I found a 95 960. 99K miles. It apparantly has a blown head gasket as the oil is leaking into the coolant and great pressure is building. The car runs great and the engine is quite smooth. I assume that it's the head gasket as I had the same issue with my Mercedes. The guy will sell the car to me for $12-1300. My mechanic will repair it for $1200. New tires. The leather is nice...the door panels need work which I can do. It doesn't have a CD player and needs a couple of trim pieces on the passenger doors.

Should I go for it? I love the 960 and am anxious to NOT have the 740 Turbo Wagon any more (it borders on abusive.)

You folks are the experts...I'll value any opinions.

I'd go with the '97 you mentioned in another post if I were you. There's a reason the head gasket is blown on the '95 and, if it's b/c the engine was overheated, you're in for lots of problems down the road. These engines do not like to be overheated. Tom Irwin unfortunately discovered this a while back with his Christine saga. Having owned the gambit of Volvo engines (B28, B230FT, B6304) I would definately go with the 960 over the 940SE. After you're spoiled by the inline six for a while, the old four-banger turbos seem extremely harsh in comparison.
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Lance '92 965 w/ 180K miles

Well, I did it...

I purchased the car with the blown head gasket. I talked to Southwest Volvo and they recommend that I just take the chance and go for it.

I'll keep you all updated on any progress.

You could buy the car and out in a FORD or Chevy V-8 amd trans. See the V-8 Forum.
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Warren Bain - '99 V70GLT G-Valve > 80K mi, '96 965 >120Kmi, near Manassas Va.. Check the 700/900 FAQ via the 'features' pull down menu.

Hey Robert:
I'd do it for $1200. Make sure the title is clear.

I have a hard time believing that the head gasket is blown if it runs great. Judging from some earlier posts on the brickboard I would still be concerned that head repairs aren't always permanent. I do like your idea of checking to see if the leak is somewhere other than the head gasket, but I wouldn't count on it.

Good luck with it if you go ahead with the deal. The 960 is a nice car.

Mike Brown
Greenville, NC
1986 244 137
1996 965 100K

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Mike Brown Greenville, NC 1996 965 94K 1986 244 137K

I took my mechanic to see the car. He agreed that the gasket is history...but that the motor runs solid. The car perhaps would be worth $5K when done...I'd have $2800 in it with the purchase and repairs (struts also weak). Something to think about...but also considering a FLAWLESS 97 with 73K miles for $7K and not having to worry about the updates. I'd still appreciate any further input.

Based on my experience with a 960 any trouble with the engine is BAD news. I won't touch the car IMHO. Others may disagree but that's OK. I agree with nick6 get a 940SE. I bought one for $5,000 instead of spending $5,000 to fix the engine in my 960 when the timing belt snapped. The 940SE has all the features of the 960 just not all the problems. If you choose to buy the 960 just be prepared to spend lots of dollars.

The 960 is lovely car but can be expensive to maintain. Do you mean $1200 to $1300? If yes go for it. if you mean 12K to 13K that price is way out of line. A head gasket job on the B6304 engine may be straightforward but it can get complicated and cost more. It is a totally different animal that the B230 engines. Make absolutely sure the mechanic knows that engine and has done the job before.
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David Hunter

My mechanic hasn't done that particular engine but is familiar with the 16 valve Volvo engine. The car runs great...so I'm going to have him go by and see if he thinks it might be the oil cooler or transmission cooler.

Thanks for the messages so far!

buy a 940Se