Used Car of the Day: 1996 Volvo 850R Wagon

by Tim Healey

Published: February 18th, 2025

used car of the day 1996 volvo 850r wagon

Once again, we're going to the wagon well with this 1996 Volvo 850R wagon.

This one has 259K miles on it, and some aftermarket mods. Those mods include front and rear sway bars, lowering springs front and rear, and a cat-back exhaust kit. Replaced parts include a new turbo, suspension, and brake pads and rotors.

The interior seems to be in good shape.

The seller says there are some minor issues, but nothing that requires an immediate fix.

You can pick this one up in Austin, Texas for $10,000. Click here for more.

[Images: Seller]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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Comments

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3 of 17 comments

Lorenzo on Feb 19, 2025

If I were a college professor in my 60s-70s (they never retire), this would be a good deal - at half the price.

Like Reply
- Bd2.0 on Feb 19, 2025
  
  RE: (they never retire) .... Yeah, just ask Toolguy.
  
  Like
28-Cars-Later on Feb 20, 2025

>1996 Volvo 850R
>Automatic
>259K
>Documented service history?
>No mention of timing belt service ($750-1000)
>$10,000

C'mon man! There is an argument for this but not at that price.

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Lorenzo At first I thought it was a Chrysler Eagle (Renault) Medallion sedan. The Alfa is RWD and smaller, almost a subcompact, while the Medallion is FWD (with longitudinal engine) and closer to a compact in size. In terms of reliability the Renault Douvrin engine will last longer than the Alfa and require less service, as long as regular oil and filter service is made. The Medallion looks better to me, while the Alfa (when running) will perform better.
Normie This is a fun squabble to spectate. I have a flip phone.
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