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Wagons Older Volvo Wagons Volvo 850 Wagons
491 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 8:06 PM
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Looking for an 850 wagon for the family car. We have three toddlers (ages 3-1/2, 2 and 7-months). I have several questions: 1) I understand that three car seats fit nicely in the back. And that there is another seat in the way back?? Is this standard, or an option that I have to ask about? 2) What are the benefits or disadvantages of turbo? Do you pay extra for it? 3) Do all models and years recommend premium gasoline? If not, which ones don't need it? 4) I'm hoping to spend no more than $2000 - $2500 - which year do I need to be looking at? 5) How does the wagon handle in the snow? 6) I have always been a manual transmission lover - but never have driven a wagon with it. Any concerns?
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Replying to: lorinda (Nov 13, 2005 7:32 pm) A rear facing jump seat was available as a dealer or factory option. 2 Turbo offers quicker acceleration w/ a smaller motor. The 850 Turbo is more expensive than the standard 850 wagon. 3 Volvo recommends Premium unleaded in all their cars. However, you can use regular. I don't recommend regular for older engines. 4 If you find an 850 wagon for $2000, keep looking. A good one will run $5-7000. 5 Wagon is FWD, w/ proper tires snow is not a problem. 6 The Turbo was never available in the US w/ a manual. Regular wagon was available w/ a manual but extremely rare. Auto tranny is a good one, early years shifted a bit harshly for some. |
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We recently bought a 95 850  and our dealer said that BGK44 fuel clearner was the best. Has anyone used it or heard of it? PS-We need to use premium gas, what is regular unleaded bad, for 850 wagons? 
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Replying to: jdial (Nov 18, 2005 6:41 pm) The 850 has a high compression engine that will cause the cheap stuff to partially combust prior to ignition. This is not good. The 850's computers aren't as advanced as new Volvo's in dealing w/ the cheap stuff. |
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The last Volvo I owned was a 1971 wagon - drove like a tank, but loved the safety. Switched to Subaru for lower cost in the '90s and that drove it's last mile at 240,000 recently. Now we're debating between '93 940 rear-wheel drive wagon with 107,000 for $5000 and '95 850 with 197,000 miles for $3000. Pros and Cons of each model from those of you with recent experience? many thanks -
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Replying to: wagonfamily (Nov 21, 2005 12:56 pm) It is also a simpler car to repair. |
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I drove both the 940 wagon and the 850 wagon when I purchased our 96 850. I went with the 850 because I felt like it drove like a nimbler car than the 940. The front wheel drive gave the 850 a tighter turning radius and a slightly airier cabin feel since there was no driveline tunnel bisecting the passenger compartment. The 940 feels like and drives like a much heavier car than the 850 which in some ways is not a bad thing in a Volvo. I felt like the 940 felt and drove much more like the Volvos of yor and that can be very reassuring. When I bought the 850 it was a "new" architecture car from the ground up for Volvo and it was the leader to all new Volvos sold today. That was a sort of scary prospect for me in the begining but over time I have found our 850 to be very solid and realiable. We've got just over a 100K miles on the car with absolutly no problems. We moved from LA to SF and are putting far few miles on the car per year but the automatic transmission is churning away just fine and is a near neccecity here on the steep hills of SF. LOL- I have been using regular gasoline in my 850 from day one since premium was not required by the owners manual. Maybe some day soon my mechanic will be the one having the last laugh . We drive a non-turbo so maybe that is the difference. IMHO- I'd buy the 940 because it'll remind you more of your old 1971 and represents a better value for the money. $2k more for 90K less milage is the way to go and the 940 is a fine car. Peace, FREDERICK |
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Yesterday I bought a '95 850 Turbo Wagon, and I'm thinking about replacing the cassette/radio with and the remote cd changer because I'm in Manhattan and I fear that the cd changer is an invitation to break the window and remove the cd changer. Has anyone had any experience putting an after market cd/cassette/radio with a removable face plate in this car? Any suggestions?
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I bought an 850 turbo wagon from a mechanic at a gas station who had just rebuilt the engine because of an overheating mishap caused by the original owner at 160,000 miles. She just gave him the damaged car rather than pay to rebuild the engine. The car had been very well maintained prior to the collision that punctured the radiator which caused the overheating incident. The mechanic replaced the radiator, sent the head to a machine shop to be milled, installed new valve seals, sealing rings and the reinstalled the milled head. He installed a new waterpump, timing belt, drive belt, and new Volvo Turbo hoses. He also very graciously filled the tank before I left. During the 30 minute test drive and the 70 minute drive home, the car smelled fine. But when I drove home in that night, I smelled gasoline. The smell was rather strong when I picked up my wife and daughter for ride in our "new" car. I didn't touch the accellerator when I started the car, so I don't think that the engine was flooded. Any ideas?
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