1994 850 Turbo Wagon - Is it worth buying/bothering with ?

zforray · Post by **zforray** » 30 Jul 2007, 13:15

I had a major problem with my primary vehicle and need a temporary car for a week or go.

A friend of my wifes just happened to have a 1994 Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon that she stopped driving over 1.5 years ago (inspection expired 03/2006) and was talking about getting rid of it (she has a much newer Volvo) and that I could borrow it as long as I needed it.

Since I wasn't going to be particular, I decided to give it a shot. I replaced the battery, inflated the tires, removed the hornets nest and off I went.

Besides the cost of the battery, I took and had the oiled changed and A/C fixed (running in the 90+ degree range here - just need some valve and coolant) and inspected. So I have spent around $350 so far.

I got really fond of the vehicle and am thinking of buying it for a 2nd car and would like some feedback from folks here on what they think about it and what it's value is. Here are the particulars:

1. 112,000 miles - roughly. The reason for "roughly" is due to the odometer being broke. The owner told me that when she was trying to get rid of it a year ago, the CarMax person who test-drove it pressed the Trip reset button while the car was in motion and the odometer broke. Volvo said this can happen and needs a new odometer - $350.

2. Needs at least 3-new tires. Probably should replace all four to stay uniform. ($350-$475)

3. Body is in good shape. No rust. A few expected dings and scratches. The black trim has mostly fallen off (from what I have seen here, this is a fairly common issue.) Also the rubber seal around the windshield has shrunk and probably should be replaced.

4. Interior wear is as expected. The leather seats are a bit scuffed but not unexpected for someone with 2-children. Needs some good cleaning. The only other "big" thing is the sliding sunroof cover. The lining has peeled off the cover (I saw the step-by-step instructions on how to fix this, here. Another common problem).

I drove it for a week with no issues and felt pretty good. Lots of pep/kick. After the rust was ground off the rotors, it brakes well. The owner said she had the brakes replaced/worked on not to long before she parked it.

Unfortunately, this didn't last. I tried to start it one morning and the engine sputters and misfires. I took it to a mechanic for a quick look and the mechanic said it was in need of a major tuneup. They said the plug wires/rotor look like they have never been replaced (Volvo recommends 30-40K). So we are talking another $500 for a tune-up including the wires, rotor, plugs, etc.

I checked various used-car websites and the vehicle is roughly worth $2700-$3300 due to the low mileage. But with all I need to spend, I think it is worth closer to $1000.

Your thoughts and opinions of this vehicle. Is it worth bothering with?

dougoliver · Post by **dougoliver** » 30 Jul 2007, 14:40

I have a '94 850 T5 (2.3 Turbo) - it's done 242000 miles and i wonderful to drive. You won't buy many better cars for the money - especially in the US

MadeInAmerica · Post by **MadeInAmerica** » 30 Jul 2007, 14:49

You can buy the little gear for the odometer for $25 and if you are a tinkerer fix it yourself. EBAY was where I got mine. The instructions to fix are on volvospeed.com and might be on this site.

The little odometer gear breaking is a common problem to this car. A tooth breaks and it wont work.

MadeInAmerica · Post by **MadeInAmerica** » 30 Jul 2007, 14:53

Heres the link for the odometer gear

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-Volv ... enameZWDVW

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 30 Jul 2007, 15:04

From your description it sounds like it could be a very good car for you. 112,000 miles is nothing on a Volvo. From the dealer/mechanic prices you are quoting, it could also eat you alive on repair costs unless you are handy and you can do some of the work yourself.

The Odometer can be repaired for around $30.00. There is a very good writeup on the subject with detailed pictures here:

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/odometer_fix.php

The gears can be purchased from here:

http://www.odometergears.com/subpages/volvo.html

You usually just need the small gear.

As you found, the headliner repair is a snap and the glue is relatively inexpensive.

While you are doing interior stuff you might want to fix the glovebox latch before it breaks. If it has not broken yet it will. If you change the latch before it breaks it is a very easy job. Fixing it after it breaks is about ten times the effort.

As far as the car running rough goes, did the Check Engine Light come on? If so you can read the codes and it may be as simple as a vacuum leak or a dirty MAF sensor. The cool thing about a '94 is that you have diagnostic boxes under the hood and you don't need a fancy scan tool to find problems. Instructions for the diagnostic center is here:

http://volvospeed.com/CheckEngine.php

You can also determine the actual number of miles on the car from the same area. Instructions are here:

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

$500.00 for a tuneup sounds harsh. I tallied up the cost for a new air filter, fuel filter, distributor cap, rotor, plugs, and plug wires at FCP Groton and it came to $152.00.

There are a bunch of very helpful folks on this board that can always give out advice. If you are at all handy and willing to get some grease under your fingernails it could be a great car if you can buy it right.

...Lee

Post by **meine39** » 30 Jul 2007, 21:01

I'll give you a $1000 for it - when can I pick it up?

We purchased a '95 850 Wagon for our teenager about 18 months ago (we are the third owners of this car, the other two owners being my brothers - my oldest brother took delivery new in Germany back in '95).

I had the odometer problem and took car of it myself, using the resources found here (btw, our odometer broke exactly the same way - I hit the trip odometer reset button after refueling, and the trip odometer and standard odometer broke). I replaced BOTH gears, so as not to waste the labor - I also replaced all the light bulbs in the instrument cluster, as recommended.

As mentioned, that tuneup price is pretty stiff - if you have moderate mechanical skills and a decent set of tools, you can do it yourself. As I recall, the most exotic tools needed are a Torx driver to remove the spark plug cover, and a spark plug socket.

The support for this car on the web is fantastic. As mentioned, the fault codes are easy to read and reset for any DIYer. I recently completed cleaning the EGR valve and throttle body on our car using the step-by-step procedures found on Bay13, and the dreaded 'Check Engine' light has not returned.

Whether this car is worth it to you is obviously a personal decision, but I would have to say we have thoroughly enjoyed the 850 (we are closing in on 140K miles). A Toyota or Honda offers cheaper maintenance, but the price you pay for driving them is the generic blandness of the driving experience.

I find the Volvo a blast to drive. Its not the fastest car (ours is a non-turbo automatic), but has great handling and brakes, a cool exhaust note, and I love the way the automatic shifts in sport mode. The utility of the wagon is a bonus as well. This car has heart.

CarVolvo · Post by **CarVolvo** » 30 Jul 2007, 21:20

everything your talking about is normal wear and tear and should be expected in an older vehicle.

If you compare anything else out there thats a 94 that is not a volvo, you will see that paying 1000 is a deal compared to some old cavalier or neon which is ready for the dump! ( sorry in advance for those owners who have those above mentioned cars).

You have to be careful not to get caught in the money pit of cars regardless of they type of car it is.

So on the volvo you should check the following:

timing belt
control arms and suspension
leaks from the main seal between the transmission and engine
flame trap
a/c .. if you care

ofcourse you have to make sure the car will pass emissions and the catalytic converter and 02 sensor usually require attention and can be expensive.

My only other concern is that it was sitting around that long ..not being driven. This can be worse for a car than actually driving it and adding up mileage.

So saying all this... its all about the ability and willingness and patience to learn about these cars from places like this and an investment in a good manual (or download the MIJ manual above here).

The good news is.. after spending 1000 or more.. you can always part the car out and get most of your money back..lol.

Before you do that have a look around for other volvo's perhaps a 96 and 97 which were the top of their game and also sell for about the same.

zforray · Post by **zforray** » 31 Jul 2007, 08:42

No, there is no check-engine light. It was running ok the night before and the next morning when I started it, it was sputtering and obviously misfiring. I was able to drive it to the mechanic (1.5 miles away so I could walk back if needed), sputtering all the way and they said they could tell just from driving it into the bay that it was misfiring. Also, they said by looking at the rotor and/or wires, they could tell that these probably haven't been replaced for a while, if ever. They said something about the color of the rotor being different if it had been replaced.

Ozark Lee wrote:From your description it sounds like it could be a very good car for you. 112,000 miles is nothing on a Volvo. From the dealer/mechanic prices you are quoting, it could also eat you alive on repair costs unless you are handy and you can do some of the work yourself.

The Odometer can be repaired for around $30.00. There is a very good writeup on the subject with detailed pictures here:

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/odometer_fix.php

The gears can be purchased from here:

http://www.odometergears.com/subpages/volvo.html

You usually just need the small gear.

As you found, the headliner repair is a snap and the glue is relatively inexpensive.

While you are doing interior stuff you might want to fix the glovebox latch before it breaks. If it has not broken yet it will. If you change the latch before it breaks it is a very easy job. Fixing it after it breaks is about ten times the effort.

As far as the car running rough goes, did the Check Engine Light come on? If so you can read the codes and it may be as simple as a vacuum leak or a dirty MAF sensor. The cool thing about a '94 is that you have diagnostic boxes under the hood and you don't need a fancy scan tool to find problems. Instructions for the diagnostic center is here:

http://volvospeed.com/CheckEngine.php

You can also determine the actual number of miles on the car from the same area. Instructions are here:

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

$500.00 for a tuneup sounds harsh. I tallied up the cost for a new air filter, fuel filter, distributor cap, rotor, plugs, and plug wires at FCP Groton and it came to $152.00.

There are a bunch of very helpful folks on this board that can always give out advice. If you are at all handy and willing to get some grease under your fingernails it could be a great car if you can buy it right.

...Lee

zforray · Post by **zforray** » 31 Jul 2007, 13:36

Thanks for the advice and instructions. Seems like most of the "issues" I have discovered so far, are very, very common and somewhat easily addressed, even if they are "engineering/design" issues.

I am a tinker from way back. I have done many repairs on my previous vehicles (everything from brakes, to fuel pumps, clutch, etc) and can probably handle these, especially with the very specific instructions I have seen. I am a little hesitant to work on a foreign car since all of my experience has been with American made cars from way back (pre-1990) and I never got into the more complicate stuff like dealing with computers, ABS, etc. Once I started facing those kinds of issues, I found it more frugal (i.e. time/knowledge/equipment constraints) to have someone else with experience do the work.

MadeInAmerica wrote:You can buy the little gear for the odometer for $25 and if you are a tinkerer fix it yourself. EBAY was where I got mine. The instructions to fix are on volvospeed.com and might be on this site.

The little odometer gear breaking is a common problem to this car. A tooth breaks and it wont work.

Post by **kelvin6** » 31 Jul 2007, 15:33

Be sure to check out and the Volvospeed Forum, as there are some more repair write ups that should benefit you greatly.

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php

and Bay 13 repairs:

http://volvospeed.com/repairs.shtml

I'm a member of both this and Volvospeed forums, and the repair knowledge and help from both have probably saved me thousands of $$$ in labor costs, because i've gain so much knowledge on how to tinker with my car from these forums.

Do the tune up yourself, its actually not that difficult. Only simple tools needed.