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My father in law sat next to Gunnar Johansson on a flight once and when Johansson introduced himself, my father in law icily told him that he would never buy a Volvo because of the dealer they had in NYC.
My father in law told me this story when he heard that I was going to buy a Volvo. I was hurting from having Alfa Romeo leave us in the states and the 850 Turbowagon looked like fun as they bumped the M3s off the road in the British Touring Car series. Having any kind of dealership support is better than none, I thought, which is what most Alfa owners were left with after 1993. In 1996 I got my first red turbo brick and my problems with Volvo dealers began. I quickly wrote off the first dealer, which, mercifully, is no longer in business. For my second Volvo, my wife called one of the largest Volvo dealers in the area looking for another red turbo brick. The salesperson had the audacity to tell her that at that time there were no red T5s available in the USA and, would she like to come in and see a nice XC. That bit of salesmanship scratched dealer number 2. A non-local dealer number 3 found our red T5 in Chicago and had it shipped and equipped for us in three days. He got our V70T5s in 99 and also in 2002.
I know how my father in law felt. I just had a ripoff run-in with a local Volvo service department. I wonder whether any of the many Volvo corporate personalities know the visceral reaction that follows these dealers/service rep run-ins. I believe they all need to share a long transatlantic flight with my father in law.
As an Alfa and Volvo owner, I read with interest Volvo problems with the 850 tires/rims, the evaporators, the hot tailpipe, and so many others. They seemed so manageable, though, after having owned, lived with, and loved Alfa models from 1959 through 1988. The issue with my 1999 T5 is trivial by comparison with all the others so many in this community have suffered with. One call this afternoon to a favorite Volvo parts dealership in PA will have the parts here on Monday and Monday night the problem will be resolved and the DC dealership would lose thousands of dollars in maintenance on my 99 and 02 cars.
Not that I think they care, anyway, which brings me to this point. Sometime during the last fruitless discussion with the service rep, he reprimanded me for having taken the car for service elsewhere. When I told him that I had done the work myself he said "I can't understand why you would do that."
That breathtaking insight bothers me even more than the deceptive practices or the unsatisfactory service because I fear that it is more widespread and threatening than one clueless rep.
Is anybody else bothered by Volvo's refusal to sell us service manuals?
Is anybody else bothered by Volvo's embracing software tagging of components? I just had a dealership replace an electronic throttle unit at 56K. I've been told that if I had replaced the unit myself, I still needed to have a Volvo dealer load software on it.
These machines are our cars, not Volvo's. I'm getting pretty angry that this company is more and more making cars to be serviced exclusively by a dealer network that can blow away customers like Volvo is doing to me. I'm happy that there are other dealers and independents in the DC area because if I were restricted to this dealer, I would not buy any Volvo, and if restricted to this service department, I would not keep the ones I have.
After living with Alfas, I must confess that I was appalled when owners resorted to class action lawsuits against Volvo. No more. I understand they do not care. Bring 'em on.
I'm flying to Germany next month. If any suits from Volvo want to sit next to me, they are welcome.
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