Faults:

An assortment of problems over the 10 years of ownership.

General Comments:

To be honest with you, this car has had its share of problems. My wife and I live in Connecticut and we see our family down in both New Jersey and in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, and the wagon has rarely let us down since we got it back in 1996. It's very comfortable, very safe, and very reliable.

So if you are in the market for a safe family wagon with plenty of room inside, but do not mind the upkeep on these wagons, go out and buy one.

Trust us, you will have it forever, as these Volvo's will last forever with the proper upkeeping of them.

Faults:

Rear Main Seal Failed, probably due to crummy PCV system.

SRS system developed fault.

CD Changer Failed.

A/C Evaporator failed.

ACC system intermittantly had fault.

Noisy brake.

General Comments:

This was a good looking comfortable car. It just seemed to have a lot of problems for its age/mileage. The 2.4 liter motor was underpowered, and noisy at highway speed. The ergonomics of the car were terrible.

This car was definitely not Volvo's best work. I'd avoid this model car.

On the plus side, most of the repairs (except the evaporator which is a 24 hour job) were pretty easy to do. Timing belt and water pump were a piece of cake.

Faults:

Air conditioner leaked as typical when I bought the car.

At 98,000 miles it was time to replace the upper engine brace bushing.

At 100,000 miles, the sunroof trailing drip pan's connection to the rest of the sunroof carriage broke. I fixed it with creative use of a paper-clip and super-glue.

The ABS computer slowly degraded over the course of a year from working, but failing occasionally to firing an totally inappropriate times.

Thermostat stuck open at 108,000 miles.

At 112,000 miles the heater motor has started to sound like there's a chicken in the glove box who really wants out.

At 112,000 miles the trunk appears to be getting heavier and heavier.

General Comments:

The Volvo 850 is a very good car if you know what you are getting into. The first of Volvo's US Front Wheel Drive cars, the early years (93/94) worked out the kinks in the US engine, leading to rock solid idles on the 96 and 97s.

I have been very impressed by the handling of my 850, although the sport suspension makes the ride more than just a little firm when going over less than perfect roads.

The trip computer makes interesting statistics like fuel economy, average speed, and miles remaining of gas simple turns of a knob; while the electronic climate control makes keeping two front passengers warm and happy a thoughtless task. The fuel tank is large enough to easily go 350 miles between refills.

I perfectly intend to make my next car a Volvo... However, I will be anticipating the upkeep costs.