Volvo Owners Club Forum - '96 850T5 Estate for sale, manual, FSH, 135k, long MOT

Welcome to the reluctant sale of my '96 850 T5 Estate. I bought it 8 years ago (3 previous owners) and had intended to keep it forever but due to my wife starting a new job and commuting by train, we no longer need two cars and I can't justify the costs of keeping it.

The car is an 850 GLT, Regent Red, registered in 1996, manual transmission, with approximately 135k miles on it and a full service history. The car is mechanically sound but the bodywork can best be described as "tired". We live in Medway, Kent and had a spate of car vandalism in our area. With no off-street parking in our road it's been keyed, dented, scuffed and has had a hard life. I'd given up on trying to keep it looking pretty and have concentrated on ensuring it stayed mechanically sound & reliable, which it has been.

So firstly, the bad points:

Paintwork and bodywork is generally poor
Rear wiper works when it feels like it
Rear washer doesn't work (never has)
Front driver's side fog light missing (wiring intact to fit replacement)
Crease in front bumper where some kind person hit it, I've tidied it up but
in general, the front bumper is a bit of a mess.
Small dent in middle of bonnet, dent in tailgate around number plate
Dull paint spots on bonnet (bird poop damage, I think)
Lacquer on rear spoiler peeling
Load cover (second replacement) broken & won't retract anymore
Tailgate struts weak (broom handle supplied)
Headlight wipers - one blade is missing
Columba alloys could do with a refurb
Interior tailgate trim loose
Rust bubble on front driver's wing
Small rust bubble on tailgate above plastic handle trim
Tailpipe trim piece corroding
MOT advisories: Minor exhaust leak, blue smoke during accelleration (I should have taken it for a run beforehand).
Driver's seat split in the usual place, but not too badly

Odometer broke around Jan 2013 (I'm guessing the common "worn gears" problem) so the car has read 134211 miles since then.

I'm a stay-at-home dad and work from home, so I've covered very little mileage over recent years, we use my wife's car for long journeys as it's a lot more economical and I'd estimate that since the odometer broke I've probably done 1000 miles at most.

The car was last serviced in March 2013 and has covered few miles since, however, I appreciate it is overdue for a service.

If you're still reading at this point, here are the good bits:

Drives great, clutch, gearbox and brakes are all good.
MOT till June 2016
Full history, stamped up to 97317 miles and all invoices for work since then
Original document wallets, old MOTs and plenty of invoices
Two keys with remote fobs
New rear springs & shocks fitted 06/2012 to replace leaky Nivomats (PFS kit)
PCV system replaced 03/2013 (FRF Volvo kit, fitted by my local garage)
Rear discs, pads, NSR caliper & pipe replaced 03/2013
Recent new tyres, good tread all round
New front discs, pads, caliper, poly top engine mount fitted 06/2014
New battery fitted 07/2014
Built in rear passenger sun blinds (great for the kids when they were little)
Built in dog guard
Built in booster seat
Towbar (which I've never used)
CD changer in boot (although for some reason it doesn't like working in cold weather)

The car is stock apart from the poly engine mount and an Upsolute ECU (277 BHP) which I purchased second hand in March 2012. The car hasn't been raced or abused as I have our kids in the car with me most of the time!

Despite its faults, it's definitely too good to scrap and I hope it'll find a decent home with someone on here before I have to resort to putting it on ebay!

Looking for around £350 with the standard ECU, or around £400 with the Upsolute ECU.

Please have a look at the pics and feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need any further info.

Thanks & regards,

Leo.

http://s1006.photobucket.com/user/LeoDee75/library