I have owned both 240's and 850's.

I always thought you could get a standard tranny in an 850 but they are rarer in North American than england and the rest of the world.
But i shall leave that to people who actually own them and can report back.

All i will say is the 240 and 850 are different cars and i would not compare them.

the 240 is very dependable, mechanically bulletproof, easy to fix, but it is an older car which never really handled well compared to most cars. It was also very forgiving to owners who try self repairs. Many cars of the vintage get rusty too (dont get me wrong they are better than most domestics half its age).


The 850 is more sophisticated in style and performance, but it can cost a lot to fix if you depend on a dealer.

Even if you fix it yourself you could get caught with major expenses like fuel pumps and relays, sensors and some irritating interior trim issues. Again these 850's like most volvos are engineered to last a lot longer than the domestic car, but at the same time you have to consider they are older cars.

I would aim for the 87 850 which is supposed to be the best the car ever was.. in its last year of production. The 70 series 98 up was pretty good too and is even better in overall looks.