What this car needs is a thorough service from someone who can understand and deal with the complexities of the engine - either a non-franchise Volvo expert (the US VOC can help here) or I'm afraid, a Volvo dealer.

The 850 engine is a high-performance but complex beast as a look at the Haynes manual will confirm and the abuse it has endured will need careful correcting.

A common cause of startup failure is a dirty throttle body, which has very tight tolerances, but electrics are the Achilles heel of this model and I bet your problem is electrical in nature, either a faulty connection or something more expensive.

If you plan to run the car as an everyday transport, you'll have to spend money - a significant investment now will pay off in the future, though a "stander" will have a long list of electrical problems until it has thoroughly dried out, been contact cleaned, driven, etc. etc.

My 1992 GLT did, due to 6 months on a dealer's forecourt being washed but not driven - but when it was finally sorted it was worth the effort.