My 1995 Volvo 850 was rear-ended and I need to replace it. Is there anything I should be looking out for when buying another 850?


I wrote about the collision here, in the Volvo Stories fourm.
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blah

Taxlady,

My S70 was rear-ended by an SUV and looked very much like yours. The wife and I were uninjured.

The car was 3.5 years old at the time and our insurer wanted to total it. Fortunately (?), we were struck in Canada and the Canadian branch of our insurer agreed to pay for it to be repaired.

J&J Body and Fenwick Motors, Ltd. in Sarnia, Ontario did a very fine job of restoring it. Not perfect, but more than satisfactory.

I'm sorry that repairing yours is not an option due to its age. Good luck in finding a 850/70 series as a replacement.

Bryan

Thanks Bryan. It looks like I have found an acceptable 1993 850 for a bit less than the cheque from the insurance company. I had it inspected yesterday.
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blah

Thanks everyone for your replies. I've printed out this thread to give to my inspector.
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blah

Just make sure that the 850 you choose has service records with it. I wouldn't buy an 850 any other way. I'd also take the opportunity to research any other cars you were ever interested in owning. Hopefully you're not rushed to buy something because you need a daily driver (been there, which is why I paid a hi-end dealer $10k for a mint '94 854, just needed something ASAP, as my '88 244 caught on fire and wasn't driveable due to fried electrical system). Best of luck!!
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'94 854 N/A.

Unfortunately, I am rushed to to buy something as a daily driver. It was our only car. I was a bit interested in Toyotas, but now they just don't seem solid enough. I think it has to be a Volvo. I will be having my inspector check out any vehicle before I buy. He has checked vehicles for me before and his advice has been spot on.
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blah

In that case, everyone here mostly agrees on the big 3 items: A/C evaporator, Transmission, and engine rear main seal. They should either have been replaced or in good shape. ABS module is bad on 96's I also hear.
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'94 854 N/A.

edit - double post - sorry

watch the auto box's . the 93 has a particularly bad rep...basically you need to see scrupulous maintenace records including a FLUSH of the box every 30k....

note if its been maintained by a volvo dealer this is unlikely to have happened as volvo didnt mandate it (unless the car was being used for heavy towing or as a taxi)...

if it were me i would get hold of some thin tube that would fit down the auto dipstick tube and pop a syringe on the end...then insert this down the dipstick and pull a tube of tranny fluid up...look at the colour...

black = walk away
brown = the price needs to be right
red/brown = what you would probably expect
bright red = its just been changed...now you need to know WHY..(was it Black and having box issues prior to the dealer JUST changing it)....

Too bad about your 850. The 850's are approaching the 10 year mark, so most are going to need part replacement/repair that may exceed their book value. The A/C evaporator plagued all of the 850's and that is a major repair bill if it has not been done already. Some of the transmissions were dying from poor maintenance, lack of fluid changes. I think you would be better off getting a newer C70 or S80 if you can swing it. The BMW's/Saabs/Audi cars are equally as safe. I guess the good thing about the 850 is that any rear-ender is likely to total your 850 and you just go get another one. The frame will almost always bend back there to absorb the impact, that's the design. Take a look on Ebay and do a search for Volvo 850's, there's a bunch over there. Good luck with your hunt.

Mike
'95 850T