Volvo: 95 volvo 850 sportwagon, volvo engine, sp engine

Question
Hi, I'm looking at this car to buy for my daughter and don't know anything about it. Is it known for any particular problems. Is this a good year? Would this be a peugeot (sp)engine?  My husband said those engines had a lot of problems.  Please advise.  It has 109,000 miles. ASking price 3900.00

Answer
Vonya,
It is a Volvo engine. The highest mileage that I have seen on any of these is 265K. If oil and fluid changes have not been done there could be some slug building. Rear main seals go out often, axle shafts the boots break. Trans does not shift quite right. My best advice is to take the car to a Volvo tech and have them look the car over and provide a list of thing they see, both good and bad. Have them test the car to make sure that it will pass emissions. I call that a used car inspection and charge one hour labor. Nothing is 100%, but a good inspection will help tell what condition it is in. Get any repair records to help see what condition it is in and what has been done.