• For sale

  • [NSW] 1996 850R Wagon - White - Manual - $20,000

Up for sale is my 1996 850R wagon.

Please see gumtree listing here for more pictures https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/newcastle/cars-vans-utes/1996-volvo-850-r-manual-wagon/1305276919

The car is a factory manual with 196,500 km on the clock and was a daily driver for me until the last couple of years when it has seen use only a few times a week. I've owned the car for around 8 years and it has been a reliable vehicle in that time, with some normal parts wearing and being replaced as noted below.

The good:

- The car has no major issues, and I'd have no problem jumping in it and doing a long trip tomorrow. I've just returned from about 1,000km of highway driving over Christmas without issue.

- Aesthetically I'd say its very good for its age. The body is straight with no panel damage, and paint is good except for some clear coat peel on one of the front quarter panels and the sill below one of the doors. I have tried to picture the worst of this. The interior is generally very good, with some minor cracking of the drivers seat leather and leather deteriorated on the upper part of the steering wheel (now wrapped in silicone tape).

- In recent years I have replaced most engine/transmission mounts, heater core and heater pipes, radiator and upper/lower hoses, new turbocharger CHRA (Kinugawa), full PCV kit, and had the original driveshafts professionally rebuilt.

- The car has some modifications from standard. It has a "cold air intake" kit, the larger "Japan" exhaust manifold that came on some 850s, the angle flange turbine housing on the turbocharger, a full turbo-back 3" mandrel bent exhaust system with high flow catalytic converter, and polyurethane engine subframe inserts.

- A fair array of assorted spares will go with the car.

- Car has a tow bar fitted

- Registered until mid July 2023.

The bad:

- Often upon starting, or if idling for a while then accelerating, the exhaust emits smoke. I am not sure of the cause, but I suspect this is responsible for the engine using some oil. It doesn't require topping up very frequently, at a guess I'd top it up between 500-1000km, but I haven't really been keeping tabs on this to be sure. When I checked compression on the engine a while back all cylinders were within spec so do not believe engine wear to be the cause of this.

- If you lug the engine a bit when driving (ie: put your foot down when in a higher gear) there is a rattle from somewhere under load. I am not sure what is causing this. It has done this for the whole time I have had the car and hasn't worsened.

Possible engine damage and its $22K ?

You gotta be FKN joking man......

Hi snoopy, happy to field comments about people's opinion of the price.

I don't think this car has "engine damage". I've been using it for years without issue and it performs really well, it just blows smoke. As listed in the ad, compression seems all within spec and it happily did a long distance trip over Christmas with no issues.

After looking at the asking price of other 850R's (many of which also seem to have minor issues or extensive modification to engine internals of unknown quality), looking at their condition, whether they are a sedan/wagon and whether they are manual or the much more common auto, I don't think this one is priced that unrealistically. In fact the asking price is less than other 850Rs I've seen for sale, many of which are automatic sedans.

I'm negotiable on price, but I don't really have any reason to think this has a damaged engine. Smoking after idling seems to be a pretty common issue people have with these cars, and I've tried to be as clear and honest as I can about the good/bad with this one.

Yes , i understand but put yourself in a classic car guys shoes who pays your premium , drives off and blows smoke , i think they want their money bacck.

guy was on iroll with imported 850T5-Rs and one at around $40k was taken back to him as rubbish , Mark kept his but was ripped off , luckily he was smashed by an Audi Q7 and got his money really......

It HAS to be perfect at that price never mind i reckon its 10K too much......

Auction or Carsales or Shannons auction.

@Ex850R let the man advertise his car, he's a forum regular and he's being completely honest about the cars issues. It's a low km manual 850r that he has owned/maintained for 8years, I think the price is fairly reasonable.

Not fair to compare it to the guy who was trying to make lots of money flipping imported t5r wagons

The smoke off idle could be because of a partially blocked PCV system backing up the drain of the turbo. Happened to me with a V70 T5 I used to own.

Hardly an engine totalling issue. More an annoyance than anything.

I've seen this car around Newcastle, it's real nice. Hope it finds a good home.

    Slowbrick

    The smoke off idle could be because of a partially blocked PCV system backing up the drain of the turbo. Happened to me with a V70 T5 I used to own.

    Hardly an engine totalling issue. More an annoyance than anything.

    I've seen this car around Newcastle, it's real nice. Hope it finds a good home.

    Could be valve stem seals too, neither of which would concern me greatly at all. Clean R models are becoming hard to find and, of course, are appreciating in value.

      Thanks for the comments guys. I appreciate that some people think it's too pricey given the smoke issue, and others think it's manageable, so I suppose for now I'm holding out for someone who might be interested for what it is. Interesting that another novocastrian has seen my car around!

      To be honest I don't think it's PCV, as I recently installed a full PCV kit from Berry (at quite a bit of expense, making it even more annoying that it didn't solve it haha!). I wouldn't consider myself an expert on these engines, but given I have replaced the PCV system and turbo CHRA with good quality components and the issue persists, if I was going to keep digging down into solving it I reckon I'd be considering valve stem seal replacement. Amongst the spares to go with the car are a full unopened head gasket set including valve stem seals, so the parts are there for anyone who also suspects valve stem seals and has the time/motivation to take the head off (or try doing it with the head on and compressed air).

      Sounds like stem seals to me . Mine is in the middle of head gasket up rebuild due to smoking. ..

        Sounds a lot like valve stem seals. Can they be done with the head in place?

        Cams out, rope in the cylinder, wind it up to TDC, pop off the valve spring collets and replace the seals.

        Or am I remembering it all wrong? Have not done it, we always sent the head to a head shop for rebuilding.

        With the cams out all valves would be closed so no fear of bending via hitting pistons. Just a thought.

        Looks like a great car too.

        a month later

        Hey guys, currently entertaining an offer of $16K with a kinda difficult buyer. If anyone is interested at over $16K hit me up!

        rado

        Sounds like stem seals to me . Mine is in the middle of head gasket up rebuild due to smoking. ..

        I am no mechanic, but if it was valve stem seals I would be more inclined to think it would blow a good bit of smoke on start up - hot or cold (Like my Jaguar, and my 850R). I do have a 740T that smokes on idle after about 15 minutes of use when oil thins (yet never ever smoke on start up, like all my red blocks). Just apply the smallest amount of throttle and smoke disappears. So I believe it is the hot side turbo seal, and just a little pressure on the shaft as power is applied is enough to stop the smoke.

        All in all, lets remember people can offer their assets for whatever price they like. Until someone has inspected a car they should not sprout valuations or belittle another mans valuation of his own car.

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