There’s a clean example ironically at the lot where my totaled rental Altima went.
Asking a tick over $2,000.
Mind you my commute will be a little over 35 minutes or so and calling in for breakdowns is frowned upon.
Wife says it’s too old to be reliable. I’m thinking the ~2006 vehicles that are in my price range can’t be trusted necessarily either.
Plus it’s more cool than an Accord right?
I had one as my first daily driver 12ish years ago. Great vehicles. Put a ton of miles on it, abused it daily, and nothing ever broke.
The odometers are notorious for failing. Check to see if the odometer is actually working.
If if everything else checks out, and it’s in solid shape it should be a good beater.
For 2 grand, what are your options? A 5-year old Kia? I wouldn't trust that any more than I'd trust the volvo. That being said, my Dd is a 2001 volvo with over 200,000 miles on it. Been stone reliable.
Miles don't scare me, previous owners do. Just do all your checks (VIN, accident, paint, compression, fluid, etc.) and giddyup.
We have owned many Volvos over the years and all have been eerily reliable. Before our current Volvo XC60, we had an 2004 XC90 with the 2.5l 5 cyl engine we bought new. I believe the 2.5l is essentially the same as the 2.3l in the 850. Sold it at 216K miles having done *nothing* to the drivetrain except normal maintenance. Wouldn't have sold it at all, but the leather interior was starting to look ratty because of the dogs.
For that money, I wouldn't hesitate.
DrBoost said:For 2 grand, what are your options? A 5-year old Kia? I wouldn't trust that any more than I'd trust the volvo. That being said, my Dd is a 2001 volvo with over 200,000 miles on it. Been stone reliable.
Miles don't scare me, previous owners do. Just do all your checks (VIN, accident, paint, compression, fluid, etc.) and giddyup.
I’ll have a $7,000 budget but I don’t really want to spend it all on a used vehicle. This would give me $5,000 for repairs!
I may be overly cynical, but to me, a $2000 car on a dealer's lot is at death's door, or at best, a time bomb. The dealer's reputation is paramount here. On 95% of used car lots: RUN!
No. I bought my wife an 850 turbo wagon about 6 years ago as a fun family hauler and it was the opposite of reliable. It had an intermittent no spark issue that would leave you stranded, it would always start at home, but often wouldn't when you wanted to leave your destination. After going through the whole ignition and ecu systems I gave up and sold it with full disclosure. It was a great car when it ran.
1988RedT2 said:I may be overly cynical, but to me, a $2000 car on a dealer's lot is at death's door, or at best, a time bomb. The dealer's reputation is paramount here. On 95% of used car lots: RUN!
Cynical is ok. Nothing wrong with a taste of someone’s reality.
I owned a low mileage 1996 850 turbo. The answer is no.
I don't remember all the issues since it's been quite a few years, but the car was a unreliable nightmare. Electrical issues, cooling fan issues, ac issues when it was over 80 degrees. I discovered any parts made in Sweden to be annoyingly expensive. By the time I sold the car, I spent more on parts in 2 years, than on the initial purchase. Don't do it.
I’m seriously considering a 2000ish Honda Accord manual. Save the extra $4-5,000 for Disney.
I've had two 850s, an N/A 5 speed sedan and a turbo sedan, and my dad had an N/A 5 speed wagon. Never once did any of those cars leave us stranded and I beat the ever living E36 M3 out of them. The turbo car i got for free from a friend of a friend when i was in college and put nearly 50k trouble free miles on it. Parts admittedly aren't the cheapest, but they're well built and absolutely do not rust. The turbo cars are comfortable and quite quick, and can be made even faster for little money. They have a ton of space inside, even the sedans, and eat up miles with aplomb. Would make a fine DD for the budget.
What no more Denalis? 
My $2000.00, 150k mile, normally aspirated 850 was dead reliable. That's my only 850 experience. My only other Volvo experience is with the '01 S60 that replaced the 850 after my wife stuffed it into the back of a pickup truck. The S60 has not been very reliable but it's nice to drive.
ebonyandivory said:I’m seriously considering a 2000ish Honda Accord manual. Save the extra $4-5,000 for Disney.
This sounds like a great idea
We had a '96 850 sedan w/ a 5spd manual for several years, it was totally reliable and never left us stranded. Only traded it in 2006 'cause Chuck wanted a wagon for his daily. I would buy another in a heartbeat.
ebonyandivory said:I’m seriously considering a 2000ish Honda Accord manual. Save the extra $4-5,000 for Disney.
I'd go for the Honda, provided its not a giant rusticle underneath. My current DD (until I get one of my Saabs running again) is a '98 Civic. It sat for ~2 years before we dragged it home. After going thru all the fluids, timing belt, and brakes (all stupid cheap), 3 years ago it just keeps going with routine maintenance only.
dean1484 said:What no more Denalis?
It took me five weeks to find the last one that got totaled. I’ve been looking and looking and there’s literally nothing out there that’s even close. Well, let me correct that: there’s tons of them out there but I see them selling for $7000 to $9000.
I actually saw two 2005 GMC Sierra 2500’s.
One was $17,000 and the other was $20,000. The Northeast is insane for 4x4 trucks. Everything else are missing rockers.
I dailyed a '95 N/A 850 GLT for about 9 years, until about 4 years ago when it became a back-up/spare car, and last year we finally replaced it with an '05 Grand Marquis. We still have it, it's just literally been put out to pasture at my parent's farm.
The 850 only ever stranded me at my house twice, both times were the result of a bad fuel pressure regulator. I blame ethanol, and the second time I had replaced the original regulator with a used one from my parts stash, so who knows how many miles were on it when I put it on my car.
I did the usual repairs that you'll read about, PCV system is a bear but not insurmountable for the average DIYer/shade tree mechanic. The heater core is a bear, but more so if you're not flexible and have larger hands. I usually caution that if the A/C doesn't blow cold, I wouldn't even consider buying because the evaporator replacement is an enormous job, and unless you can hear the compressor grinding, chances are the evaporator is what's leaking.
I lowered mine on some Eibachs and Koni STRTs, put a strut tower brace and some sportier all season tires on it, and it was a fun-ish DD.
I put north of 250K miles on mine, hard to say for sure, as the odometer quit working at 146K.
I did replace the engine in it, but that was totally my fault. Thermostat failed, I limped it home, in work traffic, with the heater on, instead of pulling over and stopping. I warped the head. I found a complete long block, with fewer miles, for significantly less money than a remanufactured head, so I just replaced the whole engine.
In the end, it didn't leak a drop of fluids anywhere, but she was tired, and consuming oil a little quicker than I was checking. Only once or twice did I pull the dip stick out and not see anything. 
The old girl never complained and kept going.
I have delusions of doing something with her some day, maybe an homage to the BTCC 850s Challenge car someday.
I know I'm rambling. I like the cars, seats are phenomenal, and mechanically they're pretty robust. Just don't over heat them, and remember to change the timing belt, Whiteblocks are interference engines.
You'll need to log in to post.
