Upgraded my beater

[goobernoodles]

I bought a beater '95 Volvo 850 turbo back in January when the tranny on my 02 Accord started to go. Didn't wash it once, spoiler fell off in a parking lot, 4 mismatched tires, doors on the verge of falling off, and a whole lot more. With that said, it's been a trusty Swedish brick turd, and with the craptastic tires makes for some hilarious breaks in traction. Anyway, I picked up another Volvo the other day:

It's a '96 850R with about 160k miles. Feels a whole lot better than the 95. Needs a few little things here and there, but overall in good cosmetic shape, and (haven't had it looked over by a Volvo shop yet) seemingly is in great mechanical shape. Great maintenance records. It even came with law enforcement plates.

It's going to get the spoiler repainted and the whole car professionally buffed/polished as the clear coat on these cars is pretty shitty. Picked her up for $3400 with a spare set of what looks like good snow tires.

 

[JCH13]

Sweet!

If it's starts running shitty, think PCV valve.

 

[goobernoodles]

Sweet!

If it's starts running shitty, think PCV valve.

Yeah, there's a bit of smoke coming out of the dipstick, but nowhere near as bad as the 95 turbo was. I'm going to clean the other possible causes before even thinking PCV system.

I did the PCV replacement on the 95 and if there was one lesson I learned, it was to steam clean the engine BEFORE doing it... Good god was a grimy job.

 

[Doppel]

Not saying this to stroke you but that is a really nice looking vehicle for 15 years old. I had a spin in a turbo 850 back around when they came out, was fast as crap back then--still faster than most sedans out now, in fact.

 

[JCH13]

Their turbo is so tiny... my neighbor has one... it looks like a T2, maybe.

 

[HAL9000]

It's going to get the spoiler repainted and the whole car professionally buffed/polished as the clear coat on these cars is pretty shitty. Picked her up for $3400 with a spare set of what looks like good snow tires.

D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: They got one of those in a Top Gear challenge for £1.

 

[Vic Vega]

Nice car. :thumbsup:

 

[punjabiplaya]

box + turbo + law enforcement plates = awesome?

 

[overst33r]

My favorite Volvo. :thumbsup:

 

[Insomniator]

850R's are awesome! Nice car.

 

[DivideBYZero]

D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D: They got one of those in a Top Gear challenge for £1.

Wasn't a T5 R.

 

[Zargon]

nice

 

[HAL9000]

Wasn't a T5 R.

Is that worth the extra £2,124

 

[Stifko]

what size are the wheels? there is one for sale in my area for $2700 w/less than 100K miles. does it have the built in child booster seat in the middle of the back seat? nice care btw.

 

[JCH13]

Is that worth the extra £2,124

I'm sure buying a car in a British TV show and buying a different version of that car from a used dealer in the United States are nearly equivalent circumstances...

 

[Zargon]

Is that worth the extra £2,124

like you could find another one like TG did for 1gbp

 

[goobernoodles]

what size are the wheels? there is one for sale in my area for $2700 w/less than 100K miles. does it have the built in child booster seat in the middle of the back seat? nice care btw.

They're 17" Volans.

I'm thinking of moving to 18" Pegasus wheels down the road after I get everything else more critical taken care of.

As to the price - KBB for a "good" 850R with this mileage was 3500, and from lurking craigslist for months - this is far lower than what others have been asking. If the guy was a dick, I probably would have haggled, but he was pretty helpful and honest.

 

[Stifko]

They're 17" Volans.

I'm thinking of moving to 18" Pegasus wheels down the road after I get everything else more critical taken care of.

I would be tempted to put smaller wheels from a vanilla 850 for the sake of ride comfort. I have heard that these cars have a harsh ride due to the stiffer suspension and low profile tires. The tires do not take a lot of air.

There is no child seat in the back of the 96 850R, right?

The 1995 T5R had them and the cream yellow looks nice imho. This seller wants a whopping $5800 for his w/81K and a salvage title:

 

[JCH13]

They're 17" Volans.

I'm thinking of moving to 18" Pegasus wheels down the road after I get everything else more critical taken care of.

I'd suggest sticking with 17" wheels for two reasons: unsprung weight, and cost of 18" tires.

 

[HAL9000]

like you could find another one like TG did for 1gbp

It would be bloody easy, watch the episode and see how they did it. I could buy one tomorrow if need be.

 

[JCH13]

It would be bloody easy, watch the episode and see how they did it. I could buy one tomorrow if need be.

or ban.

 

[Zargon]

It would be bloody easy, watch the episode and see how they did it. I could buy one tomorrow if need be.

then do it.

 

[HAL9000]

or ban.

then do it.

No, Why would I want some car I have to just get rid of to prove a point, watch the episode and see how easy it is.

 

[ElFenix]

i like the square look of those cars.

a friend of mine had an 850 that she didn't take care of. turbo was eating it. turbo was probably eating it when she bought it. eventually after 6 years of no maintenance it died.

 

[JCH13]

No, Why would I want some car I have to just get rid of to prove a point, watch the episode and see how easy it is.

Something tells me that having the cameras from an internationally renowned TV show make things happen a little differently.