850 or S70 for teenage driver? Suggestions? Advice?

[itsazoo]

Hello Forum!

I'm new here and have come looking for advice. I've owned several old 740 wagons in the past (my current "old car" is a 90 Saab 900) and I'm looking around for a Volvo to buy for my 17 year old son, to learn to drive in snow and to commute to college in next year. (He had a choice between an old Volvo & an old Saab- that's it! He chose Volvo.) I've narrowed the field down to (I believe) a late model 850 or an S70 for the fwd and the side airbags. I know these are very similar cars, but I've never owned either so I need help deciding!
Is there a preference -mechanically speaking- between turbo & non? I've always heard that turbo's have problems and that they make the parts & the mechanics labor cost more. What should I be on the look out for when buying? I can do some minor work/repairs myself.

Thanks much!

[jblackburn]

The turbos are just as reliable, but they leak damn near everywhere. Some things are harder to access. To me, it's mostly worth it. The non-turbos are heavy and slow in automatic form (and a LOT of fun in 5-speeds), but that may be a good thing for a 17-yr old. I know how I was at that age.

Here's the question for you - as with that Saab, I'm sure. How good are you at working on your own cars? If you have shops do work for you, hopefully you've found a good place for the Saab that you trust, but it still may eat you alive in labor costs. Some of these cars are great and very reliable, and some (especially ones that have been neglected in their past) can be money pits.

MAINTENANCE RECORDS and a well-kept car are key to buying one of these things. Sure, you can get them for cheap in not-so-great shape, but they will eat a hole through your wallet very quickly. My '88 Accord sure did that to my dad when I was in college.

If you and your son are good at working on your own cars, then they are really very easy to work on by yourself and there are lots of great resources out there to help you along the way.

I've owned mine since I was 20, and it's been a great car along the way for me. We've been looking at one for my 16-yr old brother, but I just can't find one that's been taken care of and is in good shape for a reasonable price. We basically want to buy a car and for him just to be able to drive it. And as I live farther away now and will be unable to help him when something inevitably goes wrong with it, my dad and I are instead looking at late-90's Civics and Camrys for him.

[erikv11]

I would go with a 98 S70 non-turbo. The non-turbo is plenty fast and by eliminating the turbo you eliminate a bunch of the usual, nagging problems. And yes that turbo and piping gets in the way for other repairs, crowds the engine bay. He can learn to drive and to fix the non-turbo, then buy himself a turbo model in 3 years.

Along with what jblackburn said, all you need now is to find one. Keep looking until one fits the bill.

[klojbg]

I beleive the safest Volvo is the 240. My family has survived two T Bones and two Rear Enders( one was an 850)
The other cars were iiterally swept up and put in a box and hauled away. In Europe the 240 is fondly called a "Tank"
I have been asked more than once if I would be willing to sell my virgin 20 yr old 240, wanted for college bound grand kids.

[bugsbunnies95_850t]

im 17 .. i have a 95 850 turbo .. LOVE absolute LOVE .. wagons r the bomb for younger people and its fast as all get out .. great car and its REALLY SAFE

[BEJinFbk]

+1 on the 240. Built like tanks.
But the 850 and 70's are very nice and
are equipped with more current safety features.
Very nearly the same car. '98's are the simplest 70's.

[Fish stick88]

Either way, you definately want to stay on this website great for maintenence and help. I've driven both, and prefer the 850, Im 17 myself. The 850 doesnt get up as fast but to me it seems like a smoother ride and I havent had hardly any problems with mine. As a student in IOWA. Volvo's aren't really the thing to drive, as most of my buddies drive big trucks. Wagons aren't very common for students, and i wouldnt want one myself,
Ive had very little problems with my 850.
check out various specs and benefits to each car.
Good luck

[IceTurbo]

Had a similar question come up. Keep in mind if you do choose an S70 that you need to get a 1998, one without the problematic ETM.

Good luck, whatever Volvo you buy, know it will be a safe and reliable (hopefully) car.

[itsazoo]

Thanks everyone for all the great info! I didn't know about the '98 S70's! I'll bear that in mind! Does anyone know what year they started putting the side curtain air bags in?

My son much prefers the look of the 850's so I'm leaning toward one of them, though finding one is proving a challenge so he may end up with an S70. I LOVE the 240's! I had one myself, and they truly are tanks, but we get a lot of snow and I'd prefer a front wheel drive for him. I never had any problems with mine in the snow, but I'd been driving rwd my whole life. No one today knows how to drive a rwd car.

[jblackburn]

96 had side airbags as an option; 97's had them standard. 99's had a whiplash-protection system.

I've had the same problem trying to find a good-condition 850. There just aren't many out there. Random bits break off, the clearcoat falls apart, people blow out the engine seals, transmissions slip...I just don't understand why people don't take care of them, then try to get rid of them.

Whatever you do, find something that's been well-maintained.

The only 2WD cars I've driven better in the snow than these were my Saab 900 and a Chevy Impala. They're just downright AMAZING in snow. I had an ex that had a RWD Chevy Tracker, and trying to bring it home from campus when we got 6" within a matter of hours, I got the stupid thing stuck trying to get it out of the parking lot uphill and couldn't do anything but spin the tires and it dug into a rut. I came back with the Volvo later and tugged it out no problem at all