I'm thinking about a turbo wagon as a daily,seems perfect with the space I need and some towing ability for a small trailer and can make decent power for cheap it seems. I'd be mostly looking at 850 or V70 late 90's versions,are they reliable enough or do I look elsewhere?
Turbo bricks rule! 
740/940 > 850/V70
m4ff3w wrote: 740/940 > 850/V70
Hmm... I don't agree. I enjoy driving my turbo 850 much more than my turbo 740, and that's even with the 850 being an auto! And I'm not talking about over the past couple weeks, when my 740 started going on the fritz, just in general.
I really enjoy the feel of the five and the solidity of the car in general. The hood and door closings almost sound like Porsche shut noises.
But drive them both. If you're stuck on a manual then advantage: 7. But the auto in the 850 is pretty damn good, and the balance for a wrong wheel drive car is excellent.
The only 850 I ever drove was a stick, but not a turbo. Are the turbos not available with a stick?!
I loved my 945T, even though it was an automatic.
My friend has a 99 V70 turbo 5 speed with no sunroof. It was one of nine imported or something ridiculous like that. It has full koni suspension, cat-back, chip, and a short shifter. He paid around $7500 for it with less than 100k on it and full service records. My 89 745t auto has 279k on it, required an interior swap and suspension rebuild and is waiting for a new turbo. The body has lots of dings and scratches and rust. I bought it for $500 and with the 5-speed swap I'll have about $1500 into it. It depends a lot on your budget and whats available in your area. So if you find a FWD turbo 5-speed for cheap, jump on it!
I like three major things about the 740/940 over the 850/V70:
RWD
Bigger cargo room and entrance
Much tighter turning radius. The thing seriously turns better than my wife's old Civic.
I've had my 92 740 turbo for about 4 months now and I love it, despite the fact that it's automatic. Unlike most, the interior in mine has held up really well. The car just feels solid and well built. Mine has 266K and is still trucking. I do wish it got better gas mileage, i can only seem to get 20mpg on a good day. I average around 17mpg.
I personally think it's a bit big for a "fun" car but i'm used to driving CRX's so my perspective may be a bit skewed.
PubBurgers wrote: I do wish it got better gas mileage, i can only seem to get 20mpg on a good day. I average around 17mpg.
You need chips. The 945t that tuna55 now owns jumped from high teens to low 20s and was quicker to boot. That was at 11psi (stock is 7). Not sure where hes at now that hes turned up the boost.
I consistently got low 20's with my 945T, bone stock. I would drive it like Grandma though. Mostly. I remember a tank or two where I got 19. On interstate cruises, it would get 24.
1988RedT2 wrote: The only 850 I ever drove was a stick, but not a turbo. Are the turbos not available with a stick?!
I think it was 1998 only when a manual trans could be optioned with a turbo. The NA engines could be combined with 5 speed for all the years of 850/V70.
Personally I had a '95 wagon with a manual. It was great but not fast. Engine swaps/ trans swaps can be done. To the best of my knowledge it is not just a case of adding turbo bits to the existing NA engine.
Don't forget how much easier maintenance is on the RWD cars, vs the FWD cars. The 700/900 engine bay is MASSIVE.
Thanks guys,my main concern is reliabilty as I'm used to hondas and toyotas.I'm fine with normal wear and tear replacement stuff just didn't want to buy a car for under 3k and then that much or more a year just to drive it.
Thoughts?.
If you get one that's been looked after, they'll go on forever if you keep up the maintenance.
I'd be tempted to get an(other) 740 turbo as a winter shed but out here you really want 4WD for winter.
The 740/940 are tough as nails. They don't die.
m4ff3w wrote: The 740/940 are tough as nails. They don't die.
Both of mine were over 200k with plenty of life left in them. As with anything buy the best one you can afford to avoid being nickel and dimed to death later.
My first one had 175k on it when I started modifying it. Cam/bigger IC/bigger injectors/bigger turbo/21psi of boooooost and she still loved it.
I really kinda hate that this question was asked. There's a TON reasonably priced ones on CL right now. :(
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/1826248539.html
My 850 turbowagon has approx 300k and is tough as nails as well, just like the energizer bunny. Better winter car as well, especially for Cleveland. Bought it for $1200, 4 yrs ago and has only has needed strut mounts, ball joint, brakes, starter and oil. Yeah its a boring auto with 220hp, but its a great and useful utility/race support vehicle.
had a friend w a 20V AE86 @ PIR....
The Volvo was a turd around the corners, but could hall balls down the straight.
oldeskewltoy wrote: The Volvo was a turd around the corners, but could hall balls down the straight.
IPD can help the suspension quite a bit.
just drove my 91 turbo for the second time ever. I had an IPD suspension installed, car feels good, stiff. Other impressions: Interior feels cheap, needs cleaned up, air conditioning worked great, some massive seal problem around the driver door, sounds like Im in a wind tunnel. Verdict: I would get one if you can.
Get a 240 Wagon and add a turbo. The 2XX series Volvo's seem to be the most fun of the contemporary ones.
I just started driving a 740 turbo wagon (with 5 speed).
Impressions so far:
It's SLOW (even if it isn't as slow as my '82 Corolla wagon, it feels slower).
It's Big and Heavy but doesn't really feel too bad.
The interior is a MESS. Don't count on a nice looking interior. I'm afraid to shut the doors too hard because of the noises it makes when I do.
My kids love the 3rd row (rear facing) seat. Ok...only one of my kids does, it makes the other kid want to barf.
I'd rather have an Corolla wagon with no rust (but those don't exist).
It's SLOW (yes, it warranted saying twice).
Who wants to trade me something for this brick?! Lol. (Ok...I'm completely serious).
Clem
ClemSparks wrote: Who wants to trade me something for this brick?! Lol. (Ok...I'm completely serious). Clem
A case of PBR? 
Once again it looks to be too far and too nice for my needs but send me some pics and a price and we'll see what we can do.
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