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Here's the story, a wordier (if that's a word) version of the one that is still filed with the Attorney General's Office
I purchased a 2000 S40 from Volvo On Camelback in Phoenix in September of last year. When I originally selected the car the trunk latch had fallen in (it slid in about 1/8 of an inch and was not operable.) Volvo gave me another new S40 to drive for a week and to fix the problem and to add fog lights and a spoiler (they admitted that they were unfamiliar with the car (it came out 3 weeks before, and that's why it took a week to fix.) I took delivery of the car, and drove to Flagstaff (AZ) where I was living at the time (about 3 hours N. of PHX.) The trunk was working at that time that I picked up the car, but the latch fell-in during the drive up to Flagstaff. They took the car for another week and fixed the trunk latch. During a storm in January, the windshield wipers and headlights quit working--3 fuses had blown. I didn't think much of it, and replaced the fuses. The trunk latch fell in again, and the fuses were bowing again. I dropped the car off for a week of research, the trunk was fixed, and they could not figure out why the fuses were blowing. Over the next few weeks, the windshield wipers would immediately blow fuses whenever the wipers were turned on. The trunk latch fell in again. I took the car into Volvo on Camelback for one last time, as I was seriously wondering if they are even qualified to change my oil. I dropped off the car for an additional week, where they fixed the trunk, and said the electrical problems were a result of a malfunctioning ECU, which they said was a direct result of changing the factory radio. I had Circuit City add a subwoofer to the stereo system that received power via the battery and had speaker level input (i.e. this does not affect the power level(<.5A) and only takes an output from the speaker.) They (Mike a service writer at Volvo on Camelback) said the electrical problems would not be covered under warranty and would cost me $300 for the research that they did. I told him that was BS and I immediately filed complaint with the Better Business Bureau who forwarded it to Volvo Cars of North America who should be(by now) reviewing this as a dealer fraud case. Hence, the ECU was not replaced, as the cars warranty was "now void". I took delivery of the car, and the trunk latch feel in approximately 2 weeks later. I contacted the Arizona Attorney General Office and Volvo Car Corporation of America via certified letter (you are required to notify both parties to pursue a Lemon Law case, and the notified party must try to resolve the issue within 60 days, and can be sued after that point.) A Volvo after-sales car manager arranged for me to drop off the car at Powell Volvo in PHX for a week, where he would go over the car part by part with several of his mechanics (I had lost faith in the PHX Volvo dealers.) After a week of fixing the car, they said that everything would be fine- the trunk auto-locking unit was replaced and faulty wiring in the Windshield wipers was removed. The trunk fell in about 2 weeks later, and the Windshield wipers blew 3 fuses after using them for about 10 minutes. I contacted Volvo and told them that I was not satisfied with their attempts to resolve the issue, and that they needed to make a decision on replacement--I parked the car and didn't drive it anymore. I contacted the Arizona Attorney General Office, and was told that they were currently backlogged, and that although I did have a valid case, they could not pursue it for several months. I contacted an attorney we contacted Volvo one last time to see if they would do anything to avoid a court fight. The Volvo After Sales Manager replied and said that Volvo would not take any action on a lemon case, that is was to be decided via a lawsuit. Rather than wasting weeks, or possibly months, on a case and continued rental car fees (Volvo case history shows that lemon law cases take 2-3 months to resolve, they draw them out), I said "Forget it" and traded in the car to a unsuspecting PHX Volvo dealer for a much more reliable Altima and a healthy mutual fund.
Soooo if you bought a white 2000 S40 used from Powell Volvo, I'm sorry…
My advice from this whole experience:
If a dealer messes up more than twice on a fix, go to a different dealer
Never go to Volvo on Camelback
Document everything
When you drop off a car for repairs, specify (in writing) that they contact you if any work is not covered by warranty
Volvo After Sales Manager can talk, but they will not help you
After 3 repairs on the same item, file the lemon law claim early
Have patience, and if you've got the time & money, sue the heck out of Volvo for me
Ty
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