Volvo 850 Engine is Toast -- Part out or sell for scrap?
 

So, my beloved 1997 850 Wagon met its end today -- apparently I hit something (probably in my driveway, which was just plowed after a snow storm; there might have been a rock hiding in the random mounds of snow) that punctured the oil pan; by the time I realized something was wrong, the engine was already toast. Almost made it to 300K miles!

It's currently sitting at the local Volvo independent specialists' shop; he has a reputation for being very honest and reputable, and told me that these things are basically worthless once they suffer a critical issue -- that the market for parts on them has basically dried up.

But then I heard from another knowledgeable friend in the automotive world that old Volvo parts are in high demand (he claims that a friend of his made $5800 from parting out a Volvo wagon, but was unsure about the model). Is this true? Would it be more worthwhile to scrap the car for $100-200 (as my mechanic suggests), or part it out?

And yes, I am also considering finding a used engine and dropping it in as an option.

I am still a red block RWD guy

but no love for the fwd 850 fives esp at 300k

btw a buddy holed his 850 pan and junked the car

5800 in parts I suspect was a low mile newish XC
or an es1800 very rare in rust free

Second thread in one day regarding a blown Volvo engine! Honestly, your car isn't nearly worth as much as it'll cost to fix. There's no way there's any value to speak of for what you have left, in my somewhat knowledgeable opinion.

Thanks for the input!

I just read the other thread -- pretty funny coincidence. Steve, my independent shop guy had very little positive to say about any Volvo after 1995. According to him, anything prior to 1995 is generally great (but watch out for rust in CT), the 850 represents a kind of transition zone where the cars *can* go for a long time, but not reliably, and then everything after that is garbage. Is that your assessment as well?

The brand-new cars have moved quite a bit upmarket, judging by the price. Very popular here in the northeast.

I think your independent guy probably doesn't like them because of all the new electronics and perhaps his inability to tap into them because he's not a dealer (or is unwilling to take on the expense of being able to tap into them). There's plenty of things to avoid on a Volvo, and plenty of things to feel good about, too. In general, I'm not a fan of owning a modern one past 100K miles, as they start to bite like a lot of makes (other than Toyota and Honda, and their derivatives). I think the way to go is lease or buy with a 100-125K warranty. The average cost is higher, but worth it.

ford era volvo's are FWD not the older red blocks
I avoid FWD just hard to work on and need it far more often
have had 145 245t 745t 940 and an amazon
current 245 in a 93 and the last year of the classic volvo

after ford sold them they got a bit better but mostly AWD or FWD still
and very high priced

That's almost exactly what he said: like almost anything, it's a good car for 100K, but then you need to get rid of 'em; he said there's a reason that Volvo has a "subscription service" now.

Thank you for the advice and info. Very well-appreciated.

For the record, this car was the single best value-for-money I've ever gotten out of a car: I bought it 4.5 years ago (with 230K miles) for $1500 as a winter "beater" that would allow me to garage my "fun" summer car during the snowy months. It came with two pairs of wheels -- one set with summer tires and another with winter tires -- and didn't take long to become my DD. I put 60K miles on it over those 4.5 years with only one trip to the mechanic's before today.

I agree with your mechanic about what I would call the car's "practical life" vs it's useful life, which could be much longer if enough money is put into maintenance.

He's talking out his ass about the subscription service, though. It's an interesting idea- a 2 year lease that includes maintenance (they all do anyway for that time period) and insurance. It's a cookie-cutter car you can't configure except for color and accessories, but you get the option to switch out to another Volvo after a year. It's starting now with the 2019 XC40 at $600/mo + tax or $700/mo + tax for the R-Design. A lot of people are signing up for it, and believe it or not the extremely limited Polestar 1 will only be offered that way. 600hp, 737 lb/ft of torque. It's a halo car. Polestar is gunning for Tesla with that monster. Polestar 2s and 3s to follow later for us mere mortals.

Thanks for the info! Yeah, I'm actually sort of impressed with some of the decisions that Volvo Cars has made recently; they've successfully moved "up-market", and I think their decision to go totally-electric within a couple of years will position them ahead of most of the market. If they ever decide to go public (the Volvo shares that are available aren't for the car company), I'd happily invest.

A couple of thoughts:

- might be best option to just find another 850
- if you decide to swap engine, though, it would be a good time to replace clutch+belts. If you source another one, likely is your new purchase hasn't got recent clutch/belts, whichi is a minus.


Whatever you do, do not get any of these (as a replacement for the 850):
- S80 '98-06
- S60 '00-06
- V70 & XC 70 '00-07

...they have a dreadful electrical component quality. One may think no problem I just swap the dead instrument cluster from a breaker... like you would do in an 850 or MK1 V70, simple diy-job and $20 for a second hand unit. But those later cars have electrical components coded to a specific car, so a $20 fix becomes $2000 fix as you have to buy a brand new unit, and have main-dealer install it. And it is a never ending loop, all those cars have an umbilical cord tied to a main-dealer.

Had an mk2 V70 D5 before, which averaged about $300 repairs per mile driven, now have (similar to a 850 wagon) MK1 V70 2.5 TDI, and love it.

Just beating the dead horse now, definitely not worth fixing. If you had an old RWD Volvo it might be worth parting, but not a newer FWD 850. Maybe put it on CL and see if somebody wants it as a parts car?

Update: it occurred to me that since I hit something and that the damage resulted from that, it might be worth it to file an insurance claim and see what options that gives me. Happily, I have USAA insurance, which means that they give me the option of deciding what to do after they send their assessor: if it's determined that it was indeed a collision that caused the damage (hard to argue against based on the inward-puncture of the oil pan), they would likely decide the car is a total loss and I'd be given numbers (both an offer for the car and how it would affect my premiums, if at all). If it looks like it wouldn't be worth it, I can close the claim, at which point it turns into a "report" instead of a claim. At that point, I could decide to either repair (unlikely), try to sell it for parts, or try to sell it for scrap.

With the mileage of my car (290K), Kelley Blue Book estimates between $800 and $2300 in value. I'm guessing that mine is somewhere closer to the top of the range, but with the insurance deductible, I'm not expecting a huge payday. Still, it'll probably be more than if I sold it to a scrap yard...

I had a bunch of 960 parts that I just trashed because I could not move them, I still have a good hood.

I was thinking about the 850's the other day and how I don't see any on the road.


I am in the same boat with me 2000 e320 wagon, 240k. engine still runs great but tranny is unreliable right now. not worth much. hope I can nurse it to 300k.

I should have noticed that your blown engine was due to a road hazard. In CA, a claim for that would go against the collision insurance (if you have it) and you'd be considered at fault for hitting it (this can be very unfair, IMO). Out here it would count as an accident on your record, so a rate hike is part of the equation. Don't know about CT...