I will be needing to replace the front struts on my 960 wagon. I live in Phoenix and would like to know if A.) There is a dealer of choice in the area and B.) What costs am I looking at for this. As always...thanks

I don't have a dealer recommendation (I live in Canada) but you could get lower cost shocks that are equal in performance compared to the Volvo shocks by buying aftermarket ones that happen to be an OEM supplier for Volvo. Check out Boge TurboGas shocks from an online supplier.

I know this is not answering your question but thought you might like to know if you have not considered this cost saving alternative.

Tim

For additional savings, I would not go to the dealer for this work. There is nothing unique or difficult about changing the struts on these cars. So any garage/mechanic that you trust should be capable of doing the job -- and at a much more favorable labor rate (in addition to the afformentioned savings on the parts.)

Just my 2-cents. (Arguably worth that!)

Jeff Pierce
--
'92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '93 945 Turbo (a kickass family car), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece)

Jeff -

I looked on their web site...no 960 shocks...but I do believe there has to be a supplier out there. The more and more feedback I see... the more I am leaning to finding a local independant for these types of service. I'll still use the dealer for the more specific Volvo work.

Thanks for the reply...

Chuck

Chuck,
I'm not sure you were looking in the right spot on their site. Go to this link - http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo.htm Then look under "Volvo 740/760/940/960 Parts", then "Shocks/Struts/Strut Mounts/Coil Springs/Nivomat Shocks"

I copied and pasted the following info from their listings:

271911 - Front Strut Assembley fits 95-97 960 Models $103.00 each Genuine Volvo

124.816 - Rear Shock Absorber 95-97 960 Wagon's w/o Nivomats & 98 V90 For Vehicles with Leafsprings $49.00 Sachs (OEM)

$103 seems real steap for struts, but as someone else on this tread mentioned, Volvo apparently has a lock on these. I bet Groton's price is about half that of the dealer's though.

Jeff Pierce

--
'92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '93 945 Turbo (a kickass family car), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece)

Tim...cost saving alternatives are always appreciated...thanks.

Chuck

Unfortunately, you may find that these shocks are only available through the dealer. Somewhere along the line, Boge stopped providing aftermarkets for this car. My 97 V90 shocks cannot be purchased elsewhere.

That said, be sure to check FCP Groton who usualy has good prices on Boge/Sachs. Yur year might be OK.
--
John Shatzer, '97 V90 @ 92K; 92 965 @ 106K

John -

I think your right on the installation being (only) offered by the dealer. If I remember correctly I had the same problem with my 850. As comfortable as I feel with the work done at the dealer, I would like to have a backup for the work that is non Volvo specific.

Thanks for the time and the comments...

Chuck T.