I'm in a quandary as to which Volvo I should sell. I purchased a low milage used wagon for my wife made by one of those German car manufacturers who use an acronym for their name - I went with the other brand because I wasn't too thrilled with the new V70. Anyway, I plan to part with one of my Volvos.

The original plan was for me to inherit my wife's 94' 850 GTAS sedan (93k miles) and sell my 90' 740 wagon (139k), but I'm having second thoughts about parting with the 740 wagon. The 850 is in pretty good shape: it's always been garage kept, it's got lower milage, handles better, plus it's a safer car. It's been fairly reliable, but I expect sooner or later -like all 850s- the AC evaporator will go and the ABS module will probably crap out, plus it needs new front struts.

As for the 740, I solved the intermittent I had (bad IAC valve), so it's finally running like a champ. Of course, it shows all the wear and tear you'd expect with a 13 year old wagon (headliner falling apart, trim falling off, etc), but I don't really care what it looks like. The resale value for the 850 is $4k-$5k more than the wagon, but I would think that I could get another 60k to 100k out of the 740, which has got to mean something. Best of all, the wagon is a WAGON, not sedan with a teeny-tiny trunk.

Any suggestions as to which one to sell? Or have I already answered my question?

Thanks in advance,
Steve T

Hi Steve,

Sell the 850. Spend some money on fixing up the 740. It's a tougher car, plus it's a wagon. 850s are nice, but not as tough as a 700/900 series car. To add to that, I'm told by my Volvo mechanic that the auto trannys in the '93/'94 850s weren't very tough. The '95+ 850s had better auto trannys apparently. The '93/'94 ones can last a while if flushed regularly though. I'd keep the 740 if you like it. You should easly be able to get another 100K mi out of it if you take care of it :)
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Chris. Halifax N.S. '91 745Ti, 271K km.

Sell the 850. First of all the 740 is just getting broken in. Most of us have learned over the years a 700 is a lot cheaper to keep up. As far as the head liner goes $140 from IPD and a few hours labor. I don't care how well Volvo says their tranaxles hold up. My dealer has at least 6 in stock at all times.
I never remember him ever keeping more than one AW71 in stock. And said before 850's are a nightmare to work on. I asked a few years ago about what the techs thought about them and got the answer. Well none of us own one. Also one thing they did say is the 850 starts getting expensive to maintain after 90K. I was told I should look at the S and V70's if I was interested in that model. They do rave about 2001 and 2002 V70 and Cross Country. Buy the way my 87 745T has 279,000 miles on it and I have no interest in getting rid of it. I will have my 300K badge by Christmas.

It seems this question is coming up more frequently. Are the older RWD bricks gaining in popularity? Seems like it.

Regarding which you should sell, bye bye 850. I'm doing the same. My 15 year old 745t has a few small issues but parts are relatively cheap and it's a straight forward car to work on. Last night I removed the seats, console, carpet and half the dash in order to find and repair a water leak. Something I wouldn't dare attempt with the 855t. Have you ever seen the wiring harness under an 850's dash? Unbelievable.

While my '95 855t has been perfect for the year I've owned it, it's rate of depreciation is alarming. In a couple of years I'd have a car worth very little and would be expensive and difficult to maintain.

I bought my 745t (manual trans) for $1700. I'll sell my 855t for much more than that. My insurance cost on the 745t is half the 855t also. Funny, the 745t looks like a Jeep Cherokee without the crappy drivetrain. Has more room too.

Easy choice. I've posted similar over on the AWD forum.

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Erwin in Memphis, '88 745t 183,000 miles, '95 855t For Sale

the world acording to garp.

It would seem I have a secret admirer who went through the trouble of registering a bogus name just for me. Didn't leave any profile info either.

Tell me, did you actually make it through the book or did you have to wait for the movie?

Btw, I see this is at least your second installment. Must you hide? Surely you can just say what's on your mind, logged in as yourself. If you're having trouble with my posts, simply don't read them or suggest how I might better serve this community. This is a Forum. Opinions are asked for and given. I've been here over a year, maybe longer than you, maybe not. Can't tell with the blanket over your head. I've learned quite a lot here and by the thanks and emails I receive and those I've met here and correspond regularly with I know I've been of some help also.

My email address is in my profile. If you want my phone number I'll give you that too. Please grow up.

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Erwin in Memphis, '88 745t 183,000 miles, '95 855t For Sale

Steve:

If the Acronym wagon is an early V8, you will HAVE to sell the 850 in order to have enough money to pay for the new engine it will surely need soon.

I was hoping you asked this question on the FWD forum also, just to compare responses. I didn't see it there though.

I would think the biggest factor to consider is whether or not you need a vehicle with the extra cargo space. I assume the BMW (oooops, sorry) is a sedan.

Compelling reasons to keep the 740 wagon:

1.) Utilitarian "truck" type of car.

2.) More cash in pocket if you sell the 850. (You'll continue to suffer more depreciation if you hang onto the 850, whereas the 740 is already close to rock bottom.)

3.) If you do your own repairs, the 740 is probably easier to work on. If you vend-out the repairs, probably less costly on the 740.

Compelling reasons to keep the 850:

(No known reasons)

BTW - Removing the headliner board for recovering is easier on a wagon than it is on a sedan.

to add...

sell the 850, put the 4k into fixing up the 740 (that goes a long way....) and you should have a seriously nice 740, plus the money you would have got for the 740....

straight maths...

plus we dont really like these new fangled fwd boxes in here anyways...

Fortunately, the Acronym-mobile is a wagon, so if I part with the 850, I'll still have a wagon. Also, it's the straight-six version, and I must say, I've never had a car with a smoother engine.

Anyway, good idea about posting the same question on the 850 forum - I'll do it.

Thanks,
Steve T