90's Volvos (740/850): How are they?
 

Just curious, how good are the 90's Volvos as an inexpensive used car in terms of reliability, maintenance costs?

Thinking like 740 to 850 era; even 240. Especially the 5cyl and low-pressure turbos.

The 850R is awesome.

The drivetrain on those 200 and 700 models are amazing but they need the upkeep, and if you don't mind spending a couple thousand dollars a year on a car worth maybe a few thousand at most. There's a point you reach of diminishing returns.

I've been on and off hunting for the right 850 for a while now, they have a lot of little common problems and a few major ones concerning the TRAC/ABS module failure, AC evap cracking and strut bushings cracking.

They're very reliable cars, but definitely not cheap to maintain.

a couple of thousand a year? nah. only if you have neglected the car

for me it was about $2xx a year for a carb rebuild / tune up to pass air care and i was good to go

then just major components that tend to poop out on you IE: water pump $70, alternator $300, starter $125

Are there any volvo-specific enthusiast websites/forums? Preferably ones with lots of tutorials/documentation on maintenance?

turbobricks.com, swedespeed.com

volvospeed.com, most members are FWD Volvo owners

I had an 850. Not a bad car.

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_...0017_large.jpg

^ That's exactly the kind of thing I wanna do. Dark tint in rear, nice rims+low pro tires, lowered.

850T is very solid car, decent interior and solid suspension. Power wise is very balanced, may run into some electric problems.

Try to find the infamous T5R....

Yea, 850R is my dream Volvo. Sedan OR Wagon! There was a 850 T5 (non-R) for just under $5k at a shady used car dealership in Richmond over the weekend and was debating checking it out; but it's gone now :(

R > T5
they are not the same engine/tuning

The 850 'R' version was first marketed as the T-5R (in 1995), it was only in 1997 that they had T-5 and R as different versions (1996 only had Turbo and R, no T-5).

Then I went and did this :D

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_...0016_large.jpg

anyways, 5x108 wheels aren't the easiest to come by. A lot of the guys are putting on the S60R wheels on thier 850's because they look great.

http://www.pbase.com/dkauer744/image/40518362.jpg

yeah.. for my volvo, it was so hard to find a decent set of rims. I didnt' want to go pegs since they were so played out.

I have a 1990 740 GLE and am thinking of selling it.

Wonder how much I could sell it for.... It has only 130,000 KM. Pretty low mileage.

Calling +Kardboard+... You should see his Volvo. His family is full of Volvos.

He is our Volvomod. ;)

Vovlos ftw. Absolutely understated cars.

^ Volvo or E30? :D

CRS: If you have any pics I'd definitely be interested in seeing them!

Those problems are all age related, it will happen to any cars with ABS/AC etc of the early 90s era.. There is nothing you can do except to stock on on NOS parts. Especially since Europeans in the early 90s start promoting "green / recyclable" cars.. those components do fail over time.. just won't die within the cars lifetime.. which in Europe <=10 years.. Just be glad that Volvo didn't pick the same recyclable plastic as MB's wire harnesses.

im selling my 850R, pm if your intrested

i had a 89 740 gl and it felt solid and safe. Had issues with one of the computers that controlled the fuel injection which caused me to stall while driving. had to replace it twice, cost $1000 each time for a refurb'd unit.

i used to go to the brickboard forum, not sure if it's there anymore.

You put me in between a hard place and a rock.

I'm partial to both cars as I used to drive a old 240DL (or something rather) as well as a 740. Love'd them both. FYI, before looking for my miata, I was looking for a 740 Turbo in wagon form.

I have strange taste in cars.

You are a fucking moron. When the 850R/T5R and the 850 T5 were introduced, the only thing separating them (engine wise) was a separate computer tune which increased boost by 3 psi. Go out and fire in a T5R ECU into a T5 and you're at the same power level - or fire in a custom ECU and you're faster then an R.



Anyways, I had an 850 Turbo and absolutely loved it. Only reason I sold it, was to get back into a 300ZX, but luckily I sold it to family. Believe me, when they're ready to sell it, I'm buying it back - that's how much I loved it, and still miss it - haha.

check out sites like www.ipdusa.com for volvo parts. Also, a popular thing to do is get a reflash for 850T's, which I think bump you from about 222 hp to nearly 270hp. It's been a while, but look up companies like Rica Tune / Heico for ecu's. Lastly, the T5 sound phenomenal with a good exhaust.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDM45YxsDlI


Good luck finding a nice T5, and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it!


Edit - here's a shot of my 854 T5 (8 series, 5 cylinder, 4 door, turbo - see the volvo naming scheme means something :) ) :
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3241/...294082ab_o.jpg

lol I am exactly the same way. My current search for a car for after I sell the miata, I've considered the following cars: NX2000, G20, Camaro IROC-Z, Taurus SHO, Suzuki Swift GT, Contour SVT, Foxbody Mustang, DA Integra/BA Prelude, GTi, various Volvo Turbos.