I have been lurking on this board for a couple of years. I recently decided to buy a new Volvo and to get one with front wheel drive. So now that the 850 has come into our price range I am making the switch.

After reading details on this board about the expensive evaporator problem on the 850s, I was better prepared for the big negotiation with the dealer. Of course the car we found there had an A/C problem. I told the sales guy about it and he spoke with the service department. Sure enough, they agreed that was the problem and agreed to fix it free of charge before we bought the car. They provided a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty on the A/C fix which gives us a little more reassurance about it. Though I know some of you are on your 3rd and 4th Evaps.

We feared the dealer would just charge the system/add refrigerant and tell us it was fixed (only to find 3-6 months later that the evap is the prob). So I told the dealer we would not take it unless Evap was fixed.

Thank you to the board and those who have given their learned opinions. It helped us to negotiate as a knowledgeable consumer and hopefully has saved us some headaches/money in the future.

Thanks,

John
1985 240 Sedan (230,000 miles) which was destroyed by Ford F350 on 2/31.
1986 240 Wagon (180,000 miles)
1994 850 Wagon (110,000 miles)