1995 850 GLT Wagon- Buy or Pass?

[BelgianWaffle850]

Hi all,

I'm considering purchasing a close friend's dad's 1995 850 GLT Wagon [2.4L DOHC]. I had it fully inspected at my mechanic, and he gave me a breakdown of the problems and his assessment (which I will presently leave unknown so as to not influence).

Quick and dirty:
~175K miles; very regular maintenance (extensive records)
~Needs:
Crankshaft seal needs replacement (expensive, I know)
New motor mounts
Heater core replacement

I've never owned a Volvo, but I had such positive experiences the last year while living in Belgium with a friend's that I'm considering joining the Volvo team.

Would you purchase the car for $1,500, accounting for the repairs and life of the wagon?

Thanks!

[atucker1]

If the car has had regular maintenance, this sounds like a decent buy. However, I would not recommend buying one of these P80 Volvos without being willing to do some work on it yourself. That doesn't necessarily mean all of the work, but these cars have many small problems that are easy to fix but time consuming. Perfect for a beginning DIY'er, but lots of $$$ if you go to a shop. I don't know how the prices are in DC, but here in the other Washington (State) that price might be a bit high.

As for the crank seal, if the mechanic told you that it is the cause of an oil leak, it is definitely possible, but it could also be something simpler like a cam seal. Either way, if the oil leak is not major, you may not have to repair it. Making sure the PCV system is clean and that you are using the right oil will reduce it too. My 850 has an RMS leak I just live with; it leaks very little in reality.

These videos have great info too:

[BelgianWaffle850]

Thanks, atucker1, for the advice and the videos.

As you mentioned, I am willing and excited to work on the Volvo if I purchase- I just wanted to see if other Volvo owners thought it was a decent buy. DC prices are, in fact, pretty egregious too.

Thank you again.

[erikv11]

I agree pretty roundly with atucker's remarks (rear crank seal = RMS = rear main seal). All of them. It's a decent buy for DC if the interior is in good shape.

At 174k and 20 years you can expect a steady trickle of things needing attention, the cost at a shop would eat my wallet alive. I still might recommend you push for a bit lower like $1200 if you are going to spring for the RMS job, that is a pretty weighty bargaining chip. But that is a pretty short list of repairs to come back from the shop, that is really encouraging.

[scot850]

When I had my RMS seal done, it is a $20 or so part, but 8 hours labour to replace. If you do that, I'd do the transmission front seal at the same time as it takes the same labour time to do if that goes.

As the guys have said, the RMS if it is minor may leak a little for a long time and just put up with it and save the cost. If it is just the cam seals then much lower cost as you don't have to remove the transmission to get to them.

Motor mounts, usually the one under the crankshaft pulley on the RH side of the car and the top torque mount are the ones that go. At 20 years the other 2-3 will be tired but not the end of the world, but difficult to access the front and rear ones.

The heater core is not too hard, a little fiddly and there is a 'how to' on here and a guy who had never worked on a car before wrote it up and said it took about 3.5 hours to do, but having done it once, he could probably do it in a couple of hours or less. Also look up on the options for this. There is a really cheap on that seems to work, but requires to be run through a dishwasher first to clean it. By Volvo 'O' ring seals for that though (2 off).

You didn't say what the mechanic says, but I would not pay more than $800-1000 for a car needing an RM which is a big job for a beginner. I have worked on Volvos for entertainment for 40 years, and I would pay someone else to do it for me.

Good luck which ever way you go.

I live in Canada and by comparison, There was a 2000 V70R for sale here recently for $2300 CDN (about $1800 or so US) with about 145k miles on it and 'claimed' no issues. I had an option on a 95 850R sedan last year with about 130k miles with a suspected RMS seal leak and it sold to someone for $800 CDN but I said if it didn't sell, I'd pay $500 for it.

Overall, sounds like the car has been taken care of, but I try to avoid buying from friends in case the vehicle turns out to be a pup.

Good luck which ever way you go.

Neil.

[bmdubya1198]

I'd go for it. The heater core is a fairly easy fix, helped my cousin do his. Just make sure all of the connections are tight... we had a green river flowing out of my garage after he opened the reservoir (after I told him not to).
If you're willing to do a lot of your own work, it's a good buy.

[dosbricks]

A dripping RMS can be like Chinese water torture--psychologically wearing. So would not purchase a car with that mileage, age, and needed repair for more than $1k, and it would have to be otherwise very cherry.

[bskeels]

The op doesn't mention if this is the front or rear crank seal, the front isn't at all that bad, just time consuming to get to. I personally would try to get the car for less, around 1200 is what I would pay with that kind of repairs needed.

[oragex]

Well, how is this car going to be used? Long distances or more short occasional drives? If the later, I would purchase it if the seal is not badly leaking. I would not invest the time and money to have it fixed. Only the heater core, as mentioned. The least repairs as a first time Volvo owner. Keep it as long as it goes, enjoy it then when it dies if you feel you can get another one in better shape.

[BelgianWaffle850]

Thanks for the tips and advice, everyone.

I offered the owner $1k, and I'll come up a bit more if he is not willing to sell at that price.

Because I am a beginner working on Volvo's, I will probably have the RMS done at a shop and try my hand with the heater core. Thanks, scot850, for letting me know about the 'how to' guide.

Here's to joining the ranks of Volvo owners!