New Volvo 850 owner... think my mechanic is ripping me off..

RyanMedStudent · Post by **RyanMedStudent** » 02 Apr 2008, 09:09

Quick recap of my story: I'm a medical student living off of my student loans. I was in the market for a cheap, yet reliable car - something to last 4 yrs or so (hopefully) - after my 98 neon (EEK!) crapped out on me.

so a family friend was selling his 1995 Volvo 850 GLT for 1000 bucks. I bought it. When I did, he was clear to me that there was something going on with oil leaks, and his mechanic said the PCV system needed cleaning up. I thought, ok, for 1000 bucks I'll buy it and get the stuff checked out. So I brought it home and found some random volvo specialist (not dealer) to check it out and get it inspected. I drove it home from Wash D.C. to Pittsburgh and it ran GREAT. Smooth, comfortable, and upwards of 27/28 miles to the gallon. There was some smoke released from the tailpipe after I would sit for a few seconds at traffic lights, but other than that, everything ran great.

So the mechanic gets back to me after chekcing it out (and charging 300 bucks just to "wash engine" "read code (not clear" "weld top engine mount" and "clean PCV system" (which he said was completely jammed up)) and told me I'd need 1700 more work to get it inspected. I made the mistake of telling him I just bought the car for cheap, and think hes taking me for a ride...

He told me I needed : front sway bar links (150), front brake hoses (200), front cv boot joints (250), timing / serpentine belt (500) and "I'd probably go ahead and get the engine mounts replaced too for 600 bucks"...

my question, after reading a ton on this VERY HELPFUL SITE by the way, is that these problems don't seem very common, and can I ride my car with these problems and not expect and more complications??

I am thinking right now of just cutting my losses and selling the car as-is, and hope to re-coup most of my costs, which I should be able to do... just wondering if anyone else has any advice???

thanks in advance...

Alwick · Post by **Alwick** » 02 Apr 2008, 09:17

You should have had the car inspected BEFORE you bought it.
As for the work that the mechanic recomended, it does not sound as if any of these items are anything more than required upkeep of a car this age.
If you have to neglect some of them, that's your call. However, do replace the timing belt. If that goes you will have a car that is undrivable and very expensive to repair.

chuckcintron · Post by **chuckcintron** » 02 Apr 2008, 09:29

Actually, these repairs are very common for this model.

It's hard to tell if your mechanic is ripping you off. $300 doesn't get you too much these days at any repair shop, so I'm not surprised at that fee for washing the engine (which, IMO, should never be done) or even having to pick up his welder. What's interesting is "cleaning the PCV system". I wonder what he did, in that regard? To really get at the heart of the PCV you need to remove the intake manifold, which launches past $300 pretty quickly.

Maybe he put a chemical through the system, which sometimes works.

For the other suggested repairs, here's my ranking in order of concern:

1a. Timing belt. If unknown when last done, it needs to be done. If it breaks you'll have a nice aluminum paperweight we used to refer to as "your engine". $500 seems a bit high, but is probably the going rate for that job.

1b. Front brake hoses. If they are cracked and in danger of bursting...well, you know. $200 seems high. The hoses are around $15 each and a good mechanic should be able to book that job in under an hour of shop time.

2. CV boots. If they are cracked then water infiltration can damage your CV joints. A cheaper fix is to get the split boots that you can install without removing the axles...although I'm not certain you can find them for this car. If he's really removing the axles, repacking the joints and putting new boots on, then $250 is not a bad price for that job.

3. Front sway bar links. Okay, if they are completely shot then yes...but if they are not dangling free (broken) then this isn't a "don't drive the car" repair.

4. Engine mounts. Same statement as #3.

HTH,
Chuck

RyanMedStudent · Post by **RyanMedStudent** » 02 Apr 2008, 09:45

thanks... fyi it has 145k miles.

I just called the guys and asked them what they meant by PCV clean up, and they said they took out the "flame trap" and said it was completely jammed up. they went on to clear out all of the hoses that were surrounding/connected to it (all of the hoses affected by the flame trap being clogged). they said it was a pain in the ass to get to, but it was all cleaned up now. and they cleaned the engine because there was oil all over it, and wanted to see if cleaning this flame trap thing stopped leaks, and if not they could pinpoint it at a later date now that it is cleaned.

i specifically asked PCV and they guy said that the PCV is the same thing as the flame trap , they just call it the flame trap to common folk like myself....

might go ahead with timing belt and brake hoses and ride it out... good idea?

chuckcintron · Post by **chuckcintron** » 02 Apr 2008, 10:08

That's interesting...IIRC, only the non-turbo models have a flame trap. If you have an 850GLT (turbo) then there isn't a flame trap. Maybe he was talking about the PTC connection near the turbo. If that's what they cleaned, then they only did about 1/4 of the job required to really service the PCV system.

Oil leaks can be a PITA on these cars. But, if you can live with them (and you aren't putting a quart a week in), you can drive the car with them.

If you plan on keeping the car, the timing belt and brake hoses need to be taken care of. You can look at the rubber CV joint boots yourself, by looking under the car, where the front axles go into the front wheel hubs. Look and feel to see if the boots are cracked, or covered in grease. If they are, then they should be repaired otherwise you risk permanent damage to your axles.

-Chuck

RyanMedStudent · Post by **RyanMedStudent** » 02 Apr 2008, 11:14

i'm gonna take it to my normal mechanic (a family friend, but not a volvo specialist) and see what he says / pass it for inspection and probably sell it..

thanks!

darkstarsinner · Post by **darkstarsinner** » 02 Apr 2008, 15:05

Aren't all 850 GLT's non-turbo? The GLT gives that away right?

Journeyman · Post by **Journeyman** » 02 Apr 2008, 16:22

Ryan,

Owning an older Volvo that isn't a 240 will not be cheap by any means in my opinion. They are only reasonable if you do the work yourself, but still not "cheap". Perhaps you need to define to yourself what cheap is. For me and this 850 turbo I have now, I'm trying to keep it under $2500-3000 a year in vehicle expenses, not including gas, but including the cost to buy it. I'm hoping to get at least four years out of it by which time it will have about 220k on it. I know there are others who will disagree with this, and you could certainly get away with less money spent by not changing out things such as your sway bar links.

If you want cheap, buy a mid-eighties to mid-nineties American sedan like a caprice or a grand marquis. You can find inexpensive, low mileage examples quite easily. They're comfortable and not too bad on gas on the highway. Parts will be cheaper. A volvo they are not, but cheap they are.

Just an opinion.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 02 Apr 2008, 21:24

darkstarsinner wrote:Aren't all 850 GLT's non-turbo? The GLT gives that away right?

All were until '97 and then they added a low pressure turbo to the GLT designation. His being a '95 GLT is a non-turbo.

chuckcintron · Post by **chuckcintron** » 03 Apr 2008, 06:01

ah, right...I missed the year...

GrandLuxeTouring....until 1997, then GrandLightTurbo (sorry).

-Chuck