Newbie needs advice on 95 850 Turbo with IPD chip.

camper guy · Post by **camper guy** » 24 Oct 2003, 17:44

Hi, I'm looking to dump my Saab and get another Volvo. Very interested in a 95 850 4D Sedan with 118,000 miles and the dealer kept pushing this performance chip. What should I be looking for? What questions should I be asking? It's in great shape, seems to run great but I know nothing about this car or chip, my last Volvo was an 85 940 and it ran so long I got tired of driving it. This is a whole different car. Loaded with everything, winter package, 6 cd disk player in trunk, two sets of tires. What is a good price range for something like this? Any help or comments would be great. Going back to the dealer on Monday after work. Email me at [email protected] I appreciate it, thanks.
Sean

Tsquared · Post by **Tsquared** » 24 Oct 2003, 18:17

Check with Kelly Blue Book. www.kbb.com This will give you an idea of the value of the 850 for your area.

The 850 is a different animal than previous models. Read through the forum and you will see some of the issues you may face with the 850. Keep in mind that this represents a small percentage of owners and we tend to post the "problems" and not list how great a car it really is. I have had a few problems but my 850 is still a great car. I would buy another one if I something happened to this one. There are plenty of high milage 850s out there that have had nothing but standard maintenance.

Good luck

T

Post by **matthew1** » 25 Oct 2003, 13:16

I'll echo what Tsquared said and say there's more to go wrong on these cars. And if there's more to go wrong, more will go wrong. The question is when... will it be at 150k or 500k? That's what you don't know. It's going to be more money to keep going than a Japanese car, but it's also going to be safer, faster and far more comfortable than a Japanese car for the equivalent money.

You're probably not too far from all this though with a Saab. Very similar.

camper guy · Post by **camper guy** » 25 Oct 2003, 20:58

The Saab is much more fun to drive than the Volvo wagon was, but not as comfortable. I really liked the fact that nothing much went wrong with the 960 Wagon, so am I wrong to assume that I will not have as many problems as I have with the Saab? Maybe I should go with a Buick? I expect things to need replacement especially on a car with over 100K, but I also prefer the luxury items as opposed to spending the same money on a new Kia or Hundai with roll down windows and a couple gerbils under the hood.

Post by **matthew1** » 27 Oct 2003, 13:04

850 is more complex than 960. I can't put a % on how much more... sorry.

960 is a type of RWD Volvo 'bulletproof' carryover from the 60s, 70s and 80s. FWD is a whole new ballgame. FWD mechanically is more complex than RWD, without considering anything else. Then there's the additional creature comforts that Volvo had to put in the 850 to make it competitive in the 1990s with all the other marques.

camperguy · Post by **camperguy** » 27 Oct 2003, 14:03

Thanks for the replies everyone. I expect with the additional luxury items there will me more to break and require repair. I don't expect to buy the car and have no additional costs, I just don't want to get into a proto-type lemon night mare, but I really like the look of the 850's and since they came out have been waiting until one was more in my $$ comfort zone.