96 Volvo 850R Turbo

Been looking for an other car, and came across this on CL. What is the "R"? Anything special, or just another letter? Asking 2500.00, it's a 96. 84K miles. What do I need to worry about? Thanks, guys.

http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/cto/3567476712.html

Those are awesome, they came in a 5 speed but are super rare. 236hp turbo straight 5 cylinder. Some say, on this board, they are easy to maintain but I don't know. I think Maroon has/had an 850.

The "R" means: A different ecu map: something like 10 seconds of 11lbs instead of the T5 max of 9 lbs of boost. Otherwise the drive train is identical to a 1996 t5. which was rip snorting in 1996.

slightly shorter higher rate springs

front and rear sway-bars

the interior has a suede/leather mix that looks nice, and bigger bolsters.

nice 17" wheels (that this one still has)

they come optioned to the hilt

breather box cruds up and blows, the rear main seal, air conditioning evaporator buried deep deep in dash- they rot if there is no filter on the system intake, front strut seats wear out and bang, engine is interference. according to the interwebs, the auto box is "weak". i don't see it that often. i think it the usual low fluid they burn up thing that any auto box experiences.

they are easy to work on (for a fwd car) and there is very good parts availability junk yard, oem, and aftermarket. the evaporator is the real nasty problem. I didnt want to do it and paid $1200, which is a bargain. generally 2k ish.

that is a really nice looking stock one. i and most people like the dark interior. as a driver, they go like stink once the steering wheel is strait, are very comfortable, have way too much powa for the open diff, push horrendously past 7/10. below that they are good. not really a sports sedan, more of a GT. with $30 manual boost controller parallel with the OEM EBC you can safely go to 14psi on the stock ECU. that adds 20 fllbs or something to the already healthy 240 hp 240 ftlbs.

$2400 make offer? 84k, clean title, the ac works? Wow!! you could easily double your money on swedespeed, vovlospeed, or ebay. That looks like a bargain from way over here.

Sweet. I'm sure others will chime in, but I just sold my '96 850 wagon a week ago. Had it for two years. It was a NA, not even a turbo, let alone the R. I couldn't have been happier with the car. Shaun pretty much covered everything to look out for. My evap was leaking, but one can from AutoZone kept me cool for the entire summer. My breather box also got crudded up, but it was a 5 minute clean up and all was well. My NA was thirsty, so I'd imagine the R will be even more so.

Go for it, that's a nice car.

These things will eat up long trips, they are awesome cruisers. Not sure how the R sedan handles, but my plain jane wagon wasn't bad.

jonnyd330 wrote: Those are awesome, they came in a 5 speed but are super rare. 236hp turbo straight 5 cylinder. Some say, on this board, they are easy to maintain but I don't know. I think Maroon has/had an 850.

I don't believe that the US got the 5 speeds. Canada did - but still super rare - something like only 25 of them ever made it here. About 10 years ago a local used car dealer that specialized in Volvo's had a red one. They wanted $15K for it. I wanted it but not that bad.

Shaun wrote: The "R" means: A different ecu map: something like 10 seconds of 11lbs instead of the T5 max of 9 lbs of boost. Otherwise the drive train is identical to a 1996 t5. which was rip snorting in 1996. slightly shorter higher rate springs front and rear sway-bars the interior has a suede/leather mix that looks nice, and bigger bolsters. nice 17" wheels (that this one still has) they come optioned to the hilt breather box cruds up and blows, the rear main seal, air conditioning evaporator buried deep deep in dash- they rot if there is no filter on the system intake, front strut seats wear out and bang, engine is interference. according to the interwebs, the auto box is "weak". i don't see it that often. i think it the usual low fluid they burn up thing that any auto box experiences. that is a really nice looking stock one. i and most people like the dark interior. as a driver, they go like stink once the steering wheel is strait, are very comfortable, have way too much powa for the open diff, push horrendously past 7/10. below that they are good. not really a sports sedan, more of a GT. with $30 manual boost controller parallel with the OEM EBC you can safely go to 14psi on the stock ECU. that adds 20 fllbs or something to the already healthy 240 hp 240 ftlbs. $2400 make offer? 84k, clean title, the ac works? Wow!! you could easily double your money on swedespeed, vovlospeed, or ebay. That looks like a bargain from way over here.

I had a 95 850 Turbo Wagon and everything stated here is true. I even had the occasional trans getting stuck in third.

I took the easy to work on for a FWD part out because I disagree. The boost tubes, vacuum lines, and breather box all pissed me off. What jackass engineer thought it would be a good idea to run the hard power steering lines under the oil pan. God forbid you have to change an oil pump on that thing. Might as well be an 82 Trans Am since you have to drop the subframe. That was about the extent of me being irritated with the design of the car.

But with all that said, $2500 for a 96 R with only 84K on the clock is a berkeleying steal of a deal. I loved driving the car and felt very comfortable being 6'5".

I daily drive a 97 850r, and have since last august
average 23ish mpg, but on long trips at speed it will do 26 or so, running the cheap gas mine turned 250xxx last week, but I stole it for only 1300, and as long as I don't listen to all the squeaks and rattles its a great car.

I have the standard 850... like said above, it is a great cruiser. I would like to drive an R at least once