850, 940 Buying Questions

Italiano86 · Post by **Italiano86** » 23 Jan 2007, 18:12

Hello everyone. I am currently driving a 91 240 with about 167k miles on it. It's basically a car I borrow from my parents for driving to school and work and I am currently looking to buy my own Volvo sedan soon.

I am very conflicted about whether to consider a 940 or an 850. The 940's are obviously harder to find, especially the turbos in my area. I can do a search for 850's and find nearly five times more cars than the 940's.

While looking at both models my mom told me to steer clear of any 5 cylinder Volvo's as they are more costly to repair and are more prone to issues than the 4 cylinders. Her personal Volvo mechanic also told her he personally hates them, which probably made her hate them too, so she's just a little biased.

Something about an engine or sensor issue, can't remember. She basically tells me to only look for a 940, which are hader to find, and stay away from the 850, even though I love the look of the 850 as opposed to the older looking 940. Is there any truth to these statements? I am seriously liking the 850 better than the 940 right now.

As far as turbos go, do they lower mpg at all compared to the regular models? I am mostly commuting to school about 60 miles there and back 5 days a week. I'm willing to spend around 4.5k on a decent low mileage car, something around 100k would be great.

Please let me know what you guys think about both models and if there is even any disadvantage of going with a 5 cylinder as opposed to a 4. Any other tips or information you guys could give me would be most appreciated.
I hope I posted this in the right section, I apologize if it's not.

Last question. What's a good recommendation year wise? 940: 91-96 and 850: 93-97?

I realize this is an 850 section, but I'm hoping that some of you have driven both models. Thanks

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 23 Jan 2007, 18:40

I can see why the mechanic is partial to the 940/740/240 rear wheel drive versions. I don't think there is anything, short of suspension components, that is difficult to fix. Changing the clutch in my first 740 was a few hours (even after I put the clutch disc in backwards and had to do it over again), changing it on my 850 will likely be a couple of days.

The 850's are incredibly reliable but also have a strict set of problems that every single one of them will have. The odometer will break, the glove box latch will break, the AC evaporator will fail, the heater core will fail.

The good news is that none of that stuff, unless the heater core really really fails, will leave you stranded.

The trick is to find an 850 with about 150,000 miles on it, with a fresh timing belt change at 140,00 miles, that has already had the above listed stuff break.

When looking at 850's I would tend to shy away from the '93 and the very early '94s unless they are a real deal. The timing belt is more subject to failure and has to be replaced at 50,000 mile intervals rather than 70,000 miles on the later 850's.

Drive all of them, I personally think the handling characteristics of the 850 are vastly superior to the 940.

...Lee

Italiano86 · Post by **Italiano86** » 23 Jan 2007, 19:23

Thanks for the input, I would hate to not have a heater in the dead of winter, but I'm sure it can always be fixed, lol. I'm a noob when it comes to car repair, but I'm sure I can teach myself like I did with computers.

larryh · Post by **larryh** » 23 Jan 2007, 20:24

get the 850 turbo. completely different than your moms 940. better looking, better handling, air bags. i agree completely with ozark but would add; drive a few..because some are beat, and the more you drive the easier it'll be to spot a good one. if the transmission does anything wierd, walk away. if the dash seems really loose, RUN!

my '94 850 turbo wagon has got 246000 miles(not all mine) and it has never left me stranded. yes, it requires maintenence, but it is super easy to work on and it's still very solid and trustworthy. the motor is great. doesn't leak or burn a drop of oil, and it's really quick!
the 850's my first volvo.... that car turned me into a volvo addict! i recently bought a 2000 v70R. i can't think of anything i'd rather drive. i love 'em!

good luck!

Post by **luketrash** » 24 Jan 2007, 06:26

I'm a big B230 fan

If I could find a 940 wagon (NA prefferably) that's what I'd be driving.. I'd just chuckle to myself as timing belts snapped and I pushed it to the side of the road, knowing that nothing got damaged. Way more room to work on things in the engine bay.. The added simplicity of rear wheel drive (not to mention fun to drive in the winter when you have proper snow tires...)

My wife's daily driver TDI Beetle just lost half of its electrical system including the heater blower motor, so she has confiscated my 850. I'm driving the 960 wagon again (no snow tires.. sucks!)

After having driven the 850 for a couple months with no seat time in the 960, I have to say that the 960 does feel a bit like driving a pickup truck

It sits higher, rides rougher, etc... However, everything is more spread out and ergonomic.. I'm not that big of a guy, and I find the 200/700/900 cars to be more comfortable. When I'm in the 850 I feel like I'm strapped into a go kart. And I mentioned my other car was a VW Beetle (which doesn't make me feel that way..)

If I was in college and had no money to spend on repairs, I'd stick with 200/700/900 volvos.. Honestly I'd just drive 240s since they're the cheapest of the bunch to own. The problem is that these things are aging rapidly and you'll have to repair things, almost guaranteed.

It's a tossup for me.. The reason I got into Volvos was for the ease of repairs, simplicity, and rear wheel drive. The 850 is going away from that direction, but for a front wheel driven car, it's pretty straightforward to work on... That could just be because inbewteen I've owned a couple of FWD Volkswagens, so I primed myself to working in tight spaces with hex and torx bits on everything

Either way, I'm satisfied with the cars themselves. I use to have a lot more fun driving my 240 sedan sideways down freshly snowed roads, with the radio blaring. The 850 is more like a symbol of me growing up and resigning myself to a fate of front wheel drive commuter cars

The 850 in stock mode easily outhandles a 240 in stock mode though with it's independent rear suspension.

CarVolvo · Post by **CarVolvo** » 24 Jan 2007, 08:33

If its thriftyness you want and keep your cost down, nothing beats a B23o engine. Ive owned 6 of them and the car bodies fall apart way before the engines do. Considering these cars are 20 years old...nothing touches them.

The parts for the 240's are much cheaper new and plentiful used and much easier to do self repairs.

I would not put down the 5 cylinder engine. They are also bullet proof.. mine has over 260,000 miles and they just keep going as long as you maintain them.

the 850's are very dependable..dont let all the stuff you hear on these forums scare you away. They are a more sophisticated car and better handling than any of the real wheel drive cars.

I have always not been a big fan of the 900 and the 700 series.. and i just purchased a 740 wagon this week. I looked it over and i think they were almost a testing ground for volvo in the transition from a 240 to the 850.
I know that 240s can cost much more than the average 700 series. The flagship 900's still cost less and are off less demand than the 850. Guess the car market is telling us something!

I would think the only reason a mechanic would prefer the older rear wheel drive cars over the new cars is because there is less electronic and computer issues to deal with.. how old is the mechanic your mom use?

Comparing a typewriter to a word processor is the way to compare the cars... a typewriter will always make one smile remember the simplicity of the good ole days... but the processor..even though it can lose your text if the power goes off... will always outperform the typewriter in the long run!

Well thats my opinion!

CarVolvo · Post by **CarVolvo** » 24 Jan 2007, 08:34

oops double post...damn word processor!!!

sorry!

Post by **srnkanator** » 24 Jan 2007, 09:06

I've had two volvo's a 91 240 and now a 95 850 turbo. The 240 was cheap and reliable. I had it for a summer and it served its purpose, not a fun or fast car but relaible.

I have now inherited my father's 850 and have had lots of fun with it. I was lucky because he is a perfectionist and garaged it and drove it about 4 mile a day. I just went over 70,000 miles and it is 12 years old.

So far Ive had to replace the radiator fan, spring seats, shocks & struts, steering boot racks, and PNP switch, not to mention a few odds and ends here and there.

The only thing I am fighting is age, not use.

Things to look for in used 850's . . . real main seal, oil leaking from the back, the evaporator and heating core ($1000 to replace), CV joints (turn wheel to lock and see if you hear a grinding or popping sound) PNP switch (if you live in cold weather climates, most mechanics will tell you you need a new tranny, but you just need the switch), and of course the timing belt.

I would go with the turbo model just because there are so many mods you can do to bring it into the 21st century. a 95-97 850 turbo in good condition should go for $4000-$7000 depending on the model.

Hope this helps!

Svenska 850 Wagon · Post by **Svenska 850 Wagon** » 25 Jan 2007, 23:05

I started with a 242 GLT 1983 with IPD Sway bars and lowered. Fantastic car but once the rust started to creep across the floors and the kids started coming I moved up to the 855 Wagon. Love it!!!! I agree some things cost a few more $$$ than the 2 series but it is a modern car. Also my heater motor started to sqeal on the old 242 that drove me crazy and was a 7 hour replacement job. That is a common 2 Series issue. Thus they all have their minor glitches.

Post by **luketrash** » 26 Jan 2007, 16:32

Svenska 850 Wagon wrote:Thus they all have their -constant- minor glitches.

Hehe.. Now that I think about it, it would be pretty hard to get me back in a 200 Volvo due to the lack of working creature comforts. My 960 was the first Volvo I owned that had working AC and seat heaters. Also, I've been driving my 960 wagon this week because my VW was having mystery electrical problems (that I finally fixed today, WOOT!)

I got back in the 855 for the first time today and really enjoyed my warm butt, smooth ride, and small car feel.

If you're a meat and potatoes transportation kind of guy though, that b230 engine is a real tractor engine. It just keeps on chugging along if you keep it lubed and water cooled. You can beat em, mistreat em, but they take the abuse like champs.

I had the same problem as above.. I couldn't keep my 200s from rusting out here in Iowa. The post 86 cars have a lot better undercoating. 1989+ years are preferred due to the lack of biodegradable wiring!!