Hi, all,
This is my first post on this great forum.
I am seriously consider buy a 96 Volvo 850 base model wagon from a local privite owner. Here is basic information I got from my test drive on it:
Basicly, this is a 96 Volvo 5 spd base Wagon with 74000miles on it.
Current owner is the second owner and have it for one year. He bought it from local Volvo dealership. Therefore, there is no records on maintanence from the first owner. I was told that the dealer will not provide this kind of information when they sell used car. Is this true?
During his ownership, he already replaced the time belt at 70,000 miles and replace the A/C evaporator. Oil has been changed regularly. He has all the records for maintanence during his ownership. The tires are almost new with 10000miles on them. Two obvious problems: the driver side heating seat doesn't work and the clock on the in-dash computer doesn't work. The acceleration of this car is just ok, especially for 1st and 2nd gear. The gas pedal is heavier than my current Honda. I noticed that it reach to 2500 rpm when it is in 2nd gear with speed 25-28 mile/hr. The engine is quiet for both idle and running status. The inside and outside are in very good conditions.
His car hit a deer last winter and body work was covered by his comprehensive car insurance. But there is a small dent on radiator.
Now he asked for $4600 after my test drive and negotiation, $500 lower than his original price. My concerns are:
(1). Is the malfunction of clock on in-dash computer a big issue? Does it means that the computer of the car is malfunction? I noticed that the temperature display in the computer was correct. But I didn't not pay more attention to the trip indicator in the computer when I test drive it.
(2). Is this kind of accelaration and rpm I mentioned above normal for a non-turbo Volvo? I did read some post in this forum about the sluggish of Volvo 850. Someone said that it is the style of Volvo, they don't want you to drive "agressively". Is this true?
(3). This car are majorly for local use. It was orignally sold in local and the first owner only put 64,000 mile during 8 year ownership. Is this kind of local driving history bad for the Volvo?
(4). The brakes hasn't been replaced during the second owner ship. The pad is still thick. Approximately how much for replacing the pads and rotor?
(5). The sevice light is on when starting the car and off after 2 mins. I was told that it need to be reset by the dealership. Is it a big issue?
(6). As the model of this car, what peticular issues I need to have them check by professional before buying it?
Sorry for this long post, thanks in advance for any inputs from you!