Purchasing Today - 1996 850 Platinum

DougM · Post by **DougM** » 20 Dec 2011, 08:37

I officially join the club tonight.

I am purchasing a 1996 850 Platinum Sedan!!!! My 16 y/o son is very excited--and so are mom/dad for the safety reasons!

: IMG_0556.jpg (38.25 KiB) Viewed 3388 times

: IMG_0557.jpg (37.78 KiB) Viewed 3388 times

Post by **rspi** » 20 Dec 2011, 08:40

Nice. Does it have service history? How many miles does it have on it?

DougM · Post by **DougM** » 20 Dec 2011, 09:19

It has just under 122k miles.

The current owner did major engine work at 106k (new head, head gaskets, rebuilt turbo, timing belt, plugs, wires, etc.)

Post by **shiloh51933** » 20 Dec 2011, 10:50

Good buy, i almost bought a 97 Platinum Edition wagon in PEARL White with like 70 something thousand on the odo. I ended up buying my 96 GLT w/Platinum Edition wheels for half the price. They just wouldn't come down on price, I don't blame though, it was as perfect as could be in/out. The interior is just as important as the exterior in my book. Your son is a lucky kid, it's not new but it's an excellent first car. My first car was a 1985 Nissan Stanza with a bad dizzy, it would lose power and then stall out. It would take quite a few minutes of re-starting before it would stay running, my father left that part out when he gave it to me. I ended up buying a 1980 Camaro Z28 5.7L/4 bolt main/with air induction hood/Super Sport Wheels/stone guards-front ground effect/spoiler and even rear windshield louvers. Anyway good luck with the Platinum Edition!!

Post by **erikv11** » 20 Dec 2011, 12:11

All Platinums are pearl white. And considering that they were only made in 96, it is probably a good thing you didn't buy that 97 Platinum wagon!

To the OP: looks great, enjoy!

Post by **rspi** » 20 Dec 2011, 15:27

DougM wrote:It has just under 122k miles.

The current owner did major engine work at 106k (new head, head gaskets, rebuilt turbo, timing belt, plugs, wires, etc.)

LOL, @ 106k, my guess is that they broke a timing belt. Ouch!!! When you get it check the PCV system.

Post by **asimba2** » 20 Dec 2011, 17:04

Looks nice, I just picked up a 95 850 turbo a few days ago. I see there is a huge variance in the amount these cars sell for--some are $1,000 and others are more like $4,000, none of them necessarily looking as clean as the one you got. Every one I looked at including the one I bought has trashed leather, dashboard issues and a few unaddressed maintenance issues. Not unexpected considering their age, I guess.

Is the paint on your trunklid spoiler needing help too? Mine looks they used it as a kitchen cutting board.

Anyways, looks nice!

Post by **rspi** » 20 Dec 2011, 21:48

Not sure why some ask $4,000 while other ask $1,000. I think the lower priced ones are simply being reasonable or just wanted to see the thing gone. Most people bail on these cars when they are told they need about $2,500 to $4,000 in maintenance/repairs. So, when you get one be ready to dig in. Once you do, you'll have a nice solid car for a few years.
http://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-850- ... v70s-9266/

As for the trunk spoiler paint, a lot of body shops don't use the right paint on the fin because they are simply LAZY. The fin is not metal and should be painted with a paint that will flex with the fin as the wind warps it at highway speeds. The hard body paint just gets worse and worse as time goes by. The paint on the fin of our S70 looked like new when we got it 2-1/2 years ago, now it looks like the bottom of a dry lake bed.

DougM · Post by **DougM** » 21 Dec 2011, 05:46

Spoiler paint is fine on mine.

In case you were wondering, I paid $2,400.

Post by **JRL** » 21 Dec 2011, 06:59

That's not correct
In all my years I've never heard of using flex paint on a spoiler.
The reason is that
1: it's horizontal and directly under the sun and
2: it's fiberglass and for whatever reason that seems not hold paint as well as metal especially if it's not prepped for fiberglass which apparently Volvo did not take the extra step!
Just look at an old Corvette and all the paint checking on those (if original)