Faults:

Damper inside HVAC system needed to be replaced.

Shocks/struts replaced.

Parking brake cable seized, was replaced.

Driver side seat heater cushion replaced.

Historically, the transmission was replaced before my ownership.

General Comments:

I have owned more than 25 vehicles, driven many more, and nothing has been more comfortable than the seats in this Volvo. Some have come close, but no one has surpassed them.

Excellent road handling and performance, good fuel economy, quiet at highway speeds, nice fit and finish.

Any repairs that could be necessary are readily available usually with photos from the various Volvo forums online.

Even at 16yrs old, she still looks elegant, not old. Excellent resistance to rust. The heater is incredible, and the a/c is colder than my 3 year old Nissan.

Powertrain is extremely well-built, seems that it's the electrics that give issue, historically. I have had no unexpected surprises so far.

Expect that the a/c condenser will go, and there have been issues with heater cores from time to time. There is also a flap inside the HVAC system that controls heat to the floor which breaks... $15 for the part, 12 to 16 hours of labour to replace, so it's costly if you're not willing to do the work yourself.

This one burns no oil between oil changes, and idles very smooth... she should go for a long long time to come.

Parts costs aren't much more than my Honda or Toyota, and easily available online or dealership.

Faults:

- Plastic radiator cracked right after buying the car.

- Alternator went out.

- Coolant overflow tank cracked and rotted from age.

- Needed two new rear calipers after they seized up.

- Seat back cable was built too short, so now the back part of the seat will only go back and not back up.

- Front rotors wore thin and needed to be replaced.

- Battery exploded while attempting to start on a hot day.

- Trunk supports had to be replaced.

General Comments:

This car is my first car. It gave me all the above problems. Even though it looks like a lot, and I may have forgot some things.

This car is very well made, and it's worth fixing to keep it going. It's such an amazingly well built car. I remember saying when I got it "those swedes didn't overlook any detail".

The ride is nice, it can out handle most of my friends cars through turns, and it's pretty quick. Shifting from 2nd gear to third it gets sluggish, but overall I am happy with this car, even at 200,000 miles. I'm even consider buying the more powerful 850 R series Volvo.

Parts are not ungodly high, but higher than American or import cars example: Radiator was $175.

The inside is comfortable even on long trips. The seats hold you in turns, and the leather is strong and wear is present, but isn't deteriorating quickly.

This car has powerful brakes. It actually has the shortest stopping distance out of all Volvo's produced in 1993. If you are interested in after market parts, they can be found, but buying a turbo has many more options.

Faults:

The radiator leaked in cold weather, we replaced it at 360,000 km.

A cable in the drivers seat needed repair, the dealer charged $200.

The parking brake cables seized and the parking brake pads fell apart.

The throttle will freeze up in minus 40C weather, but really, who wants to be out in that anyway?

The heater fan blew up at 425,000 km. The replacement fan had a much thicker and stronger outer ring on the squirrel cage.

General Comments:

With proper maintenance, the 850 is a car that you can be happy with for a long time. Ours gets 45,000 km a year, most of it 50-80 km at a time.

Our operating costs are comparable to our old Camry, which is still on the road at 740,000 km.

In the last 50,000km we have replaced struts, tie rod ends, lower control arm bushings, brake calipers, front rotors, and overhauled the alternator. The car now drives better than it did when we bought it at 165,000km.

Most impressive is what we haven't had to replace. How many 14 year old high mileage cars have the original exhaust system? CV joints are original, with no noise or vibration. Ditto wheel bearings. The paint is in good as new condition, zero rust, and the interior is free of tears and cracks. Volvo's are rare around here, and people are stunned when we tell them the car is a 1993.

This car was made for highway travel. Anyone that has driven the car has made the same comment, getting up to 100 kph is a disappointment, then wow, this thing flies. We have made numerous 3-4000km road trips, we consider it travelling in first class. Fuel mileage is good in Canada, on U.S.fuel we get an extra 100km.per tank.

With good tires under it, the car is really good on snow or ice. The heater is only fair.

The key to keeping maintenance costs down is to purchase parts carefully. Items like the radiator, heater fan, struts, bushings etc. can be purchase over the Internet at a substantial savings.

We plan on putting another 200,000 km on it, then maybe one of the kids will end up with it. The worst thing about the car is that it spoils you with its classy feel, it's hard to go back to a cookie cutter Camry.