[Necron]

Hi everyone...

Well, first of all huge thanks to Jared for inviting me to this forum as he noticed me when I was looking for a new 850... and after this accident I am with 850 for sure.

Let me start with this... hm, not sure what to start with, so I'll just share my whole story. I apologize in advance if it takes too long.

Anyway, I wasn't even a crazy driver. To put it this way, I came to Volvo (and car overall) world from mountain bikes world and electric bikes. In the past, as a "city" person, I followed this - "I am a passenger, I'm not a driver". Buses, trains, you know. Then things changed, US is such a country where you have to drive a lot. Still, I hated to drive a car. I hated it so much that I made durable mountain bike to get to work - believe it or not, 50+ miles a day... so I upgraded bike and made it electric. Made about 3000 miles...and then, considering numerous arguments of other people, finally agreed to start driving a car. Got license, everything as supposed to...and my first car was Volvo 850R! Well, my first thought was a bit of revenge to get something really "80s shaped" opposed to the modern cars, which I don't really like (just the way I am). I didn't even think about Volvo first, just thought about getting something "squared" and safe. Long story short, after numerous searches 850 was the perfect fit. So I've got this 850R red sedan. Funny, I thought about getting something really "scratched" and "grungy" - part of the revenge, but this car was in perfect condition. Everything, inside / outside, mechanical - unbelievable, in the great shape. No codes / error lights. Transmission / engine / turbo - all like a clockwork. I was impressed by handling as well and the way it works. "Drive it like you hate it"... well, I thought I will hate it... but somehow I liked it, up to the point I fixed minor potential issues and detailed the engine. Plus, inside this car is a sort of "time capsule" (I guess some people call it this way) - something that still looks like a real car to me - old good memories, you know, and I guess Volvos were the last who kept that gorgeous shape... It even felt a bit like my mountain bike with handling... scary, it seemed like this thing had some sort of a soul in it... And then this happened.

Green light, speed 40 mph (as noted on signs)... evening. Crossing the well-lit intersection. Headlights on. And suddendy I see car popped up from the left making a turn. I guess he tried to slip in front of me, but of course didn't make it. There is nothing you can really do in 0.5 second... Then loud pop like explosion, that smell of "burnt plastic"... very typical. I felt seat belt holding me firmly without cutting into my body at all, and the airbag holding my head. Car just simply stopped. All electrical turned off. Engine off... looking to the right with the most horrible thoughts - my wife was at the front passenger seat that night. I saw her ponytail sticking out of the huge airbag... she answered. Sigh of relief - no broken bones / serious injuries for both of us. Jumping out if the car... it totalled of course.

Then I noticed other car, Nissan - front completely torn apart (looking way worse than mine) up to the point I couln't find out the car model. As expected, teenager kid was a driver... no one else in his car. Tons of excuses he didn't notice me... then his mom and dad came to the scene. I saw their frightened faces and just a silent question in their eyes: "What happened". Later on the report he was at fault as expected... "Failed to yield on left turn". I don't know, why he did it, what caused him to fail to yield... I just hope he wasn't texting someone / making selfie when driving at the intersection and so on... this is a question to his conscience after all. Anyway, here is a picture of his car...

Few minutes later, we're on the sidewalk, my wife sitting on the grass with bleeding nose... emergency sirens, lights everywhere... paramedics... turned out her nose was ok, just looked scary. No other significant injuries. I've got a few scraches and one tiny bruise. I swear when I dealt with downhill bikes I've been getting way more serious injuries.

My wife is ok and here, with me. Both of us are ok. This is the most important. Well... and I never knew car can behave like a true live being. It died and saved us, it did everything to keep us intact. It was painful to look at it and see all fluids coming out. At the moments like that sometines you think "Are Volvos alive too? This probably hurts then..." I guess Volvo fans will understand me here. Moreover, when I came to the towing company to pick up the rest of my stuff for the car, it was painful too. These cars are built to last, not to be ruined by negligent teenagers!

Not the first time I am in the accident. Got hit twice on my bicycle at the situation when drivers don't stop at the "STOP" sign and talking on their cellphones (multitaskers, yes). Then, prior to my Volvo's death... prior I even got this car... I was at passenger seat in the other car when someone from the oncoming traffic lost the wheel and ran into us - you can imagine the head-on impact if his turn signal stuck in our cracked windshield.

Summarizing all accidents, I can tell you for sure Volvo 850 is a tank... not to mention that kid's Nissan spun up to 180 degrees and dragged almost to the end of intersection. With all that me and my wife don't have any scratches/injuries anymore. As for me, I barely had any sore muscles after the accident.

Four accidents so far because of a careless drivers. I gave up on insisting driving safely - every time I rode my bike on the sidewalks, I've seen a lot of stupid accidents. I was about to give up on driving at all, had thoughts like... "what is the point of driving when you follow all the rules and you are careful, but being hit nonetheless?". I know, stupid statement. And there was something that gave me more confidence finally... now I have an amulet... talisman, charm. It is an 850. There is something about this car. And I will not give up if I will find one like this - this is something I can drive and something I still believe in.

Stay safe my friends... be careful on your left turns... check your wheels / drivetrain... take care of your volvos... and obey ALL traffic signs.

...And now you have one more example why 850s are safe.

 

[JaredR]

Man, that hurts to see, but glad you are ok. You are right about the way these cars give their own to save yours. I almost got hit by someone on the phone in my T-5R a couple weeks ago. Luckily the traffic was congested and she saw me in time. I truly can't wait for the Google car so we can get all the texting morons into them and clean up the roads for those of us who enjoy our cars!

If you aren't already planning on this, I'd highly recommend keeping it for parts for your new R. The R specific interior bits can bring quite a bit of money in nice shape, too, if you don't end up needing them, and the wheels are quite valuable as well. I'd also recommend doing the 302 mm brake upgrade on your new R and getting some sticky tires to go with it. ScottishBrick runs Michelin Pilot Super Sports in the summer with great success; I'm planning on getting a set for at least one of my 850s for next summer. I like the Pirelli PZero All Season Plus for the colder weather as long as there is no snow to worry about. For an all season tire, I was pleased with how they performed in my deer avoidance maneuver last week.

 

[Necron]

Thank you Jared... well, and now I know when airbags supposed to come out and what they do.

Looking for my new 850R talisman at the moment...

 

[jalwlb]

Ow! That's sad to see. Glad everyone is ok.

 

[ZZZZZZZ]

+100! Glad you are OK, and sad to lose a great car. Make a better one with the parts from this one!

Man, that hurts to see, but glad you are ok. You are right about the way these cars give their own to save yours. I almost got hit by someone on the phone in my T-5R a couple weeks ago. Luckily the traffic was congested and she saw me in time. I truly can't wait for the Google car so we can get all the texting morons into them and clean up the roads for those of us who enjoy our cars!

If you aren't already planning on this, I'd highly recommend keeping it for parts for your new R. The R specific interior bits can bring quite a bit of money in nice shape, too, if you don't end up needing them, and the wheels are quite valuable as well. I'd also recommend doing the 302 mm brake upgrade on your new R and getting some sticky tires to go with it. ScottishBrick runs Michelin Pilot Super Sports in the summer with great success; I'm planning on getting a set for at least one of my 850s for next summer. I like the Pirelli PZero All Season Plus for the colder weather as long as there is no snow to worry about. For an all season tire, I was pleased with how they performed in my deer avoidance maneuver last week.

 

[Necron]

Thank you! Indeed, nowadays these kids don't realize car is a difficult and heavy (~3000 lbs and more) mechanism. And at the moments like that you see how important "speed limit" or "yield" signs are... and every other sign. If they are there, they are for reason. I had a speed limit 40, I was going 40... who knows what could happen if it would even 45. I wish they wouldn't have that "yield on green" thing but just do a green arrow on the traffic light. Green arrow - turn, flashing yellow - yield. Lot of people think that "green" is a protected left turn... who cares about that tiny "yield sign" next to the traffic light? This is just the way human brain works - green - ok, red - not ok...

And airbags... lot of people scared of them, but now I am an example why they are there. Yes, you need a seatbelt... but if that car had no airbags, I can tell for sure - I might not me sitting here and typing this - my head was literally pushing into airbag. Like someone said, those deploy if your life is in danger. And they are huge! I have something to compare - as I mentioned above, not the first accident due to either careless driver or poorly maintaned cars losing their wheels. Sadly, my wife's nose suffered a bit more, but after all, she is ok now (a week after the accident today). Nothing broken, nothing altered.

Remark about driving, Volvo really feels like "train on the rails". Maybe this is just 850 in particular, I don't know but I drove other cars and it doesn't feel this way. My sister noticed that too when she tried my car, and this was amazing... and, remembering this accident, car behaved in a really "live being" way. It was almost like "Hold on guys, I'll do my thing. Don't touch anything". When that kid hit me, his car flew back to the end (or his beginning) of intersection, but my volvo didn't even went out of the traffic lane. Once again, "like a train on the rails". This car is a true "Thor's Hammer" or Mjölnir, my friends... And then it just stopped slowly. And after that it... hm... "turned itself off" (no other ways to describe), it felt like: "Ok guys, time to leave. Have a good night".

This car is really a talisman... amulet... charm. I am saying this as the one who has been in the accidents before. And it is safe, as long as you obey traffic laws/rules/signs and take care of your swede.

So I desperately need a new tailsman. I knew there was a topic/category "wanted ads", is it moved somewhere? Is there any way I can post what I am looking for to avoid "off-topic" here?

 

[ZZZZZZZ]

Yes, rolling tank. Love how smooth and quiet they are when maintained.Really sorry again, but that's nice that no major injuries happened. What about the kid Nissan driver? He was OK?
Want ads here here in the link below, and the general for sale stuff is too. You can post where you think it makes sense, and if wrong, a moderator will fix it if it's too far off base. You can also subscribe to a thread and it will give you instant emails when someone replies.
http://forums.swedespeed.com/forumdisplay.php?5009-Classifieds

Thank you! Indeed, nowadays these kids don't realize car is a difficult and heavy (~3000 lbs and more) mechanism. And at the moments like that you see how important "speed limit" or "yield" signs are... and every other sign. If they are there, they are for reason. I had a speed limit 40, I was going 40... who knows what could happen if it would even 45. I wish they wouldn't have that "yield on green" thing but just do a green arrow on the traffic light. Green arrow - turn, flashing yellow - yield. Lot of people think that "green" is a protected left turn... who cares about that tiny "yield sign" next to the traffic light? This is just the way human brain works - green - ok, red - not ok...

And airbags... lot of people scared of them, but now I am an example why they are there. Yes, you need a seatbelt... but if that car had no airbags, I can tell for sure - I might not me sitting here and typing this - my head was literally pushing into airbag. Like someone said, those deploy if your life is in danger. And they are huge! I have something to compare - as I mentioned above, not the first accident due to either careless driver or poorly maintaned cars losing their wheels. Sadly, my wife's nose suffered a bit more, but after all, she is ok now (a week after the accident today). Nothing broken, nothing altered.

Remark about driving, Volvo really feels like "train on the rails". Maybe this is just 850 in particular, I don't know but I drove other cars and it doesn't feel this way. My sister noticed that too when she tried my car, and this was amazing... and, remembering this accident, car behaved in a really "live being" way. It was almost like "Hold on guys, I'll do my thing. Don't touch anything". When that kid hit me, his car flew back to the end (or his beginning) of intersection, but my volvo didn't even went out of the traffic lane. Once again, "like a train on the rails". This car is a true "Thor's Hammer" or Mjölnir, my friends... And then it just stopped slowly. And after that it... hm... "turned itself off" (no other ways to describe), it felt like: "Ok guys, time to leave. Have a good night".

This car is really a talisman... amulet... charm. I am saying this as the one who has been in the accidents before. And it is safe, as long as you obey traffic laws/rules/signs and take care of your swede.

So I desperately need a new tailsman. I knew there was a topic/category "wanted ads", is it moved somewhere? Is there any way I can post what I am looking for to avoid "off-topic" here?

 

[JaredR]

You are right about the way these cars feel like they are on rails. It is a combination of the tuned suspension and low profile tires. My dad's '99 NA V70 with 15" wheels and sock suspension does not have this feeling. Even if you don't view yourself as a performance driver, having a high performance car that can get out of its own way - be it through the power, braking, or handling that we get in these cars when they are set up properly - really does make you much safer in terms of being able to avoid accidents. It might seem weird for Volvo to be building a performance car at first given their reputation, but then it makes perfect sense when you start to really think about it from this point of view.

Thank you! Indeed, nowadays these kids don't realize car is a difficult and heavy (~3000 lbs and more) mechanism. And at the moments like that you see how important "speed limit" or "yield" signs are... and every other sign. If they are there, they are for reason. I had a speed limit 40, I was going 40... who knows what could happen if it would even 45. I wish they wouldn't have that "yield on green" thing but just do a green arrow on the traffic light. Green arrow - turn, flashing yellow - yield. Lot of people think that "green" is a protected left turn... who cares about that tiny "yield sign" next to the traffic light? This is just the way human brain works - green - ok, red - not ok...

And airbags... lot of people scared of them, but now I am an example why they are there. Yes, you need a seatbelt... but if that car had no airbags, I can tell for sure - I might not me sitting here and typing this - my head was literally pushing into airbag. Like someone said, those deploy if your life is in danger. And they are huge! I have something to compare - as I mentioned above, not the first accident due to either careless driver or poorly maintaned cars losing their wheels. Sadly, my wife's nose suffered a bit more, but after all, she is ok now (a week after the accident today). Nothing broken, nothing altered.

Remark about driving, Volvo really feels like "train on the rails". Maybe this is just 850 in particular, I don't know but I drove other cars and it doesn't feel this way. My sister noticed that too when she tried my car, and this was amazing... and, remembering this accident, car behaved in a really "live being" way. It was almost like "Hold on guys, I'll do my thing. Don't touch anything". When that kid hit me, his car flew back to the end (or his beginning) of intersection, but my volvo didn't even went out of the traffic lane. Once again, "like a train on the rails". This car is a true "Thor's Hammer" or Mjölnir, my friends... And then it just stopped slowly. And after that it... hm... "turned itself off" (no other ways to describe), it felt like: "Ok guys, time to leave. Have a good night".

This car is really a talisman... amulet... charm. I am saying this as the one who has been in the accidents before. And it is safe, as long as you obey traffic laws/rules/signs and take care of your swede.

So I desperately need a new tailsman. I knew there was a topic/category "wanted ads", is it moved somewhere? Is there any way I can post what I am looking for to avoid "off-topic" here?

 

[Necron]

Yes, rolling tank. Love how smooth and quiet they are when maintained.Really sorry again, but that's nice that no major injuries happened. What about the kid Nissan driver? He was OK?
Want ads here here in the link below, and the general for sale stuff is too. You can post where you think it makes sense, and if wrong, a moderator will fix it if it's too far off base. You can also subscribe to a thread and it will give you instant emails when someone replies.
http://forums.swedespeed.com/forumdisplay.php?5009-Classifieds

Thank you for the link... speaking about this kid, well at least he was able to get out of his car. He didn't seem to be really worried about accident and got to his phone pretty quickly. He is at fault though and I hope the law will give him a good lesson. I wish he wouldn't be driving at all untill he learn how to properly drive a car. Knowing this young vandal still driving somewhere in the area we live makes me feel totally uncomfortable, especially thinking about my beautiful wife who still got her car and drives it regularly...

You are right about the way these cars feel like they are on rails. It is a combination of the tuned suspension and low profile tires. My dad's '99 NA V70 with 15" wheels and sock suspension does not have this feeling. Even if you don't view yourself as a performance driver, having a high performance car that can get out of its own way - be it through the power, braking, or handling that we get in these cars when they are set up properly - really does make you much safer in terms of being able to avoid accidents. It might seem weird for Volvo to be building a performance car at first given their reputation, but then it makes perfect sense when you start to really think about it from this point of view.

I wish I never knew how it feels and still be riding my downhill bike! Well, too late - this or that way, you got one more person on the forum who got haunted by 850 spirit. There is something about these 199x ' ish (and older) cars, probably because people used to put a lot of themselves in them. Just the way the car saved both of us in this accident is almost a mystery. Well, I guess there should be only logic and reason behind it, but who knows...