I have been looking for a 93 or later 945 Turbo wagon for awhile. (I have a 1992 240 for my daughter and my wife gets to zip around in a 1997 850 GLT. Now I want a Volvo to play with and upgrade). Here in SoCal all 940 wagons, even non turbo, seem to command a premium. For example, some are asking $10 to even $12K for a nice one with 110,000 miles. Even though I think I would prefer the 940, I have been noticing some 1996 or 1997 850 wagons, even Turbos or LPTs, for nearly the same asking price ($10 to $12K). There also seems to be more 855s around than 945s.
Specific questions:
1. Is the 940 drivers seat and legroom slightly larger than the 850? I'm 6'2" and not that comfortable in the 850.
2. Reading the board, my sense is that my maintenance and repair costs will be less for the 940 than the 850 especially between 100,000 and 200,000 miles. Will there likely be that much difference?
3.Will the 850 be as likely to make it to 200K as the 940?

I will also post this on the FWD.

Thanks,
L

I am also considering an 850/940/740 purchase for my next additional Volvo. As a current 240 owner, I think I'll go with a 740/940 because I'm somewhat familiar with the B230f powerplant/drivetrain, and feel more comfortable with working with them than learning a new car/powerplant/drivetrain.

Additionally, all the FWD cars I have owned (VWs, Hondas, Subarus and Saabs), seem to need new CV boots every few years and that maintenance adds up if you can't do it yourself (I can't and it's $200 to $300 repair job). It's even more expensive if you have to replace a CV joint. Also, in my own personal experience FWD transmissions have been problematic. I have had new auto transmissions in my Dodge Caravan and Saab 900 which I attribute to design/manufacturing weaknesses. The Caravan's tranny went at 42K and the Saabs at 120K. The Honda tranny was replaced by the PO at 110K. I bought it with 120 K and it was still running strong at 180K.

If you check out cartalk.com, they have a car repair survey section:
http://cartalk.cars.com/Survey/Results/Repair-Costs/

that lists various Volvos versus all Volvos versus All vehicles. A quick check confirms the concensus here that older 850's cost more to maintain than a similar vintage 940. Keep in mind that the data is non scientific, but it is something to consider.

Tom