New converters are available for around $400 from Rock Auto, which, if that cures the problem, makes this a pretty good bargain. If the converter is plugged up, that could cause the rough running, and also make it fail emissions. But the one thing I don’t see listed is the catalytic converter. There is a list of recently-replaced parts in the ad, many of which should have cured rough running. The seller says the car drives fine, but runs a bit rough. If it has been a Colorado car all along, that makes sense Colorado doesn’t use road salt. There isn’t much visible wear inside, and the exterior looks clean and rust-free. And frankly, for that many miles, it looks pretty damn good. Yep, that’s right: Four hundred thousand miles. I hadn’t heard the same reports of durability from the later front-wheel-drive 850 models, but it seems they are capable of racking up the miles as well. The old red-block engines just run and run, and the rest of the car wears like iron as well.

It’s not uncommon to see old 240s and 740s with a 2 or a 3 as the first digit of the odometer (when the odometer works). Volvos of a certain age have a reputation for durability. Runs/drives? Yes, but runs rough and failed emissions 1996 Volvo 850 Wagon – $1,200Įngine/drivetrain: 2.4 liter DOHC inline 5, 5 speed manual, FWD

Are these two cars at that point? Let’s take a look and see what you think. These things may “run forever” if you take care of them, but at some point they stop being nice enough to bother fixing. I’ve had plenty of cars whose keys could be taken out of the ignition with it running. And it’s not just engines and drivetrains, or body rust: My Toyota’s high-beam headlight switch is worn out, and the driver’s seat has almost no padding left.

High mileage, to me, just means a car has been good at its job, so it has been asked to do it a lot.īut at some point, you have to start to question how many more trips around the world a car has got left in it. I’ve had a Miata that was over 250,000, and a Nissan Pathfinder whose odometer broke and was replaced with a junkyard unit, but was somewhere north of 360,000 when we gave up and sold it (but it still ran and drove). My Toyota is just about to hit 260,000 miles, and my truck is sitting at 208,000. Now: I’m no stranger to cars with high miles. I know I’d really rather have the Buick, but I didn’t expect most of you would agree. I honestly expected the little Civic to walk away with this one. Have they got enough life left to give to be worth it? We’ll see in a minute.įirst, let’s see how yesterday turned out. Our two contestants have covered more than seven hundred thousand miles between them. How many? A hundred thousand? Two hundred? Nope. On today’s Shitbox Showdown, we’re looking at two cars with lots of miles.

Ford five hundred workshop manual