Anyone interested in a 1996 Volvo 850R wagon?

Chris Halweg · **Posted:** Thu Mar 03, 2016 11:52 am

RodneyWright wrote:

Chris Halweg wrote:

The wife says the 525iT is too under-powered and I agree for sure. Our 528iT manual was tolerable, but this auto is a different story.

agreed, changing from the 528 to the 525 on the e39 was a terrible move from BMW as it lost ~30ft/lb of torque. I also find the brakes are a bit sloppy as compared to Pam's e91 touring. Night and day difference between the e39 and the e91 in regard to drive-ability. That said, the e39 is relatively easy to work on. I'd be very happy w/ the car if I could just find a decent iPod player converter for the head unit. Radio sucks....

I think the Dice Mediabridge is a popular choice for integration. I have not used it though. I can't mention the e91 to my wife, but it's good to know it is a solid platform. I'm not crazy about the styling, but I can get over it.

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Sat Mar 05, 2016 3:53 pm

My wife and I fixed the odometer today using new gears from odometergears.com. Since it's 9 miles from the shop where I had it electronically read to here, the current actual mileage is 167,794. The odo read 154,464 when fixed today, so going forward actual mileage is odo reading plus 13,330. Just drove it, and it's working fine having put 18 miles on it now. Turbo5s are pretty cool engines, and this thing hauls pretty good for a 20 year old car (240hp in 3300lbs).

I pondered buying new tires given the great deal Discount Tire Direct has running on eBay right now, and putting those on the original Volans then selling the Pegasus wheels; however, I don't think the market for this car makes that worth the time and expense (i.e. negative payback, but they have some Bridgestone RE760 Sport 205/45-17s for $408-$100= $308 shipped). I'm just going to sell the Volans separately as I'm pretty sure they'll bring a decent amount ($450-$500 for the set), but I'll wait until the car sells in case the car buyer also wants to buy those.

Here's the Discount Tire Direct sale link from eBay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/Tires-/66471/m.html?item=311164448531&_ssn=discounttiredirect. If needed, break up your purchase into two sets of two or whatever in order to use the $100 off $400 or more deal twice.

Chris Halweg · **Posted:** Sat Mar 05, 2016 4:10 pm

Not that there will likely be a future, but you can put a pencil in a drill and turn the mileage pretty easily to match with the eraser end. That's what I did with our 850. I looked up the cost of tires through DT/eBay as well when you first posted the car.

Also, the last time I used that deal for some Conti DW's for the wagon, Jeb still honored the lifetime balance/rotation you get when you order them instore.

I drove the wife's e39 yesterday and while it is slow, it handles well and is pretty solid. I just need to find some time to fix a few annoying things that remind you it is a 13 year old car. Good luck with the sale.

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Sat Mar 05, 2016 5:18 pm

Chris Halweg wrote:

Not that there will likely be a future, but you can put a pencil in a drill and turn the mileage pretty easily to match with the eraser end. That's what I did with our 850. I looked up the cost of tires through DT/eBay as well when you first posted the car.

Also, the last time I used that deal for some Conti DW's for the wagon, Jeb still honored the lifetime balance/rotation you get when you order them instore.

I drove the wife's e39 yesterday and while it is slow, it handles well and is pretty solid. I just need to find some time to fix a few annoying things that remind you it is a 13 year old car. Good luck with the sale.

I thought about doing the eraser trick although after talking to a few different people, there's concern that can be considered odometer fraud (even though you are running ahead to accurately match the actual mileage)!

One example: "Odometer fraud is the disconnection, resetting or alteration of a motor vehicle’s odometer with the intent to change the number of miles indicated." So even though you are advancing the mileage to the correct amount, you can still be potentially accused of fraud apparently. Crazy stuff...

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Sat Mar 05, 2016 8:16 pm

Hmmm....think I'm underestimating the enthusiasts that might want a 850R wagon. I found this example of eBay with 143k miles that is already bid over $4000: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-850-850R-Wagon-/281951000878?forcerrptr=true&hash=item41a596d92e:g:HMwAAOSwUuFWwgCl&item=281951000878. Parts of it look pretty rough too.

I'm now rethinking the whole process of selling this car. I guess the guys on swedespeed who said that if the paint on the hood, door and fender was redone back to single stage, they would guess close to $5k for it. I wonder how it would fare on eBay (or bringatrailer?) as is paint-wise but with new tires and the original Volans back on it?

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Sat Mar 05, 2016 8:24 pm

Chuck Branscomb wrote:

Chris Halweg wrote:

Not that there will likely be a future, but you can put a pencil in a drill and turn the mileage pretty easily to match with the eraser end. That's what I did with our 850. I looked up the cost of tires through DT/eBay as well when you first posted the car.

Also, the last time I used that deal for some Conti DW's for the wagon, Jeb still honored the lifetime balance/rotation you get when you order them instore.

I drove the wife's e39 yesterday and while it is slow, it handles well and is pretty solid. I just need to find some time to fix a few annoying things that remind you it is a 13 year old car. Good luck with the sale.

I thought about doing the eraser trick although after talking to a few different people, there's concern that can be considered odometer fraud (even though you are running ahead to accurately match the actual mileage)!

One example: "Odometer fraud is the disconnection, resetting or alteration of a motor vehicle’s odometer with the intent to change the number of miles indicated." So even though you are advancing the mileage to the correct amount, you can still be potentially accused of fraud apparently. Crazy stuff...

Chuck, I have been quietly following the thread and found the comment about the odometer interesting. I agree on the cautious approach. I am not an attorney, but I do play one on the internet at times.

I guess one way of looking at that is that apparently there is an electronic odo that is trusted (where you got your actual mileage from) but it is not displayed. Maybe if you sync the mechanical to the electronic you are OK because you are not trying to change the "miles indicated" if the electronic is the trusted one. But... I know that is likely a very shaky argument. It would be interesting to know which is the legal one if there are two on the car? You know the saying, if you have two clocks, you never know what time it is!

And I assume the electronic one is in the ECU. If you have to replace the ECU... is that odo fraud? Probably not. Also, if you have to replace the mechanical odo, it would have a different number on it and you would have to document that. What if the replacement happened to match the electronic odo, but you still documented that it had a replacement odo. Legal? Probably. I do think what you can't do is mess with it and not indicate that it may not be accurate (even if it IS accurate) when you sell the car! Anyhow, its a slow evening for me and I just found it interesting to think about.

Richard

Roger McDaniels · **Posted:** Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:56 am

The federal law just says that you have to either disclose the odometer reading or disclose that the mileage is unknown if you know the odometer is inaccurate. So you could change it under federal law, as long as you made it correct or notified a buyer that it was incorrect.

NC law is trickier. There is no notification requirement if the car is over 10 years old, so you don't have to worry about that, but it is a felony to change an odometer reading. Replacing or repairing an odometer is legal, but the repair or replacement must leave the odometer with the same reading as before or be reset to zero miles and a notice attached to the left door frame of the vehicle. If it were mine, then I'd probably set it to the correct mileage if I could, but I wouldn't disclose that I did that.

Chris Halweg · **Posted:** Wed Mar 09, 2016 11:33 am

You might want to check to see if the crankcase is pressurizing since the PCV has not been replaced. If it is not, that would be a good selling point. If it is, then I guess you might not want to know. It would be the first thing I would check if I was buying the car. Pull the dipstick and see if there is positive pressure with vapors pouring out. I would do this before you decide to dump a bunch of money into the car to sell it.

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Wed Mar 09, 2016 11:39 am

Chris Halweg wrote:

You might want to check to see if the crankcase is pressurizing since the PCV has not been replaced. If it is not, that would be a good selling point. If it is, then I guess you might not want to know. It would be the first thing I would check if I was buying the car. Pull the dipstick and see if there is positive pressure with vapors pouring out. I would do this before you decide to dump a bunch of money into the car to sell it.

Thanks Chris, will do. I've already decided it's being sold as is with no further work. Time to move it. Ready for it yet?

Chris Halweg · **Posted:** Wed Mar 09, 2016 12:01 pm

Chuck Branscomb wrote:

Chris Halweg wrote:

You might want to check to see if the crankcase is pressurizing since the PCV has not been replaced. If it is not, that would be a good selling point. If it is, then I guess you might not want to know. It would be the first thing I would check if I was buying the car. Pull the dipstick and see if there is positive pressure with vapors pouring out. I would do this before you decide to dump a bunch of money into the car to sell it.

Thanks Chris, will do. I've already decided it's being sold as is with no further work. Time to move it. Ready for it yet?

You are a bit evil :evil:

I just got this car out of my mind. I'd probably have to take a loss on our e39 after only owning if for a year as I've put about 2 grand into it. You can probably get a better price elsewhere, but I can understand that it can be a PITA to sell a 'cheaper' car that has a small cult following spread across the country. If you really want to unload it and be done with it, PM me your best no haggle price and I will mention it to the wife. If she drives it and loves it, then that would get me off the fence.

Chris Halweg · **Posted:** Wed Mar 09, 2016 7:00 pm

Chuck, I sent you a PM reply, but for some reason it is in my Outbox and not in my Sent folder. Let me know if you didn't get it.

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Wed Mar 09, 2016 9:24 pm

Chris Halweg wrote:

Chuck, I sent you a PM reply, but for some reason it is in my Outbox and not in my Sent folder. Let me know if you didn't get it.

Got it and replied just now...been out until just now.

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Sun Mar 13, 2016 12:35 pm

Car is sold. New owner flew in from Indiana this morning and is on the way home...almost 20 years to the day I purchased it new. Incredibly useful and fun car all these years.

Chris Halweg · **Posted:** Sun Mar 13, 2016 12:50 pm

Great news! They got a good one for sure.

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Anyone interested in a 1996 Volvo 850R wagon?

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