I see your point. From my novice experience with VCNA, they seem to always want to put the onus on the dealer, as the intermediary, to resolve problems. Actually, other manufacturers don't encourage bypassing the dealer, either, so it is expected that the dealer will negotiate with the manufacturer on the customer's behalf, as I found worked well with Acura. If you have a crappy service department(and its sounds that you had), you are out of luck unless there is a better Volvo dealer in the vicinity - typically inconvenient. I hope you have better luck with the competing Chicago dealers and with the future BMW.