Hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas. Does anyone know anything about the reliability of an 1996 Volvo 850 sedan? Thanks BOB

i seem to recall that there were "stay away" models in the mid 90's. that may be one of them - check the volvo forums...

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joE
1993 300e-2.8 - gone now <sigh>
"Do not adjust your mind, it's reality that's malfunctioning"
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The 96'ish Volvo 850's are supposed to be pretty good cars, except for some AC issues including evaporator problems.

The AWD versions are supposedly HORRID and "avoid at all costs."

V70/S70 car's reliability drops as the cars get newer. Again, AWD means run away.

S80's are VERY poor.

S40/V40's are decent cars, though not selling well.

This is from my father-in-law, who is as big a Volvo nut as I am MB nut.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

If the 850 is a manual transmission, non-turbo model, with a good service history, it should be a decent car, considering it's a '96 (later model of 850).

Automatic transmissions in 850s aren't renowned for ultimate durability.

You might also consider a 1995 940 Turbo, which is the pinnacle of development of RWD four-cylinder Volvos. A very solid car, with performance equivalent to an 850 5-speed.

-Sam

THANX, Guys. I did chk a Volvo forum, and the only thing that kept recurring was Turbo seal problems, and an interesting one about a recall (from November) about the heated seats with the potential of causing a fire in the seats!!! Wouldn't want that to happen!! Thanks again

I had a 1995 850 wagon with 275,000 miles. at that point it was eating oil pretty fast and a friend took it across the state and ran it out of oil killing it. but that's a lot of miles for a gasoline engine!

eric

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1995 E320 Sportline Wagon "Bernard"
black on black leather

http://i.imgur.com/BdZ7jM3.png

I was looking to get a t5 turbo before I got my benz, it was a great car and was super fast! I took it to my mechanic, and his shop neighboor who only buys old volvos, fixes them, and sells them told me that 850s had tranny trouble, thats all he said, and that was all it took for my parents to bar me from buying an 850

No, I don't have to have any particular kind of car. My girls are in college 600 miles from home and the vehicle they took with them now needs extensive repair, and I'd rather get something very reliable for them to take back, or let them take the newer minivan, which is still under warranty so they won't have to hassle with repair bills, etc., and then get something else for the little woman (and I do mean little) do drive. I saw this Volvo 850 for what appears to be a couple grand less than book values show, with 79K miles, and was wondering if anyone had experience with them. I guess what I'm looking for is a bird car (CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP). I HATE car shopping!! Any, thanks for the suggestion. BOB

Don't forget the 700 and 900 series four-cylinder Volvos, too!

-Sam

yep, a bonneville is high on my list of cars for when my kids start driving...

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joE
1993 300e-2.8 - gone now <sigh>
"Do not adjust your mind, it's reality that's malfunctioning"
http://banners.wunderground.com/bann...L/Key_West.gif

Thanks, Paul, I'll take those under consideration, too. BOB

"Alternators will go like clockwork every three years,"

Heh, try every 10 months. Luckily the warranty gets extended everytime I bring em back, so I only paid for the first one.

I'll second the recommendation for any GM car with the 3.8 liter V6 engine.

The company I used to work for gave company cars to the sales reps in the late eighties to early nineties. They were given Olds Cutlasses, Pontiac Bonnevilles, Oldmobilbe Eighty Eights, and Buick Le Sabres.

There were about 77 cars in total, and the reps had to run the cars into the ground before they'd replace them.

I kept tabs on the cars to see how they were holding up, and the cars would go about 225,000 to 250,000 miles before they would get rid of them.

And the repairs were very consistent - alternators and water pumps would go out every 60,000 miles, but the engines were indestructible.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Oh yeah, another funny story is there was just one guy, the Sales Manager, who had the Oldsmobile - it was a 1988 Oldsmobile Delta Eightyeight Royale.

His car never broke down so they wouldn't replace it, even though he was sick and tired of it. He performed the maintenance like clockwork. When I left the company two years ago, the car had turned over 300,000 miles, and he was still driving it. He claimed it still didn't use oil between oil changes.

When we'd go out to lunch, he would leave the car unlocked and leave the keys on the roof of the car, hoping that someone would steal it so that he could get another car. No one ever stole it.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

ewewewewewewew!! GM?! LeSabre, Bonneville?!! Come on, your daughters have to have a social life too...