was from Jersey, there are plenty of Volvos in Jersey or PA for that matter. But hey, he can come to the City to buy, it really doesn't matter to me. He should Carfax at least.

 

i couldn't get enuff of your post ! so true so trure . one guy said "its not the car its who took care of it " i guess he hasn't been to new york ! i work in the city for 9 years at hudson and spring and did servicing even with trw overload coil springs it beat the snot out of every car i ever drove in the city , so i understand what your talking about , by the way ? what smooth road in the city ? is there really one ? must be under ground