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From a mechanic/shop owners view point I would like to see you in an 850. They have more problems than the 240's, the problems they have are more expensive, and are less user friendly. The 240's are more reliable, cheaper to fix, and more user friendly. Often times the stuff that wears out in your 850 is the comfort and convenience stuff like sun visors, window switches, glove box lids, speedo gears, air bag covers, seat upholstery, wiper arms, a/c evaporator$, heater cores, cluster bulbs, seat motors, and then they have their mechanical problems too: rear main seal$, engine mounts, coolant temp sensors, vacuum elbows, radiators every 100K or so, rotors every other pad change and then routine maintenance. On the subject of maintenance they have a slight edge over the 240, no valve adjust and no coolant changes(according to the book).
Now to be fair to the 850 the 240 does enjoy a certain amount of the same problems but it is far cheaper to maintain. Consider if you will the cost and difficulty difference between engine mounts, rear main seal, a/c evaporator, and cluster bulbs on the two. In 20 years I still have only done a small handful of evaps and heater cores on the 200 series and there is not a summer that goes by that I do not see a few of each from the 800 series in my shop.
Ultimately the choice is yours but if your goal is to help make my lease payment every month or spend more time in your driveway and on this board maintaining your car then I would say the obvious choice is the 850. If, however, you have more time than money and you would like to spend that time doing something other than fixing you car I suggest you search out a well maintained 240.
My .02 cents
Mark
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