Is there something special about early 90's Volvos? (vehicle, auto, gasket)
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My mom has a '95 850 GLT Volvo with 163k miles on it. It is in good shape, leather seats. Everything works except engine light is on (can't figure that out). I checked Edmunds and the value is around $900 or so for private sale. Looked at Craigslist to see other Volvos for sale and was surprised at how much people were asking for similar years, some with no working heat/a/c. So put it up for sale for $1600 yesterday afternoon. Got two emails yesterday (guy coming to see it this morning) and 3 more inquiries last night from people that want to look at it today. We've sold many used cars and never had a response like this. My husband and I just don't get it. We don't like the car. So what's up, anyone know? Obviously we can't sell it for more than $1600 at this point, but just surprised by the responses.
Edmunds (NADA, KBB, whatever) values have nothing to do with local markets. For whatever reason, there's a little more demand in your market than there is in some other market, not particularly uncommon. Probably the exact Opposite of what you've one in the past with other used cars, where your local market had a Lower demand than the larger pool that's used for the valuation sites.
I'm glad there are people like you out there though, makes for easy picking of good vehicles (I deal in motorcycles) where all parties walk away happy. But if you want to sell a vehicle for what it's worth in your area, it takes a couple weeks of watching for ads that are substantially similar to what you're selling and see how long they last. There will be a spot where they go from selling in a week or two to not selling for Months, keep below that $$$ mark and you'll be getting the most money you could reasonably expect.
Got it, thanks very much, we will definitely do that in the future. This was kind of a rush thing, we bought a new car unexpectedly, so my mom is switching from hers to one of ours. She's in her 70's and the check engine light is making her nervous (even though we told her we've had them on for years in some cars with never a problem).
A CEL is easy to check, I think pretty much any/every auto parts place in the country will do it for free. Nice to know if it's because the gas cap doesn't seal completely (yes, that can throw the CEL, happened to my mothers Toyota Avalon), or because there's a more major issue like a failed oxygen sensor that's lowering fuel economy.
I own a OBDII tool and have for a decade, has come in handy a LOT. Easily paid for itself with diagnosing and trouble-shooting things that I could do myself. They range from ~$20 on up to several hundred: Amazon.com: Code Readers & Scan Tools - Diagnostic & Test Tools: Automotive Makes it nice to just read the code then head to your favorite search engine and type in the make, model and code and see what pops up and how to resolve.
Volvo 850's have a loyal following and seem to last forever. I have seen people selling them with nearly twice the mileage you have on yours! the response you are seeing doesn't surprise me in the least. Although repairs are expected by that mileage, the 850's in general hold up extremely well.
my 1987 740 was the worst care i ever owned. not only would you think sweden was in the carribean the way it handled in the snow ,i think the only thing that wasnt replaced was the glove compartment door.
Volvo 850's have a loyal following and seem to last forever. I have seen people selling them with nearly twice the mileage you have on yours! the response you are seeing doesn't surprise me in the least. Although repairs are expected by that mileage, the 850's in general hold up extremely well.
My mom has a '95 850 GLT Volvo with 163k miles on it. It is in good shape, leather seats. Everything works except engine light is on (can't figure that out). I checked Edmunds and the value is around $900 or so for private sale. Looked at Craigslist to see other Volvos for sale and was surprised at how much people were asking for similar years, some with no working heat/a/c. So put it up for sale for $1600 yesterday afternoon. Got two emails yesterday (guy coming to see it this morning) and 3 more inquiries last night from people that want to look at it today. We've sold many used cars and never had a response like this. My husband and I just don't get it. We don't like the car. So what's up, anyone know? Obviously we can't sell it for more than $1600 at this point, but just surprised by the responses.
They are comfortable, long-lasting cars that have often been very well cared for by (wealthy) owners. I'd pay $1600 for a very nice 850 with receipts of all major work.
There's nothing "exceptional" about this series of car, but they have their loyal following who like the styling, design, and the perception that it is a "safer" car than most (it isn't, but the marketing that pushed that idea was well received by many owners).
I've got three friends that have shops that specialize in these vehicles, and have been doing so for decades. Three of the happiest shop owners I know, they've had steady loyal clienteles for decades who wouldn't dream of owning anything else and keep these cars for a long time ... which means lots of minor and major repairs per customer per year. These are virtually retirement car clienteles for the shops .... especially with the spate of head gasket failures and systems problems that these cars had for years.
But all works to your advantage. If you can get the dough that you think is a lot of money for a car with this mileage and potential problems, so be it ... take it and move on to whatever it is you now want to get.
There is a following behind the 850, part of it justified, most of it riding on the reputation of the 4 cylinder 2/7/9 series RWD cars, which had the well deserved reputation for durability, and absence of unnecessary complexity. The 850 was sold alongside the later 240 and 940 models for a few years, so I think that some of "those old Volvos were great" reputation stuck to the 850.
The later 850 models (95+) were OK though, especially the S/V70 front wheel drive models. They weren't throw away cars, and although they had a couple of big problems, both probably long since repaired on your mom's car, the 850 was pretty decent. It was a nice driving car with a comfortable interior. With any make and model, there are a few parts that are expensive. It's not the norm with the 850, but there can be a massive price disparity, and potentially a large profit margin for repair facilities, on parts for older European cars.
For that reason, the largest following that exists with the older Volvos and some other European cars, is with DIY types who are familiar, know where to get parts, and are willing to put in some wrench time. This is one of the things that keeps resale value up for the older Volvos. The cars aren't hard to maintain or repair. Of Volvo's 1993-1995 models offered in the US alongside the 850, both the 240 and 940 were much better, cheaper to maintain, and likely to last. But they were both being phased out, and were made in lesser numbers, so they are hard to find today. And when you do find a nice, last year 240 or 940, it is usually very expensive--much more so than a comparable year 850.
At the time the 850 was made, it had good safety ratings, so that didn't hurt resale either. It's just that everything else caught up and passed it by over the 20 years since the 850 debuted.
Last edited by 43north87west; 11-05-2012 at 11:00 AM..
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