Well, that didn't take long - wagon is totalled

robk46 · Post by **robk46** » 12 Sep 2011, 20:02

My teenage daughter (you know where this is going, right?) was driving my trouble free '97 wagon this past Saturday morning, when she was hit in the side at an intersection. No a good wake up call to get. Luckily, the car protected her very well, and took the impact like a tank. My kid is fine, which is the most important thing, but the car is not worth fixing. Too bad too, since I've sunk about 5k into it including the purchase cost, and it was running/driving like new(total ownership time - 4 months). Only 75k miles on it

. I was able to get it fixed enough in my driveway to move it around, and mechanically, nothing is wrong. The body is ruined though. Not sure what to do now. . .I can't afford to buy her another car. I think I'll start looking for a '96-'97 850 wagon or sedan in need of an engine and do a swap. Or maybe a high mile car on it's last legs. What do you guys think?

Post by **Nevada1906** » 12 Sep 2011, 21:29

Save as many parts as you can, including the wiring harness. Strip that thing like a hobo on a bucket of fried chicken. You never know when a part will come in handy.

Besides, hopefully you'll find a good, solid car for cheap because it needs a few minor things.

urbex · Post by **urbex** » 12 Sep 2011, 21:32

Just as general experience, I've found that outside of building a dedicated race car, a "high mile car on it's last legs" is rarely worth the effort, as you'll be swapping EVERYTHING from your car into it, and that's a lot more labor than most people realize. That said, if you're up for it, it does give you a good chance to take care of all the "little things" that you may have passed on before as it will be easier to deal with while the car is apart.

Also, while I don't know what Florida is like for cars, but I know other coastal areas can wreak just as much havoc on sheet metal as those of us in the rust belt, thus you'll find lots of rust in very unrepairable areas (unless you're familiar with pulling welded sheet metal panels off of unibody cars and _properly_ reinstalling them - as in you know how to properly brace the body shell to prevent it from warping and/or collapsing into itself as you remove structural pieces. It's different than body on frame cars). Thus, your high miler may also be more like swiss cheese in the body. Again, I don't know what Florida does to car bodies, so this may be a non issue for you. I've also noticed that these Volvos seem to handle the winters here in Michigan far better than most other cars, so it may be a non issue, period, lol.

Post by **Nevada1906** » 12 Sep 2011, 22:00

urbex,

The main problem here in Florida is that all the sunlight utterly DESTROYS the paint and interior, particularly on dark-colored cars, if it's always parked outside. Rust is only really an issue if the vehicle's been through a hurricane. I see from your avatar you're in Michigan and yeah, I agree with you about the ironmoss up north. Considering that I just had my engine out for an RMS swap and had to buy $500 worth of sensors, I HIGHLY recommend salvaging as many usable parts as the wife will tolerate.

Hell, I used to know a guy who had an entire Subaru STi drivetrain laid out on his den floor; That's a good woman.

Post by **keepersboy** » 12 Sep 2011, 22:31

My daughter turns 16 next month and I'm planning on letting her have my 94 850 turbo. I bought it new a few months before she was born, and took her home from the hospital in it. Your story give me a little pause and fear.

SimLyons · Post by **SimLyons** » 12 Sep 2011, 23:29

Another "daughter" story: When my daughter finished college I gave her a '96 850R, perfect condition, 37K miles. Since I was working for Volvo Corp at the time the price was ridiculously low. Plus, I got them to toss in 4 new R wheels and new Pirelli P-Zeros (The company motto "drive safely"). The car was driven as a company car by the Corp counsel in NYC so the wheels and tires were garbage.

Anyway, 16 months old and $16,500K with the tires and wheels.

My daughter kept it for 18 months and TRADED it in for a used Saturn! The title was hers and her Mom loved Saturns....what's a dad to do? I was sick and would have bought it back (how? It was a gift!?). Every time a I see a black 96 854R in the Portland area I have to wonder....Is that "my" car???

rmorse · Post by **rmorse** » 13 Sep 2011, 09:55

SimLyons wrote:Another "daughter" story: When my daughter finished college I gave her a '96 850R, perfect condition, 37K miles. Since I was working for Volvo Corp at the time the price was ridiculously low. Plus, I got them to toss in 4 new R wheels and new Pirelli P-Zeros (The company motto "drive safely"). The car was driven as a company car by the Corp counsel in NYC so the wheels and tires were garbage.

Anyway, 16 months old and $16,500K with the tires and wheels.

My daughter kept it for 18 months and TRADED it in for a used Saturn! The title was hers and her Mom loved Saturns....what's a dad to do? I was sick and would have bought it back (how? It was a gift!?). Every time a I see a black 96 854R in the Portland area I have to wonder....Is that "my" car???

I would have disowned her.

Post by **jblackburn** » 13 Sep 2011, 11:11

^This.

Saturns are junk. Cheap cars that burn oil before 100,000 and blow up before 150,000 miles.

robk46 · Post by **robk46** » 13 Sep 2011, 20:35

Well, I'm actively searching for another 850 in the 0-1500 dollar range. I'd prefer another '96 -'97 wagon due to the parts compatibility and OBD2. Should I look at '94 and '95's too?

Post by **jblackburn** » 13 Sep 2011, 21:18

95's are good (and have OBDI AND II), but I would avoid 94's. Some (early) ones used different solenoids in the transmissions that seem to have a much higher casualty rate.