1993 - 1997 Volvo 850 Pre-Owned

While the safety brand was once known almost as well for its reliability, this doesn't seem to be the case anymore. According to the current 2003 J. D. Powers and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), Volvo ranks 29th out of 37 automakers,

The 850 initially scored well when it came to mechanical reliability and body and interior quality, but under-whelmed in feature and accessory quality, according to J. D. Powers and Associates. (Photo: Volvo Cars of Canada)

with rival Saab beating it by 17 places and even being outpaced by parent company nameplate Ford. Among premium brands only Land Rover and Volkswagen (which now makes premium products) fare worse. Of course this is just one survey, but unfortunately for Volvo it happens to be one of the most respected.

J. D. Powers' 1993 through 1997 ratings*** on initial, midterm and long-term owner surveys offer some interesting information. The 850 initially scored well on mechanical reliability and body and interior quality, but under-whelmed in feature and accessory quality. Its midterm rating shows about the same so-so features and accessories score, but mechanically it drops to the survey's lowest rating for all years except 1997, when it's just worse than average. Mechanical reliability actually goes up for 1994 cars in long-term surveys,

All recalls previously announced for the 850 should have been fixed a long time ago, and therefore won't affect used examples currently available (Photo: Volvo Cars of Canada)

but stays poor for all the other years, while the feature and accessory plus body and interior ratings continue to slide south of acceptable. Again, these are surveys and won't be entirely accurate to what you may experience, but they should be considered when buying used.

With regards to recalls, the 850 suffered an improperly installed block heater in its initial year, while 1995 models with power seats featured seatbelt problems. Model year 1996 models had throttle plate screws that could come loose and cause the accelerator pedal to stick. In its final 1997 model year the 850 faced another problem with the throttle, only this time ice could build up on the throttle linkage in subzero temperatures causing the same sticking sensation. All recalls should have been fixed a long time ago, and therefore won't affect used examples currently available.