|
If the car has GLT on the rear, it is not a turbo. A N/A car has an accordian air intake between the air cleaner and the throttle body, the turbo air intake goes toward the firewall where the turbo is located.
In either case, a minimum of 89octane is required, no "regular" gasoline can be used. The knock sensors will kill the mpg if it is lower than 89 octane, but that is only a 10 cent difference in most states.
Normal 850 annual maintenance is about $1,000/year unless you DIY. Doing it yourself is key here, otherwise it will be cost prohibitive.
I happen to like the 94-95 850s because they are fairly easy to maintain and live a long time. Taking long trips is a no brainer, that is what these cars do best. And living to more than 200K miles is easy if it is maintained correctly.
Is it OK for an 18 year old? Yes, so long as it is not abused. Getting speeding tickets is very easy and doesn't hurt the car at all. Slamming it from R to D to get the front tires to smoke will require a new transmission after the first attempt to do so.
The tranny is the weak point from 1994-1996. The car must be completely stopped before changing directions. There is a PNP switch that can fail, but is easily replaced and diagnosed. Just make sure that the fluid is flushed at least every 50K miles, without draining from the sump. The fluid needs to be checked before buying to make sure that it is not dark browm/black.
The AC evaporators tend to fail and are very difficult to replace, the entire dash must be removed, a 2-3 day operation for DIY. The heater core is a 2 hour job and the blower is a 1 hour job.
If the car is in fact a turbo, it might develop an oil leak at the oil return line, but that is fairly easy to fix. A little harder is the oil separator box, which may get clogged with slow driving and poor oil change schedules.
I still like the car, it is easy to drive and has great visibility out of the windows. The trunk has ample room for a college student. If your son takes it to college, put in a new battery and get on Ebay and buy a solar powered battery charger. At least, if he parks it for a few weeks at a time, he will have a solid charge when he tries to start it.
It is due for a timing belt soon, check when it was changed last and add 70K miles. You can also verify the miles on the odometer with the computer(actual), in case the PO had the odo gear break.
Klaus
--
Just driving a 1998 V70R :)
|
