1997 850 glt wagon: For sale but has a "blown head gasket"

toastarific · Post by **toastarific** » 09 Jul 2014, 18:18

Should I buy it and do the repair my self and gamble on other problems that may come up? $500 is what theyre asking. Should I stay or should I go now?

Post by **j-dawg** » 09 Jul 2014, 18:45

it'd be nice to have a fresh top end, but you're gonna put in a couple hundo on top of the purchase price before you find out that the wheel bearings are shot, the axles click, the steering is wobbly, the alternator is dead, and the tires are flatspotted.

for the amount of time and money you're gonna spend fixing it up.....if you're gonna roll the dice, you might as well roll the dice on one that's working, so at least you can test drive it and then drive it between taking care of all the deferred maintenance.

EDIT: of course if you're willing to part it out or sacrifice it to angry norse gods or you have some other way of dealing with a car that sucks, that'll change the answer. but if i needed transportation and i didn't want to risk probly like $1000, i'd not buy that car.

Post by **abscate** » 09 Jul 2014, 19:02

You need a bankroll of 2000 USd to cover all the contingencies and ensure a working car. If you think you will get a good running Volvo for 500 plus labour, that's unrealistic.

Post by **rspi** » 09 Jul 2014, 19:02

Hi and welcome to the site.

If you can look at the car and maybe drive it, the decision should be clear. You will need to figure out what caused the head gasket to blow and fix that as well.

If the cosmetics are good, I'd do it. Do count on spending about $1,300 on parts etc. Then you should have a nice car that should easily last 4 years for $1,800. People pay $1,800 for these cars in need of repairs all the time.

This link is of a play list that I made when restoring a car with a bad head (burnt valve).

Post by **abscate** » 09 Jul 2014, 19:04

Ha, a Robert underbid me by 200 bucks

toastarific · Post by **toastarific** » 09 Jul 2014, 22:54

Thanks yall. Im gonna go for it.

Jazzop · Post by **Jazzop** » 10 Jul 2014, 00:02

I would only consider this car if it has the manual gearbox. There are millions of automatic cars out there in better shape for the same price.

For perspective, I bought my GLT manual for $900. It needed a full suspension and brake refresh, but the driveline was just fine. I spent $1500 on parts alone in the first month in order to bring the car up to my personal standards. In the following year, I spent about $800 more in parts to address other less obvious issues. I do all the work myself, so my total labor costs are zero so far (except for having a set of tires mounted at Walmart for $32).

Post by **abscate** » 10 Jul 2014, 03:19

[quote][would only consider this car if it has the manual gearbox./quote]

Post by **erikv11** » 10 Jul 2014, 16:31

And keep in mind that many "blown head gaskets" on 850s are just cracked radiators, worth looking into.

Post by **Ben850** » 11 Jul 2014, 07:11

I will tell you not the purchase price on each of the three that I now own, but I seem to enjoy emptying my bank account every chance I get to improve them.

It seems to be a labor of love, for me anyway. Your experiences may differ.

: Having these two running well is nice.

: The monetary floodgates are only beginning to open on this one.