1994 Volvo 850 Turbo from North America - Comments

I purchased my 1994 Volvo November 27, 2007 from a used car dealer, and less than 30 days I started having problems.

The odometer stopped working the day after I picked up the car, now I do not have the correct read of the mileage. The dealers response was it work yesterday when you purchased the car! The Volvo dealer said" It would cost approx. $500.00 to repair the problem if that's all that is wrong with the car".

Next the check engine light came on the 2nd week in December before the holidays, and the car stalled on the highway. I couldn't start it (I was lucky to pull over to the side of road). I called a road side service and had it towed to a service station (it was the fuel pump; $470) to repair.

Back on the road again and the check engine light is on again one month later. It stalled again, but not on the highway. I took it to my mechanic; oil leak from the valve cover gasket and a manifold problem. This cost $225.00 to repair.

Now 45 days later the check engine light is on again; this time both oxygen sensors and he says I need a catalytic converter, over 1k to do the job.

Plus a number of other items till the present day stopped working; heated leather seats, power antenna, and various bulbs keep going out. There are some other problems also.

I have a lemon on my hands and don't know what to do with the car.

I like the Volvo for its safety features. My other car was an 1984 240 model; it had 187,000 miles before the transmission went out in October 2007. I like the style of the 850 model, but not all the problems.

If you buy a 13 yr old second (?) hand car you should expect problems sooner or later, especially if you don't know the vehicle's history.

You can't blame Volvo on this one. You can blame the dealership for not checking it out and you can blame the previous owners for maybe not doing maintenace, however a fuel pump and bad speedomert are age related issues that seem to happen as cars age.

I gotta agree with the last post. Yes, Volvo's, are very reliable/durable cars, but they require alot of maintenance to prevent these mishaps from occurring. I believe you may have purchased a car that just wasn't maintained before you got it.

Check out the helpful forum at brickboard.com. those Brickfreaks (myself included) are a fantastic resource when it comes to DIY repairs/maintenance.

Good luck!

850s are not as good as 240s, 740s or 940s, but my guess is that you didn't get a pre-purchase inspection from a mechanic. Some or most of the problems you encountered might have been picked up on by someone who knew what to look for BEFORE you bought the car.

Obviously you purchased the car quite some time ago, however if you have receipts, and your state has a lemon law, then you are in luck. When someone says, "You purchased a 14 year old car, there are bound to be problems", then that is just wrong. The problems must be revealed to you before purchase, and the price must reflect the issues. If you have a lemon law, then you are golden, If not, I would go with small claims court, and get some of the money for the repair bills back. Also, if the speed went junk, because it was tampered with, then you will have that as evidence. You will need an impartial mechanic to verify your claims, though.

Surely a oil leak from the valve cover gasket isn't going to cause the engine to stop, nor should a exhaust manifold gasket leak going to stop the engine either.

When I bought my 850 from a dealer for $2000 aussie dollars, I didn't expect the car to be faultless, if it doesn't break down over the next couple of years I will be very happy.

If you want a faultless car, you should buy a new car.

I also believe that you are taking a huge risk when buying a 13 year old vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it.

I don't think you can call such an old car a "lemon".