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Hi everybody, I had to take the car to the dealer for PCV nipple replacement as the mechanic who did my PCV trap and seal didn't change it(idle was jumping up and down, car would almost leave from stop by itself), but anyway they only charged me labor and I used the occasion to get a quote for a spare ignition key... guess what..."you will be looking at $300 after programing is done"
How about just a remote? " $240 with programing" OK,
I took a remote that I purchased on Ebay for programing only- "missing the PIN from the BOX" " No good"
ok
Anybody knows a better source for a spare key? Seams like this key is pricier than most of my jewelry. From now on I am going to wear it as one.
Thanks,
Alex
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I had a spare key made for my 2002 V70 in January, 2006 as: "Program one new key and two customer keys" for $52.90 plus"Oone ignition key blank" for $30.21. It was done at a NJ Volvo dealership which has since closed. I sealed the spare key in a bike tire tube section and mounted under my V70 frame for an emergency spare.
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So, $82 for an extra key. The cost for a blank key keeps going up! What is Volvo thinking? We should buy a new car instead of a new key?
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic.
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I wish I could save you and all of the others who only have one key or are in need of a remote. The dealers are charging 1 hour of labor to program the key/remote to the car, when it only takes 15 minutes. Cutting a key blank only takes 5 minutes, plus the time to reprogram the security module.
A very nice email to Volvo of America is in order. A new key should NOT cost $300, nor should a new remote cost $200. Considering inflation and the complexity, $50 sounds much more reasonable for either. There needs to be a better way than to alienate customers.
Klaus
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic.
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I got caught in the same trap last month...I couldn't believe they would treat customers so poorly either (this is my 14th Brick)...then I received the April-May issue of the VCOA magazine 'ROLLING', in which there was a 'late news' update reporting that in January 2009, Volvo sold a GRAND TOTAL OF ONLY 2,900 CARS...a 68% reduction from Jan '08!
Granted, the entire industry is in a hole, but that number is alarmingly low, and not likely to improve, given present 'customer service' levels.
A key is about the only thing you absolutely need a dealer for...maybe I could kluge my own ignition switch. I still have plenty of old 240 blanks.
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Back in the good old dqays, I could walk into a dealer service and see a bunch of older mechanics working on the cars. There was no drive inside and park (nice feature) and a person would write up the start of an order. An experienced Volvo mechanic would then diagnose and repair the car, getting his experience from other garages. No Volvo, BMW, or Mercedes would have novice mechanics, let them train at Chevy or Ford.
Now, through cost cutting, a service rep writes up anything h/she can spell, and the novice mechanic starts replacing parts. When the car finally runs again, the inventory of new parts is totaled and written up from the "book" for the number of hours each part would take a novice to R&R. The only diagnostic tool is the computer.
A single spark plug with a short gap is not fixed, all of them are replaced with new.
When was the last time you took your car to the dealer at 10 am, picked it up at noon and look at the bill which has a 4 hour charge?
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic.
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posted by
someone claiming to be V70driver
on
Wed Mar 18 15:36 CST 2009 [ RELATED]
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Sadly, this has become the trend with most (all?) car brands. If you think you've been overcharged at the Volvo - BMW - Mercedes dealer, I have heard similar complaints from owners of other brands. Granted, they may have a lower threshold for paying for car repair, and that is likely why most used cars I have looked at recently were pieces of junk - their owners refused to do even a minimum or preventative maintenance. But brake pads and rotors for a ToyHonZda or ChevFord aren't much cheaper than for a Volvo, and a replacement ABS module or similar is outrageous. But back to maintenance, I'm still amazed how few people realize that preventative maintenance is drastically cheaper - just a fraction - of buying a new car, paying for the tag and sales tax, etc.
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That's pretty interesting.
Mary bought a nice looking 2004 V70 2.5T this summer. It had about 66,000 miles on it. It is getting close to 75,000 now so I replaced the timing belt. Klaus had suggested taking out the plugs to make it easier to turn over. Since I was planning to replace them soon, it made sense to do it yesterday. They were Volvo plugs. The rust on the threads made me think that they were originals. Curiousity lead me to the air filter, which was dirty, but not plugged. Original Volvo, with what looked like a date printed on it - 28.09.04. Original ?
What can people be thinking ? my to-do list just got a little longer.
Greg
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I would think the Mary (and you) would like a nice K&N air filter. Less maintenance for you, + slight boost in performance.
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'97 855na, Mobil 1, K&N, various IPD's and eBay's
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I had a K&N in my 98R and 95T. Actually, they are not that good for the AMM and not easily cleaned. A good paper filter is just fine and easy to replace.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic.
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Greg,
That is the original air filter, Europeans use day/month/year for their stamping. And if you think the air filter was bad, think about the poor cabin filter which is supposed to be changed out every 6-12 months!
Most of the fault is with the over expensive parts, people just don't want to pay $10 for a spark plug or a bunch of money for an air filter, and they certainly don't want to pay a dealer's overhead when the parts are cheaper online.
Thank goodness the OEM parts last a long time.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic.
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posted by
someone claiming to be V70driver
on
Sun Mar 22 04:28 CST 2009 [ RELATED]
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You wrote, "Most of the fault is with the over expensive parts.." They aren't that high. For $250 you can buy all the spark plugs, air filter, belts, gasoline filters, antifreeze, etc that you need for preventative maintenance. What's $250? We're talking about cars that cost $25,000 - $40,000 when new. And an equivalent replacement when the old one had deteriorated will also cost $40,000. There is some other psychological factor at work here and I don't understand it. It's always cheaper to maintain the old car until it gets so old, massive failures begin to loom such as entire transmissions or engines (and even here, the Volvo RWD folks, who I admire, will simply install another one and happily drive off into the sunset. These guys are tough...).
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I was refering to the dealer part's cost, which has gone down some in the last year or so. But in reality, it is the dealer's hourly rate based on the "book" for doing a service that is turning people off from basic maintenance.
If a person without mechanical skills or tools can expect to spend around $2K/year at a dealership. A little less at an independent shop that also uses "book" labor rates. Getting brakes and rotors replaced front/rear can cost close to $1K, new front struts about $1K, a "normal" tune up is over $400 at the dealer.
I just get really PO'ed when the dealer charges 1 hour of labor to download software to add a new key or remote to the security system. This "cost" should be part of the outrageous cost of the key and/or remote, not in addition to.
And dropping an engine or tranny in a RWD is much more simple than the FWD cars. FWD requires the removal of both axles and at least the left suspension, along with lowering the engine subframe - just for the tranny R&R.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic.
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MOST people are afraid to do their own maintenance, as I was until I found the BB. When I found that replacing brake pads & rotors didn't cost me $900, I was converted.
As for buying a new Volvo, one that is 5+ years old and in need of new parts will cost someone dearly if they have a dealer do it. In that case, I would trade the car in for a new one. Granted, spending $20K for a new car Vs $8K to bring an older one up to snuff is silly, so is peace of mind plus the new features.
Too bad there aren't any "real" mechanics out there any more. Just parts changers.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic.
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