1996 850 Should I buy?

[rspi]

Any of them can be a decent deal at the right price. If you want mods, get one that already has them, just check the motor health and condition of the mods to make sure it's not something that you will have to do over.

Key word... COMPRESSION TEST. If the motor is weak, you'll have to rebuild or replace it.

[jacobharding]

I wouldn't pass on the Platinum. If it has bad leather that probably means it has the tan leather, your chances of finding any volvo from that era with good tan leather is slim to none. Just get a set of seats from the JY.

Timing belt is easy enough, it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

Bad leather suggests odometer may need actual mileage check.

Both are good points. I was worried about the lack of history and the fact that it came from auction. Could mean anything. I've never owned one but have always thought Platinums are nice cars, no doubt.

Also compare brake pedal wear to odometer.

[skloon]

What's not to like about 94 cars ?

[erikv11]

93s are oddballs in many ways, body and engine, 94 on are all the same in the body but it was a transition year in the engine, 95 and up are all the same.

Most 94s have EGR (waste of time and a pain to service, extra parts get in the way), and a funny intake manifold with a variable something or other intake. Some people actually like that, but the engineers got rid of it after 94. There are other engine features where 94 was a split year, I just don't want to mess with them. In 95 the engine management system went to Motronic 4.3, a big improvement, and you have more options for swapping around ECUs. Basically, the 95-98 engines are all the same, they had it all sorted out by then. It's all minor stuff, but I prefer the 95+ vehicles.

[cn90]

If this were me....

- The year is not too important at this stage of the game, whether the car is a 1994 or 1998, as long as there is no body rust, then it is OK (check the VIN to see where the car spent its previous life at). California/Arizona is better because of no salt on the road.

- Go for the low-mileage 1994 with 100K, but you will need to check:

1. Timing Belt. If not yet done, search forum for tips/tricks.

2. PCV issue: this car was not driven much, about 5K each year, so likely PCV issue. Search for the 5/8-inch hose mod.

3. Suspensions: front and rear.

4. Since the interior is immaculate (probably driven by an old lady), then this is a big plus. There is nothing worse than sitting inside a car with the interior all torn up.

5. Turbo coolant hoses x2. This is a time-bomb. Info in forum.

Anyway, 1994 was a good year to pick.

[marklar]

Well #2's seller decided he wants to keep it, so it looks like I'll be looking at the wagon this weekend. I'll let you guys know how it goes, thank you everyone for all of the input.
Edit: I just got off the phone with the dealer who's selling the wagon, the seats have been reupholstered and it had dings that they got out, also the clear coat on the passenger side is fading...so not as immaculate as the pictures made it appear. I'm going to call around that area and see if I can have a mechanic look at it with me and check the computer for actual mileage/do a compression test.

[Mikesvagen]

Where are you located in Georgia? The Volvo Market is pretty soft here and you can generally do better pricing wise than the examples you posted. If the Platinum is the same one I looked at it needs turbo seals and the owner is not very forthcoming with info. I am in the Mid Georgia area if you need some help looking I will Pm you my info.

[j-dawg]

to sort out mileage concerns, i would run a carfax on the white wagon. you can get a sense of how many miles the car has done at what point in time. obviously not foolproof, but if you see a consistent trend with no big steps back you'll be in good shape.

so definitely do a carfax, have compression tested, etc. but if it's a true 100k miles and there have been no accidents there's not a lot of catastrophic neglect that could have been heaped on it yet: most of the big maintenance items aren't in the red zone by that point, besides the tbelt. after 18 years you'll probably have to replace all the squishy bits (hoses, belts, bushings, &c), so 4k is maybe too much to ask, but the car itself may be sound.

and of course all of this is contingent on approval from your mechanic. if the car is in poor condition despite the low mileage, walk away. on the used car market, mileage can sometimes be used as a proxy for condition, but it's never a guarantee.

[Ben850]

I am a bit biased on this one.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... 35&t=56550

I cannot wait to get on to the warm weather updates.

A nice day at the airport.