1996 850R - Worth buying with damage?

Spawn · Post by **Spawn** » 31 Mar 2014, 08:40

I am looking at getting a 1996 850R that has some minor cosmetic deer damage to the front end and was wondering what would be a reasonable price for the car? The seller has recent service documents that indicate the work done on the car (timing belt, tensioners, water pump, right front hub, right front half axle, battery and oil change) and when serviced it was reported that the inside of the engine was very clean. Also, the odometer apparently stopped just over a year ago at 116k, which I'm not too worried about repairing on my own as I've researched the fix for that. What has me concerned is the bodywork repair as you can see from the image below. I'm not a bodywork person, but I'm relatively handy with handtools, so I can do some work on my own, like removing & replacing the hood, fender, etc. I'd just like to get some opinions on what would be a reasonable amount for the car in it's current condition? The other thing that makes it more challenging is the fact that I'm about a 14 hour drive away from the car, but that could be easily overcome. What do you think would be fair to pay for this?

Post by **rspi** » 31 Mar 2014, 08:47

Hi and welcome to the site.

I recently purchased one with that kind of damage and a blown motor. Every R is worth saving to me.

There is a chance that they have collected on their insurance and are not seeking that much. I would NOT believe any mileage estimation if the odo is broken. If you can drive it home, maybe $800. Looks like you can get a hood, finder, lights and you'll be good to go. Hopefully it wont have a "Salvaged Title", that would suck.

The only thing about a motor condition that I would accept is if I had coolant hose receipts and a compression test with the numbers. You can contact a car inspector through a Google search and find someone to really check it out for you and send you some real good pictures.

Hope you get it.

Post by **mecheng** » 31 Mar 2014, 09:17

Is that 116, 000km or miles? That is very low milage. The damage doesn't look too bad, I once bought a car that had a front end fender bender and fixed it myself, just took it to the body shop to get the hood and bumper painted. But the title was clear and there was no major frame damage, I just straightened the upper rad support.

See what the title is and if there is any frame damage? Does the car drive straight? The car looks beautiful otherwise, I love the R rims. Ask for the maintenance records.

Spawn · Post by **Spawn** » 31 Mar 2014, 10:22

The odometer is listed in miles, so 116,000 miles, not kilometers. The title is listed as being clean, and the seller stated that a Carfax report shows no accidents and all maintenance history up until last year (which is when I assume the previous owner hit the deer and then sold the vehicle to the current owner). The current owner also says that it is a very well running and driving car, and that the only real issue is the fact that their is obviously one headlight that is out and the cosmetic damage, but the hood closes and latches and it drives well, oh and he's having a hard time parting with it as his plan was to simply fix it up himself.
He's hoping to try and get his investment back that he's got in the car, which I assume would be the cost of the car and the maintenance and repairs that he's done so far. He's looking to get around $2700 for the car as it sits and he has someone coming to look at it today. If that person passes on it or doesn't show up, then I have the next crack at it, but I'm just not sure about driving 980 miles for 14 hours (or buying a plane ticket to fly down to it) when I don't know if the amount he wants for it is reasonable or not? I know that bodywork is generally not inexpensive to have done, but definitely can be cheaper than mechanical issues. I guess I'm just torn between a rock and a hard place due to the location of the vehicle and not being able to go check it out first hand without already investing a fair amount of time and/or money into just getting there, let alone buying it.

Post by **jose456891** » 31 Mar 2014, 12:23

I would offer $800 tops, CA$H, clean title, OK compression. These cars are not difficult to fix (said the guy who loves taking them apart).

If you really want it, I would call an independent mechanic nearby, pay him via Paypal/credit card and have him check that Volvo 850 R out.

The hood/bumper/radiator/headlights/quaterpannels are cheap at a bone yard. If you can't get the same color, buy used, get it painted.

Post by **erikv11** » 31 Mar 2014, 12:38

$2700 is way too much.

I like to see what the total investment would be: price out the DIY fix-up cost, add $500 because there are *always* things you weren't aware of, decide if you want to spend that much on the car. I might shoot for $1000 so starting the offer at 800 sounds good. But you'll likely have to wait for the car to sit for a while until the seller realizes what it is actually worth. If it goes to somebody for $2700 in the meantime, you didn't miss out on anything.

For $2700 +fixit costs you could get something like this:

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicle ... Z578546876

Spawn · Post by **Spawn** » 31 Mar 2014, 13:34

That's kind of what I figured is that the asking price was a tad optimistic. I do have to say that there's just something that draws me in to the sharper angles of the 850 over the V70. But on the flipside the car that erikv11 just put a picture up is definitely tempting due to it's proximity to where I currently am and the fact that I wouldn't have to worry about any importation stuff, although I was hoping to try and keep the cost down to around $2500-3000.

Post by **abscate** » 31 Mar 2014, 14:45

Good bodywork is not cheaper than mechanical issues. Bad bodywork is even more expensive.

Pass on this one, by driving 14 hours you've already invested too much to make this deal

Spawn · Post by **Spawn** » 31 Mar 2014, 15:24

I also forgot to mention that the seller says that the brakes and rotors need replacing because the ABS light has been triggered. He didn't indicate if that was a recent thing that happened since he's owned it, or if it was something that was there from when he bought it. Either way, that's an additional cost that I'd have to incur.
I appreciate everybody's input so far! It definitely sounds like the seller has got his hopes up a little higher than what reality might dictate. I'm sure that someone out there who either doesn't do their homework/research or has wads of cash burning a hole in their pocket will grab this up. Somehow I have a feeling that I won't be hearing back from the seller after he meets with the local guy first anyway...

Post by **JRL** » 31 Mar 2014, 16:17

$500-$800 TOPS