1994 850 Should I buy it

[perks1]

Hi,

I have just found a 1994 850 Volvo sedan with under 70,000 miles and it appears to be pristinely taken care of and has been owned by just one family. Can anyone tell me if this is a good buy and whether it will be safe? I am a little worried that it has so few miles and wonder if it will have problems for that reason. I have never worked on cars before but imagine I can learn. I am a little leary of buying a 20 year old car but hear that 850s are good.

Thanks so much!

[stephansvolvo]

Welcome to MVS! With a volvo that has only 70k on it, I'd say the car is at its first maintenance schedule. The timing system will need done if it hasn't been done yet, if you do it not an expensive chore just your time. You'll here the words "stage zero". If you don't know what that is there are lots of links on here to read. I'd say depending on what your purchase price is, it's a volvo and more than likely worth the purchase. My opinion only.

[perks1]

Hi, I should mention that it is not a turbo and they are asking $3800 but say they are flexible on the price. Any advice you all have would be most welcome!

[perks1]

Thanks so much for your advice. The mileage is actually under 62,000 so I might have a few months before I needed to replace the timing belt.

[tryingbe]

You need to pay a mechanic that is familiar with Volvo and have him look at it. He'll be able to tell you if it is a good buy or not.

Timing belt is made from rubber. You wouldn't trust 20 year old tires, would you?

[Ozark Lee]

What are the circumstances that has a 20 year old car with only 70,000 miles on it? If it has been parked for the last 10 years it will be trouble. The price is certainly at the upper range for a '94 N/A 850 but 70,000 miles is well below the norm.

Before I plunked down that kind of money I would want to verify that the stated mileage is accurate. On a '94 that is actually quite easy to do with the use of the OBD diagnostic boxes under the hood. Details on how to read the actual mileage are in this post:

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... php?t=6731

That is not 100% accurate since it reads the accumulated mileage from the instrument cluster. It is quite easy to swap instrument clusters on these cars so even if the odometer mileage and the OBD DTC box mileage are close (They will rarely be exactly the same but they should be reasonably close) it doesn't necessarily mean that the odometer tally is accurate for the car.

Another common problem is for the odometer gear to break. The cluster continues to tally the logged miles and that will be revealed with the OBD box test described above. The gear typically breaks at around 100,000 miles but there is a very wide range. Some will go to 150,000 miles and some will break at 65 or 70k.

I'm not a huge fan of Carfax due to their gimmicky marketing but I think a report would be in order for this car.

If the timing belt has never been changed it is a time bomb. The change interval is 7 years or 70,000 miles, whichever comes first and time is every bit the enemy that engine miles is.

...Lee

[perks1]

Thanks Lee and Tryingbe,

Great suggestions. I will check with the owner tomorrow and report back. Apparently, they have all the service records and records of the warranties and everything ever done to the car. If these answers all make sense, then the problem for me is that the car is a few hours away, so I will have to figure out when I can go look and then, more importantly, to find a mechanic there, but it is a less populated area.

[Jazzop]

My opinions (admittedly biased in ways that may not be relevant to you):

1. I would avoid any 850 earlier than 1996 due to the quirky electronics/engine management system in the pre-OBD2 cars. The 93-94 Alter 1 cars also have slightly different body parts, which I think are not as aesthetically pleasing as the 95+ Alter 2 cars and which may be more difficult to source parts for.

2. I would not buy a sedan under any circumstance simply because the wagons are much more useful and weigh <100 lbs more than the sedans. Evaluate your needs, and if a wagon is even slightly better for you, hold out for one-- there are plenty.

3. I think $2000 is a good threshold above which you should be getting a pretty sweet 850 for your cash. A GLT with an automatic transmission is not one of them. If it has a manual gearbox, then I would still consider it. Otherwise, you should be holding out for a T5, 850R, T-5R, Platinum, or AWD. Again, there are zillions of 850s out there. Be patient.

4. [shameless plug] If you still think the car you are looking at is worth the asking price, then I might offer to match that price and sell you mine. I guarantee that my 1996 GLT is better than the one you are looking at.

[RussB]

Hi,

I have just found a 1994 850 Volvo sedan with under 70,000 miles and it appears to be pristinely taken care of and has been owned by just one family. Can anyone tell me if this is a good buy and whether it will be safe? I am a little worried that it has so few miles and wonder if it will have problems for that reason. I have never worked on cars before but imagine I can learn. I am a little leary of buying a 20 year old car but hear that 850s are good.

Thanks so much!

No one here can accurately answer your questions and concerns because no one here has seen/inspected that particular car. At 70k and 20 years, that car is POTENTIALLY a time bomb of repairs and maintenance costs UNLESS a whole lot has been done right along, which you can only find out about through maintenance records.

[dosbricks]

If it is a few hours away and the timing belt has not been replaced, should you end up purchasing it, better to trailer it home, not drive it, due to the timing belt being 13 years past change interval. If it breaks the engine can suffer thousands of dollars in damage.