Hi all,
I'm interested in getting a used Volvo for my 16 year old son, and a few locally owned 850's are available.
I'm wondering if there are certain years or features that should be avoided, or if anyone has any other recommendations.
In particular, I'm considering the following cars:
1993 850 GLT with 194K for $1800. Manual transmission.
1994 850 GLT with 150K for $1000. Automatic transmission.
1996 850 Turbo with 161K for $2300. Automatic transmission. (It needs an a/c evaporator. What should that cost? Also the abs light is coming on intermittently. What might cause that, and how much $ to remedy it?)
Thanks for any advice, or opinions!
Kyle

 

Evaporator will probably run you close to $1500. It's a big job. I've had it done to all three of my 850's. My son and son in law did it the last time and it still costs me around $800. Very very time consuming job.

1993 was the first year for the 850 and some of the parts are not interchangeable with the other years. I would probably stay away from a 93 for that reason.

The 94 for $1,000 migh tbe a good deal. But I would look for a Turbo model. All three of my kids learned to drive in a 94 850 Turbo and they all loved it.

The 98 S70 or V70 are very good cars also. Stay away from 99 and newer.

 

You may be able to talk the '96 down because of the evaporator. I would NOT replace it because you can service the ac each month and it would likely take 12 years to catch up to the cost of the replacement. I did it myself at the tune of $200 and 11 hours and I still don't think it's worth it.

I would try to get a turbo and one that is post '95. It has the obd-II port, easier to work on.

Do NOT forget to check the sticky and look at the buyer's guide. That thread is worth it's weight in text.

 

Thanks for the replies. That's good to know. I was kind of leaning in the direction of the turbo, as it has the best service records and appears to be in the best condition, too.
What about the ABS light coming on intermittently? Any ideas what might be causing that?

 

I have a 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo and had the same light on for about a month and got the car for the same price, I would thoroughly check everything my head gasket went out within a month... I know its not connected but I'm just saying it happened to me and my friends 850 this year.

 

What was the cause of the ABS light coming on?

 

I had a wheel sensor that had problems and had to be replaced.

 

Most often the ABS module itself fails, but it might be as simple as the ABS pickups at each wheel. They are magnetic and can get covered with detritus, so it's easy to pull each wheel and brush them off with a toothbrush.

Here's a good write-up on a DIY module repair:
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...=12651&start=0

 

Thanks for the reply. That's an interesting link.
Any idea what the cost of a new ABS module is, in case replacement is necessary?

 

Great! Can you provide a link to that? I couldn't find it.
Thanks,
Kyle

 

It's in the How To DIY thread at the top of this forum.

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...s-guide-13678/

 

There is also a lot of threads about ABS problems.

 

Thanks for the advice. I ended up getting a 96 850 with only 93K (for real) for $2000. My son loves it. It's his first car.
If anyone can help me figure out why the driver's seatbelt won't retract, I'd be grateful.
Thanks much.

 

If it doesn't retract it's likely broke. Some Volvo dealers were fixing those for FREE for a while. A safety thing with Volvo. Other than that you'll need to go to a junk yard and get another one.

 

get a thin peice of wood or plastic and shove it in between the abs modual and the thing that conects to it (between the silver and the black) that way it turns of the abs light i did it on 2 cars alerady and it worked.

 

Don't know where all of the discussions are going on this but thought I'd add my 2 cents.

First- are you all actually telling this guy to buy a TURBO for a 16 yr old? Are you all nuts? Every car is too fast for a 16 yr old! Even my dad's old Golf diesel.

Second- why would you even consider repairing the AC on a car for a 16 yr old? Some of you must just like to spend money! I haven't had a vehicle with working AC in 15 years! Course I don't live in Texas either. Jeeze, let him sweat a little, or use 2-60 air conditioning.

Just my little rant... Dave

 

I have to disagree with the idea that it's good to give incredibly slow cars to young drivers. I am certainly not advocating giving a high performance car to a new driver, but having a certain amount of power is a safety feature - ie. being able to get to highway speeds on short onramps, being able to get out of the way in a bad situation, etc.

The 96 turbo is no-doubt faster than the N/A model. But with 0-60 at over 6 seconds when brand new, it's hardly a speed machine. Hell even my 96 850 R isn't what I would call "fast".

 

@ Daver80, I enjoyed your input. However, I am with ThEnder, I do consider the turbo a safety feature, for the mentioned reasons.

Kmead is by no means sticking a silver spoon in his sons mouth with a 16 year old car. I did get my daughter the S70 GLT and yes, I have been shocked at the speeds that I have seen in the GPS (faster than I have driven in 30 years). I will add that I do talk to other "kids" that have driven much slower cars and they still race up the highway at speeds over 90 mph. I do know Volvo's are safer but any accident at a speed over 60 will likely end poorly. The fact that it's a Volvo will knotch down the racing/speeding factor with friends. It's the parents job to teach the young drivers responsibility and driving respect.

 

Congratulations. Good choice. Engines of Turbo cars tend to last longer. They might be a little more work to upkeep, but hey, let your son do his own work and learn.

Just get the OBDII software and let your son figure out how to read car's computer.

You need to fix/replace the seatbelt right away -- it's a BIG safety risk. Is the SRS light on?

Does the odometer work (probably not)?

 

To respond to some of the items:
Seat belt's fixed (junkyard), odometer stopped recently (I know I know, they all say that, but I believe it's true in this case), AC works on this one (it wasn't vital anyway, I just wanted to know the repair cost for haggling purposes), and the car seems just right to me as far as speed is concerned. Fast enough for on ramps, decent handling, good braking.