My 850 was a absolute lemon. But rather than bore you with details, here are the the most common 850 problems:

1) Rear Main Seals
2) AC Evap Unit
3) Transmission PNP swithes (Auto Tranny Only)
4) Heater Fans
5) ABS Control Modules (certain years) Also affects traction control systems
6) Check engine and Service Soon lights seem to always come on
7) Most use quite a bit of oil between changes

Also known for defective seat heaters, sunroof shades falling out of the tracks, peeling door panels, peeling moldings on roof, losing the rubber molding above the windshield, squeeks and rattles, noisy suspensions.

The 850's are more labor intensive than the 2/7/9 series and are more maintenance intensive, in most cases.
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96 850 GLT 5-Speed- Sold due to astronomical repair costs.

I had an '87 740 turbo also lost in a total accident last year (not my fault so luckily insurance paid up)... I replaced it with a '94 850 non-turbo wagon. It is a pretty good car but has 200k miles on it whereas my older car had only 140k. Therefore I am not surprized I have had to do more maintenance. Problem with the supension arm, rear main seals (would have been expensive but a mechanic friend knew how to do this) and a few minor things.

So, if I could turn back time I would have my 740 turbo back because it was a one-owner babied car in perfect condition, but the 850 wagon is also great. I have no problems with the transmission, had the fluid flushed a while ago as it was very dark.

Oh, and it is very fast and powerful - I don't even use the "sport" shifting option. Unless you're one of those real race car drivers I don't think the non-turbo disappoints, provided it has been well cared for and maintained to preserve the power. They are probably a bit more difficult to work on, as a beginner with tinkering I don't do much on my own car anyway. But the car drives so nice it has a real sports feel and all the options I like (CD, power everything, onboard trip computer etc) which make it cooler than the 740.

Issues to watch for when buying an 850:
- make sure the timing belt has been replaced recently, if this snaps it ruins the engine and it is very exensive to have the belt replaced.
- watch for oil leaks, often a sign of the rear main seals being blown out (I learned here this is usually a result of never having the flame trap cleaned, building up crankcase pressure) avoid cars leaking oil, very expensive to deal with all the causes of the problem

That's my experience!

I have a 93 850 GLT like Ronjon but mine is fast enough for me as I drive mostly in the City. Mine came equipt with a rear spoiler that are usually only on Turbo models. I love this car. I have heard a lot about the ac issues but since I never use my ac it won't/hasn't been a problem.

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1993 Red 850 GLT 93,000k San Francisco, California

I'm very happy with my 95 854T I bought it right when the rear main seal was replaced by the dealer. So hopefully that wont be an issue with me.
I have a slow leak in the A/C which takes about a year. Unknown if its the evap or not. Takes a few minutes to recharge.
I've had to fix the wiring on the heated seats (both)
I've replaced my rear rotors. Still using the same pads for well over year and they still have 3/4 life to them.

I would recommend getting the turbo model because its a huge jump in power and torque. No worries about passing a truck up hill like alot of cars.
Plus with the turbo You get a fully loaded vehicle and the spoiler it comes with gives that extra added touch!

Power: My ’93 850 Volvo with 170HP engine is a very slow. I keep it since I have done enough maintenance to it. You may look for a pricier turbo or more HP. I got mine 70% cheaper than a turbo.

Check the surveys by Mr. Kino about failure issues. One item I noticed not there was the rear main seal failure. It cost about $1000 to repair (about 13 hrs labor). If there is a leak you will see oil splash under the car body on the driver side, unless the seller did a cleanup job before selling it.

Evaporator: If this fails, a replace job is above $1000 (mostly labor, evaporator, I think, is $200 to $300).

Some transmission opinion:
http://au.geocities.com/ozbrick850/tranny-posaisin.html
http://au.geocities.com/ozbrick850/at-history.html

A transmission research:
http://www.apra.org/GlobalConnection/GC-2002/032002/TransDiag.asp
(I think it is about 1993 Volvo, transmission model 50-42LE)

Ronjon
'93 850 (123k)