I have been considering buying a yellow Volvo 850 T5-R estate seen for sale locally for £3000. I know they are rare now but it seems a little high for a 12 year old car with 160,000 miles, especially when you can get a normal T5 for less than a grand. Anyhow, a freind of mine who's also a car mechanic was also interested so he went to see it and reported that it was no good - gutless and noisy with rattling suspension. Maybe they've had their day now?

They are pretty rare now and even rarer still are the saloons. Even rarer than that is the 850R, saloon in particular.

My neighbour had a T5 saloon and i really liked it. It was very fast and in even in 3rd you could easily provoke wheel spin. Very comfortable seats and plenty of gadgets but quite a thirsty beast. I think if you find a good one you can still have fun in them plus your road tax will not be as high as newer cars in the same co2 band. BTW I thought you wanted a diesel.

I didn't want a diesel in especially, it was just one avenue I was looking down and that it seemed the right engine for the particular car I was considering as a workhorse.

Get one for more money but with less miles.