Robert,

first of all, I did not see what you posted elsewhere (obviously to a reply of mine) so I apologize for not addressing whatever you asked or were asking or commenting. It is hard for me to catch up with everything here as I work more than 50+ hours/week so time is limited on when I can get here.

Anyway, I will be glad to answer your post since you do pose legitimate questions to me (although I would much prefer to do this in person since if we were face-to-face you would probably understand me better and I am sure I would be able to sympathize with you better, too).

I do not, BLINDLY, defend Volvo just because I manage a Volvo sales force. What you see here is the EXTREME side of myself as, I am sure, I see the extreme side of others (even of those people who come here to complain legitimately). What I mean by "extreme" is not a conscious decision that "I will defend Volvo no matter what". Not at all. But there is one thing that some people fail or do not want to see; I DO HAVE PRIDE in what I am doing and what I am representing. You are probably laughing, but believe me that I do not HAVE to work selling Volvos. I could sell whatever I set my mind to. I have 7 years of undergraduate and graduate education and after years of doing what I studied, I CONSCIOUSLY left all that in order to sell either pharmaceutical products or look into selling cars. I looked carefully into what I would be PROUD of selling and also try to find an HONEST Retailer. I decided that I wold choose BMW, Volvo or Lexus. They are (I respected Mercedes products too but they just did not fit "me") the three brands that I admire the most. I have enough experience and the guts to go wherever I want to go but I am still with Volvo because I still believe in the product and the philosophy that these cars are built around. I am not a safety junkie but I cannot help but admire how these cars stand out after severe accidents. Yes, other cars are close to Volvo's safety but they cost a lot more too. I admire their functionality, their simplicity, etc. I am not brainwashed as some people here believe. I recognize that Volvo (as a company) has NUMEROUS faults. But so do a lot of other highline brands. The ONLY brand that is close to perfection is (IMO) Lexus. But that is another story. You guys fail to see what problems other brands have because you are not in the business. You only get feedback by reading magazines, perhaps browse another brand's forum and talking to a select number of other owners. I see reports that you do not see, I talk to techs (from other brands), I talk to owners of other brands (many more than you guys see since I see scores of them when they come to shop Volvo), I talk to sales consultants who sell other brands, etc.

The comment that upset Volvo owners would come here and "scare the fish away" is ludicrous. I do not benefit one bit by coming here nor would it matter to me (financially) if you managed to scare away ALL the potential S60 customers who might come here. I have helped answer questions from many people here and, yes, I have gotten out of hand certain times. But I do get animated when I see people who come here to trash Volvo like it is the worse brand out there. I could accept comments like "You are looking to buy a 1998 V70AWD? Let me tell you my experience and I have also heard this and this from such and such". Comments like "it is the worse POS, they are horrible, etc", eventhough you may have a legitimate beef will elicit a strong response from someone who happens to believe in it. That is all! You, I or whoever else obviously have a difference of opinion and we are staunch supporters of such opinions.

I do not turn my back to Volvo's "problems". I have been where I am for about 8 years and I don't think that I am so lucky that I cannot see the "scores of dissatisfied owners" at work. I am in Service DAILY. This environment here is EXTREME and such are my responses. Sure we have had some customers who emulate the experiences of some people here. But they are so few it is ridiculous! There have even been a handful of such bad experiences that we intervened to Volvo in order for them to buy back certain cars that were total pain in the butt! But aside from that, I do not think that there is a halo over my dealership so that the huge majority of our customers are happy and well protected from the demons who terrorize Volvo owners!

Volvo Cars of North America has got some way to go when it comes to customer service; sometimes I am their biggest complainer (when I want/need something and I get no answers). But I have witnessed some unbelievable goodwill gestures (and I am not talking about buybacks but simple gestures that they did not have to make). I wish that we reach Lexus' level some day and, at least as a Retailer, that is the bar that we are staring at and working toward. Things are getting much better (after a couple of "rough years" in 1998 and 1999) and no one can doubt that.

I will stop rumbling as it is easy to do so when you type. As I mentioned previously, it is very hard to understand where I come from unless you met me personally and we had an open discussion. I am sure that the same applies to you and most of the dissatisfied people here.


Yannis
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2001 V70 T-5M SR, Classic Red/Graphite Lthr., ipd ME7 ECU Upgrade, K&N Air Filter, Cold Weather, Dolby Surr. Sound, Rear Spoiler, 17' 'Tethys' alloys