Looking at a 1996 850 sedan, what to look for and how much? Topic is solved

garlicbreath · Post by **garlicbreath** » 27 Oct 2004, 16:04

Hey, I am new to this site, and new to volvos. I have always liked their style and reputation. I am looking for one, and found a 1996 850 sedan at a local small dealer. It seems like a basic model, no sunroof, 5 speed, manual seats, tape player. It has 109,000 miles on it. The exterior is scruffy, no dents or damage, but wifey parking lot stuff. The interior is clean, grey cloth. It drives really good from what I could tell from my test drive. Now the questions, it sounded kinda funny when it started, a little rattly. Is this a normal trait for volvos? And next is the price. He's asking 3500, but is negotiable. What do you guys think and what should I be looking for in my first volvo?

adrian22 · Post by **adrian22** » 02 Nov 2004, 17:20

Just got a similar one on ebay for 2300, it has 157k. but you can find a cheaper one than the one you are thinking to buy. A decent price will be $2800-3200 for a100k.
Good luck//

Post by **matthew1** » 02 Nov 2004, 18:18

If it's never been in an accident/had the engine replaced or any other weird happenings, then $3000-3500 is not bad.

There are too many ok 850s out there to settle on a weird one.

Tsquared · Post by **Tsquared** » 02 Nov 2004, 20:10

You also need to find out if the transmission has been serviced. They are a weak link because the factory did not recomend a service cycle for them. Many of the early transmissions failed 90-110K miles.