Purchasing a 1996 850 GLT N/A with 279,500 Miles?

[fisherminisher]

Hello all,

My name is Chris Novencido, I am the proud owner of the subject 1996 Volvo. I want to share my side of the story. I bought this GLT from a guy near Iowa City for $500. It was not in the junkyard...yet. Before I even went to see it I wanted to fix a Volvo 850 as a learning tool so I could do the same to my other 850 wagon that is our daily driver. And at the same time I was hoping to make a few bucks. The previous owner lied about a lot of things. Things I should have checked and maybe clues that told me a few things were wrong. I bought it anyway and got halfway home. We got it towed the rest of the way and parked it in my driveway.

I had $1000 to work with and that was it. Hence, the "dubious" parts. I had to get the alternator out and since I was going that far, why not try doing a water pump and timing belt? I never tried these repairs until now because what is there to lose? Slowly, whenever I had time, I got the car back together. I then headed to Des Moines to the junkyards to replace broken or missing parts like trim and glove box parts and dash parts and middle console parts. I went on ebay to find a few parts that I couldn't locate at the other places. It WAS missing the cover over the throttle control, It WAS missing the aluminum strip that snaps over the injectors. I was the guy that put all of that back in there.

In my mind I was going to get this car running, make it reliable and sell it to someone, like a kid in school or a mother with kids, or whoever and know in my mind I didn't sell a piece of hish to them. I also got what I needed out of it from the work I did to it myself. I can now do these things and have the confidence to do even more to our other 850, which has 218k on it. After getting the exhaust repaired and getting a front end alignment I was out of cash.

The person who started this thread is a nice guy and I would have happily sold him my Volvo. It was the daily texts and e-mails that spanned weeks that wore on me. I was happy to answer all questions asked and even take my car to get the compression test he requested. But after reading this thread I had to call it quits. For those that knock "aftermarket BS", I'm not trying to make a tuner car. I am trying to get a reliable car back on the road. I don't have all the Volvo knowledge that many of you have yet. I havea wife, 4 kids, a house, a full time job and don't have time to read through forums all day about my car. I get done what I need to get done on these cars and that's it.

Also, if I seemed like there was something wrong with me for the test drive, it's because I have been blind in my left eye and had major surgery this past Tuesday on it, so all those texts and e-mails didn't help at all. I took the ad down on C.L. because I am rethinking what to do. My wife and I want to keep it so we might just do that. This car has been literally a daily driver up until last week when I couldn't drive. My wife has been driving it since and I will be doing the same next week when I can drive again.

[erikv11]

Top of the list: I am sure I speak for everyone here in wishing you the best on recovering from the eye surgery.

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Wherever this car ends up it car will be a good daily driver, good job on that, enjoy it if you keep it. I still have your email and I still have that tailgate. Look me up if you end up wanting it down the road, and I will try to check in before the car goes to the scrap yard.

[cn90]

I think the link below is a very good car for you. It is located in Ankeny IA, about 85 miles from Fort Dodge.
This is basically a "mechanic car", i.e., only serious mechanic buys this car and turns it around.
You may have to tow it home.
However, if only one valve is burned (the exact cause of "bad head gasket" is unknown), then you can disable that fuel injector (info in forum) and drive it home with only 4 cylinders.

Personally I'd bargain it from the asking price of $1,500 down to $1,000.
Then spend some time/money to do rebuild the head (new valves, seals), rebuild the timing belt, WP etc., then this car will easily last another 5-6 years.

http://desmoines.craigslist.org/cto/4760047180.html

"For Sale: 1998 Black Volvo S70. One family owned. New tires, new heater core, new brakes, new thermostat and new struts. Battery replaced a year ago. I have service records. Body is in great shape. It does need a new head gasket. $1500 or best offer"

[dosbricks]

I think the link below is a very good car for you. It is located in Ankeny IA, about 85 miles from Fort Dodge.
This is basically a "mechanic car", i.e., only serious mechanic buys this car and turns it around.
You may have to tow it home.
However, if only one valve is burned (the exact cause of "bad head gasket" is unknown), then you can disable that fuel injector (info in forum) and drive it home with only 4 cylinders.

Personally I'd bargain it from the asking price of $1,500 down to $1,000.
Then spend some time/money to do rebuild the head (new valves, seals), rebuild the timing belt, WP etc., then this car will easily last another 5-6 years.

http://desmoines.craigslist.org/cto/4760047180.html

"For Sale: 1998 Black Volvo S70. One family owned. New tires, new heater core, new brakes, new thermostat and new struts. Battery replaced a year ago. I have service records. Body is in great shape. It does need a new head gasket. $1500 or best offer"

Would not pay even $1000 for a base model with 178k and needing head work. Too many unknowns.

As far as the other developments--it shows there are always two sides to a story. Oh, that we would be as quick to forgive as we are to judge.

[tryingbe]

Hello all,

My name is Chris Novencido, ... I never tried these repairs until now because what is there to lose? Slowly, whenever I had time, I got the car back together ... I can now do these things and have the confidence to do even more to our other 850, which has 218k on it.

Where is the thumb's up for this?

Here it is.

[matthew1]

^ agreed. Full disclosure on a public forum. Outstanding. Welcome to MVS, Chris.

[misha]

It's enough for me.

Welcome aboard!

[j-dawg]

Yeah, big ups.

We rag on cheap aftermarket parts but sometimes they're the best option. Spark plug wires going out is not a catastrophe, and for a car with an uncertain future it may not be worth spending the extra money.

Maybe a lesson to take from this is that if the car is cheap, the owner is probably not willing or able to put too much time into answering your questions. I've sold $1000 cars before, and I just don't care to deal with people who are going to take up a lot of my time. That's not because I have something to hide, but because I can sell it with less hassle to someone with more realistic expectations of a cheap car. If someone's asking me about the brand of the spark plug wires on a car I'm selling for nothing, he's probably not going to buy it from me. As a buyer short of info, maybe the best one can do is see it in person, check all the critical spots, and make a judgment call.

[cn90]

I understand that many people have limited budget and every $500 counts, but this is what I see in the used cars market...

- $1000 car is a money pit, unless you are very lucky to buy a well-maintained high-mile car. By the time $1000 car is on sales, there are potentially tons of problems waiting for you.

- $3000 brings you to a different level of 12y+/140K miles cars.

- $5000 is even better, it brings you to 8y+/120K mile playing field.

- $10K is golden, you are in a different hockey field, about 8y/80K miles.
In this category, there are many cars to choose from, and many of them are in very good shape that last for years.

So, it goes back to the old saying " you get what you pay for". Happy Thanksgivings everyone!

Just saying it...

[mika]

Hello all,

My name is Chris Novencido, I am the proud owner of the subject 1996 Volvo. I want to share my side of the story. I bought this GLT from a guy near Iowa City for $500. It was not in the junkyard...yet. Before I even went to see it I wanted to fix a Volvo 850 as a learning tool so I could do the same to my other 850 wagon that is our daily driver. And at the same time I was hoping to make a few bucks. The previous owner lied about a lot of things. Things I should have checked and maybe clues that told me a few things were wrong. I bought it anyway and got halfway home. We got it towed the rest of the way and parked it in my driveway.

Thanks for offering me some insight onto the situation. Sorry we could not strike a deal and that we put time into something that did not work out. No hard feelings on my end. Take care