Hello guys my name is Mark and i live in Argentina. I have a Saab 900 SE 2.3 1996 and i love it. I am very happy with it but the parts here are very expensive and the service is far from home. So i am thinking in some car reliable , safety which parts are not so expensive than Saabs ones... Nowadays i am thinking in Volvo 850.

I am looking for some of them. I want one without the Turbo. I want economic ride and reliable. But there is to engines availables.. 2.5 with 10 valves and another with 20 valves.

My question is ... with engine is the best (quality and reliable not performance) and wich model should i see. What should i see on the car. Which are the importants parts?

Thanks so much for your help!!!!

 

Hi Mark,

Greetings from Yokohama, Japan.

Before considering of getting an 850, wait till you hear fromtwo gentlemen in this forum; axelm & JimKW; they can tell you A LOT about 850s.

At this point I can only tell you that the timing belt is one of the most critical components in the engine, and it seems that the cost of parts in Argentinais quite high. axelm would be your mentor in this case.

Welcome to the forum & good luck,


JPN

 

oh Thanks JPN. So i will wait for them.

Thank so much for reply my post!!!

Regards!!!

 

You'd probably want the 20 valve which I assume would be the 2.3 liter. That will probably half less power/displacement, but it'll be economic. Both motors should be reliable...

But be warned, if you get an 850, it might cost you just as much as the Saab to get the car into good condition..

 

FYI,

(Taken from '95 models, can't remember if there was 2.5L)
20-valve: 2.3L Turbo B5234T
Compression ratio: 8.5:1

10-valve: 2.4L NA B5254S
Compression ratio: 10.5:1

Not much difference in durability, and fuel consumption difference may not be largely different, either. Cost of repair seems quite high in Argentina, so if you really want 850, make sure to test drive & have it inspected at a Volvo dealer/shops that specialise in Swedish/European makes.

The following thread may give you some ideas as to what 850s need in terms of replacement/service items:

https://volvoforums.com/m_48928/tm.htm

Cheers,


JPN

 

Is there a Volvo dealership or Volvo independent mecahnic near you? In general I think Saabs are more expensive to maintain than Volvo's, but not by much. If you want a car that is somewhat sporty with good pickup you want a Turbo model. The gas mileage is no different between the two. I have never driven the 10 valve model, but my daughter and her husband just bought a 95 850 Turbo wagon. In the process of shopping for it, they test drove one that was not a Turbo and said no way would they buy it. Said it had no power at all. From then on they only test drove Turbo models.

In 97 the 850 GLT had a Low Pressure Turbo and that is a good model. The 94-96 850 GLT's were not turbocharged. Stay away from the 93 model. It was the first year for the car. Make sure you get one with a good service record and like JPN said have a prepurchase inspection done by a Volvo mechanic. Good luck.

 

Well there is more Volvo official services here than Saabs ones.
The parts i dont know the prices but in the web you can search for those reviews where you have some parts and prices and there are cheaper than Saabs.

I dont want Turbo because are difficult to maintenance and very expensive. I know beacuse Saab has the same models... 2.0 Turbo or 2.3. i choose the last one. Economic and no trouble engine at all.

Well i dont know the cars are both relieables and nice to drive, if the parts cost the same i will kept my Saab ( i am a Saab fanatic and i do some modifications that i dont want to loose).

The web says idiot things sometimes, because it says that Volvo Parts are cheaper ....look at this pages and compare:

Volvo parts (price) : http://consumerguideauto.howstuffwor...olvo-850-6.htm
Saab parts (price) : http://consumerguideauto.howstuffwor...saab-900-6.htm

Check struts or shocks and Timing Belt.... there are a difference. Thats a fact?

 

Mark,

Being a first and last time Volvo owner, I feel that Ford (Volvo) has absolutely abandoned Argentine users to the hands of the rip off dealers and monopolic spare parts suppliers. I will never ever buy a Ford or another Ford-related vehicle again.

A guy at the office has a 94 Saab 9000 CSE and he's always complaining about the cost of service+parts. Volvo's are not as bad as Saab, but still very expensive, 3 to 4 times the cost in the US, many times with a 45 day waiting period for the import process. If you blow the engine, good luck getting a new one. If you have a front collision bye bye car due to cost of repairs, but I guess the latter is the same in the US.

The only way IMO it makes sense to get an 850 here is:
- if you are looking for a fast turbo wagon (there are no alternatives for a reasonable price)
- if you want a heavy car with thick doors to protect your loved ones from Argentine crazy drivers (this was my case, I have seen way too many accidents on our roads)
- if you can do DIY repairs or you have an independent mechanic specialized in European cars that will take care of it. Forget about taking it to the official Volvo shops, they will absolutely ROB YOU BLIND.
- if you have access to bringing parts from the US or Paraguay or you travel frequently and you can bring them yourself (my case too).
- if you want to have a different car. There are not a large variety of models here in the Mercosur countries. At least there aren't 10 Volvos per block like the Peugeots, Fiats and Volkswagens.

I bought an automatic turbo sedan, but I should have bought a manual turbo wagon. Don't get an R or T5R, floor clearance is way too low for our horrible roads, and the 20+ HPs are not worth the backache/dash vibration.

Volvos in general are very hard to resell here, being auto N/As the hardest, and turbo manuals the easiest. Manual tranny also means less chance of having tranny problems which cost 3000 USD to fix here. I think the 850 N/A would feel very sluggish. Get one with a turbo, you will be able to race a brand new Passat on the Panamericana for 25% the cost. Fuel consumption for my turbo is 10.5L/100km for highway and about 16L/100 km for city driving. N/A might be a 9.5 highway - 14 city.

If you are still interested, only buy a car with a full service history. Have the car inspected at a Volvo shop before purchase. They will charge you only 30 dollars an hour. Don't get a free inspection, pay for it because otherwise the lazy mechanics will not be thorough. Get the electronic system scanned, get a compression test, check automatic climate control system, timing belt, tensioners, leaking water pump, PNP switch, PCV system, blown RMS seal, slipping tranny, leaking sunroof, break rotors (very expensive). Have the shop check the catalyzer, which costs a small fortune here and is usually removed when it fails. Suspension parts are usually blown here due to the bad roads. Have the car's odometer compared to the information stored in the ECU to make sure the odometer has not been tampered with. I would make a nice long checklist and have them check every single item. For suspension items have it taken to a specialized store with a suspension computer the simulates bumpy roads.

If you go to a car dealer that usually does not sell Volvos you can probably offer a very low price and they will be happy to get rid of the car. They have probably paid a very low price for the car too. If the dealer doesn't let you take the car to have it inspected at Volvo, tell him that you are serious about buying the car but you know about the impossible cost of spares and that you will under no circumstance buy the car without a formal Volvo inspection. Do not feel tempted to take your mechanically inclined friend to check it out. Either do it at a Volvo shop or you will be sorry. There are a lot of expensive vicios ocultos which only Volvo mechanics will be able to detect.

As you can see I am not encouraging you at all to buy a Volvo here. However if the 850 is in good shape it will give you many satisfactions and it has a good cost/benefit ratio as long as you don't have to take it to the mechanic frequently.

My 2 cents, send me a PM if you want to talk over the phone.
Axel

 

Ohhhh Axel. Thanks so much for that Answer. Great answer. Thanks!!!
You know my country i think. Where do you live?

i am checking your points. its difficult.

 

I live in Pilar, and I work in Nuñez. That's Buenos Aires, for the non-Argentine readers.

 

Oh Axel Hello!!!
Great another Argentinian in the forums. I live in Tigre.

Well let me tell you that your word is gold because you know the prices and the services workshops. I bought a Saab because it cost less than a Suzuki Fun.

The 200000km service cost me 1500 Pesos and the parts like a Mangueta cost 3000$. So the parts are very expensive.

Do you think that Volvo parts are expensier? I think that a volvo 850 has less electronic systems so it easear to do the DIY. What do you think about it?

I prefer and used volvo or used Saab than a new Suzuki Fun or Chevrolet Corsa. Thats my philosophy.

Thanks for your answers guys!!!!

 

500 dollars can be cheap, depending on what they did at 200 000 km.

From comments I heard, Saab parts are more expensive than Volvo.

One advantage of the Volvo shop versus the Saab shop is that Bruno SA in Vicente Lopez lets you take your own parts and they will only charge man hours.

I'd stay away from both brands though, but all thecar companies here rip you off in one way or another. My brother has had a wonderful experience with Toyota Corolla and I've had a great experience with a Honda Accord coupé.

I guess the key of finding a great used car is to be very patient and methodic and wait for the right one.