Hello All,
I have been bitten by the Volvo 850 Bug and am wanting to upgrade my car to a turbo, which means selling the N/A and buying a High Pressure Turbo. At my local Volvo Specialist in town they have what appears to be a very very nice 1996 850 R Automatic car which appears to be in really nice shape for $5,995 It goes without saying that I would attempt to talk them down in price and get the best possible purchase price available, however what is this car really worth? I have a decent stock 850 N/A that I bought with a blown head gasket for $200.00 from the original owner with every receipt from brand new (800 total invested so far after head gasket) that still needs a paint job. So from a low price value of a base non turbo car for $200 starting point to a extremely nice turbo car for $6,000 seems like quite a price range. I have found quite a few turbo R cars both auto and 5 speed that while they supposedly ran good priced from 2-4 K they all needed work and were a bit raggedy. Is the car I am considering which again is a 96 Turbo R in exceptional all original stock condition with original paint and records worth this much or are they way off base. If so what is this car possibly worth as far as a range so I have a clue if I decide to go in there and try to negotiate with them? Thanks in advance for your wisdom and advice, I have learned a long time ago that no matter how big my ego is, I sure as hell don't know everything and I am always quite humbled by the amount of knowledge and wisdom of this group. So please help a good intentioned newbie out with your thoughts and wisdom. Thank you all as usual. Paul
PS: To make my N/A as fast as the turbo I could drive it off a cliff, I would really like to have a turbo car. The N/A car is not going to do it.

 

Hi Paul: A turbo R in my opinion is worth more than a NA. A nice, well maintained NA should be worth between $2,500 and $2,900 depending on the recent maintenance history.

In my opinion, there are a few big ticket items that would effect value: 1. Timing belt service, 2. Working AC, 3. PCV service, 4. Transmission condition, 5. Turbo system condition, 6. Interior wear. If those things are in order, recently service and in good condition, I think a R sedan is worth $5,000 and a wagon maybe $6,000. At the end of the day, it's all about what you will need to put into it within the next 12 months.

If the vehicle needs maintenance or repairs, that number will decrease quick. AC repair -$900, bad dash -$700, suspension issues, - $500, old water pump -$800, etc. So, proceed with that in mind.

 

Thank You so very much for your help and guidance. I am a true believer in searching out experienced wise peoples advice when I am in new territories. You gave me everything I needed and I thank you kindly sir. Now if I can just jump in and make all of the logistics and finances work things should be great. Thanks again, Paul in Winter Park Florida.

 

6k LOL! An eBay auction for a 85k mile '96 R sedan in mint condition just ended at 4k. The difference between a sedan and wagon might be $500, not a whole grand. Haven't seen any 850 break 5k in a long time.

If it's nice, well maintained, and has less than 200k on it I'd say $3,500 in this market for a sedan, maybe $4,000 for a wagon.

 

For this reason, I'd only buy one with the PCV and timing belt services already done. These two combined will cost around $1,500 if you do them at a shop. That's almost half the value of even a nice R! Make sure they're done and documented.