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From all of the replies I have read, everyone is happy with their 850.
My happiness is tempered by dozens and dozens of little, very expensive failures.
Yes, my 850 Wagon (about 65,000 miles) has never left me (my wife actually) stranded, but it sure has cost us a lot in time and money, to fix--and I do most of the work myself.
That door snapping problem (a true design flaw)--am I the only person who has experienced it? This is a problem which will NEVER go away.
Many electrical device failures (true reliability problems), like the window switch cluster, and the ignition switch, and the reversing light switch, and the many, many, many replacements required of headlamp, dashlight and switch bulbs. There is hardly a month that doesn't go buy where I don't have some small electrical failure--I feel like this is a Lucas electrical system.
The air injection pump problem (a true design flaw) and VERY expensive. Again, am I the only person with this problem.
And the air conditioning evaporator problem. I have been lucky enough to not have experienced this problem but, again, a VERY expensive problem.
The point is that any car typically suffers from a "genetic" problem. My 79 Accord went through water pumps every 50,000 to 80,000 miles. And I can remember that every Accord owner who I talked to was taken by that same problem.
But with my Volvo, there is not a single, genetic problem, there are a dozen genetic problems. With the Accord, I had not a single other problem, besides regular maintenance, so the water pump problem was acceptable.
But when you have a car which is marketed at a higher level than most, and has dozens of genetic problems, some of them chronic, you get a bit frustrated. Is it that I live in Chicago and the temperature variations bring out these problems? Are you guys who have "never had a problem with your 850" living in Palm Springs?
Why is there such a disjoint between my experience and the experience of so many of the "satisified" owners? Have I been living with a lemon, or is my experience quite typical of Volvo ownership?
Let me know guys.
Ken
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