I am 16 and looking to buy a first car. I was thinking of buying an 850 Turbo but my dad said it was too fast!?! IMO they are lucky that I want a Volvo, most people my age would not want anything to do with one. So honestly do you think this car is too fast for someone my age. I think it would be a good car because they are so easy to drive (my mom has a V70 GLT that I've driven extensively) an of course safe. Sorry about posting on this board, doesn't seem like the right place to ask, if not can you point me in the right direction?

Jonathan

I am 17 and I have a 1995 850 high pressure turbo and it is my second car. Before I had a 91 Ford Taurus and it was terrible and was constantly breaking down so I decided to go looking for a reliable car, and so I turned my eyes to Volvo. After driving the 850 I was immediatly in love. From all of the little features, like heated seats and mirrors (a must in Minnesota), to the all leather seating, and a great stock stereo system, it is a great luxury car. But besides that when I go to punch the pedal down I know I will have power to pass anything in front of me. I have surprised many a ricer and even a new Mercedes C230 kompressor and a new BMW 528i. It is fun to own a fast car as long as you are careful enough to control it. And for the insurance it is not that bad compared to other cars that friends of mine drive (such as Camaro's and mustangs) which are also not near as safe as a Volvo. I have had an AC compressor clutch go out, and a cv joint. But my dad and I do all of the maintence ourselves and it is not that bad.

With all of that said I am extremely happy with my purchase and I think that with proper maintenence (such as new synthetic oil every 3000 mile and fresh fluids and scheduled maintenence) it is an absolutly well built terrific car

Anthony R
1995 Stock 850turbo

850 turbo is a great car and have the power to do what any one need..

but the fact is here... #1 850 car have many problems.. and if you can not do the work yourself it will cost your parent too much $$$ to keep it going it is not a nice thing to do if you love your parent...

850 engien check light come on all the time it mean you have to take it to the shop and labor rate is $130 per hours...

Now if you willing to learn how to work on the car yourself than it is a great car..

But if it me I will said you should go for a 940 model turbo or none don't matter because the 940 or 740 is a solid car trouble free and it will save you and your parent alot off headed and money....


with all said and done I do own a 1994 850 Turbo and think it is a beautiful car
but I have learn to do all the work myself... and nothing said that you can not do the same

but stick with 940 serie if you want a trouble free car.. 850 is not a trouble free and we all know that...

good luck...

My first car was an 850, my parents bought it for me 3 years ago, so far it has been great, as long as you get a good independent mechanic and the fluids changed and put good gas in it you shouldn't have many problems. My 850's been wonderful, I never drive it insanely fast or disrespect it, and its kept me safe. Just make sure the car you buy is well maintained and make sure the owner has records to back it up, and if you buy a turbo, make sure you find an owner who knows how to drive a turbo, not somebody who drives it 10 feet and shuts it off. Other than that good luck, I'm going to be shopping for an S60 for college.

it's good choice, just don't do anything stupid =). if your parents disagree with a turbo, then opt for the light pressured 97 850 glt. this car probably doesn't have the insurance tag of fast car.

At least with my car insurance company the 850 turbos are assigned a performance car surcharge. I'd be inclined to shy away from anything with a surcharge, and at 16 even anything that is nice enough that it requires collision insurance.

Insurance underwriters have observed that odds are that someone will get into more trouble with more power than with less power. The 850 turbo's power isn't what bothers me tho. My thought is that whatever car you get the odds are pretty high that you'll do some damage to it. And unlike the older RWD Volvos the FWD Volvos are fairly complex and expensive to fix.

What I might suggest is an older 240-740 or 940 turbo, driving that for a couple of years and then moving on to something nicer, say an S70T5 or S60. As mentioned before, I am an advocate for cars that are reaonably safe since my college roomate, AND his wife AND his kids all died in a car accident a few years ago.

I'd also suggest taking one of the performance driving courses. It's nice to know how to control a skid.

-Phil Punxsutawney

Phil,

Very sorry to hear of a loss as painful as that...

You are correct, and I have a step-dad who buys old 240's at fire-sale prices, fixes them up and drives them everywhere... People are always asking him to sell... occasionally he does...to parents for their kids...

The 240's are low on the complexity scale, and tough as nails, and look rather sharp when equipped with aftermarket rims and maybe low profile tires...

I actually fell in love with Volvos after walking past a mint condition 240 with low-profile tires... it had a beautiful black paint job and in the evening light, that car looked sharp...

Thanks,

Shawn

There's no such thing as to fast of a car!! You have to have enough sense to drive ANY car in a responsible manner. A car thats too under powered is more dangerous, in my humble opinion. And if you do happen to crash a Volvo, you will probably walk away from it. I just did something very stupid (I'm 57 by the way) and flipped my 850 turbo 3 times END for END, landed upsidedown, unhooked my seatbelt, crawled out the drivers window and walked away. I just bought another 850 Turbo. I'm sold. Course the N/A is a little tamer. But unless you use the gray stuff between your ears it don't matter what you drive. You're gonna get in trouble. Nuff said. Keep the rubber on the road.

Jonathan,

I'm 35 and have a 94 850 Turbo...

My first car was a 1984 Mustang GT, tricked out, loud stereo, etc.

I had nothing but trouble with that car and it was 3 years old when I bought it.. I never could afford to fix anything 'cause it wasn't very "user-serviceable"

That was then, and now I have the Volvo... My two sons are safe, my wife approves of it, and I can handle more of the repair/maintenance stuff than I ever thought... My 94 has a user-accessable computer that allows you to determine fault codes, and although there are a few flaws that tend to run common in the 850, you'll notice that there are not a lot of random/strange problems with the 850...

There are a lot of very savvy Volvo mechanics/fanatics on this board and searching the previous messages can quite often answer your questions...

Some of the problems I've had include

1) weak vacuum lines, which were EXTREMELY easy to replace.

2) sunroof fabric is loose (I'll fix that on a warm day)

3) previous owner had some ac work done (evaporator I think - this seems to be common) (make sure you have a clean pollen filter installed - seems to help)

4) follow the suggested maintenance, and find a car that has records to prove that owner did the same. I did, and I'm glad.

There are other things, but you might want to go back a few weeks on this board, and just read through what we discuss here... It will give you a good idea of what problems exist.. Parts can be expensive, so don't abuse whatever you buy... If you get a well maintained car, you'll know why we like ours...

This is a solid car with an excellent engine that's fun to drive.

Good Luck!

Shawn

im 17 and i have a s70 t5 with mods. yeah, u could say - it can get us foolish young people into trouble. all kinds of crazy stuff. its a great car, very fast. if u control yourself you'll be fine, if u cant control ur foot - get good brakes and some nice tires to keep you out of the gutter. oh yeah, speaking of gutters, i spun out on a twisty road and ended up in one...along with 2 feet of standing water - that was fun!

Jonathan, between you and me, i think its very wise and mature of you to want a volvo for your first car.. from a safety standpoint, look at what your friends drive..would you rather be in an accident in their cars, or yours? and as much as i'm gonna sound like an insurance guy..and i am NOT an insurance guy..at 16, the likely-hood of you being in an accident are much greater than someone twice you age..
now onto the performance standpoint..depending on which turbo you get the cars are deceptively quick. my stock 850 low press. turbo was plenty fast without being difficult to control..quite the opposite, it handled very well at high speeds and cornering..now with that said, i wasn't satisfied with just beating the ricer honda's out there..i went for big game..my same 850 now sports drag radials, manual boost controller, PES performance chip, and a 100 shot of nitrous..i haven't dynoed it yet but i estimate the hp at around 300, giv or take 10..i'm not recomending you run out and add these to your car.. but i love it when someone snickers "you race a VOLVO??"
Then we get on the line and i suck their car up my tailpipe..
regardless of my rantings..the volvo would be what i would put my 16 year old son into..rather than some plastic Piece O' Crap that runs our roads..