21 replies to this topic

[cookiemonstar]

So a little background, I have a 2004 s60 R bought it with 35k miles on it in the summer of 2008. I am not what you would consider car savvy, I really enjoy the car but could not do any work on it. I took my car in to have maintenance done on it at the Volvo dealership and have never had any issues until now.

They gave me a list of problems that are becoming an issue of concern, 1) bevel gear is leaking and looseness between gears, rear diff is leaking and looseness between gears; to fix this issue they quoted $7k 2) Front spring seats are torn, front struts are leaking due to torn spring seats quoted $2k to fix 3) I had brakes done by someone I trust(ed), front brake rotors are wrong size, needs pads and rotors; which I am going to talk to the person who did them for me.

They told me the issue was probably caused because I have 3 old tires on the car and one new one. Now this has only been since the first Saturday of 2010, I had a tire get shredded from a pot hole, took it in to get 2 new tires the had to order one in and I was planning on having it put on this weekend. I find it hard to believe this issue has developed over the past 3 weeks.

Now when I talked to the person in the service department at the dealership he didn’t even say anything about having it get repaired there, he just told me “to be honest, I would get rid of the car asap!” But is this honest opinion coming from him knowing the cost or the mechanic who is trying to earn a buck? I have had friends told this before by dealers and their car has lasted 5 more years. I am just stuck in this decision situation and it is stressing me out. I am going to get a second opinion probably even a third. I love the car and can’t tell any difference in the driving. I would hate to part with it but can’t lose out on that much money.

Also are there any things I should watch for. I mean I park it in the same place on a consistent basis and there no leak spots and everything seems to run smooth? Any help would be great and any mechanics in Northern Utah you would recommend would be awesome. Let me know if you need anymore info.

[Fudge_Brownie]

$2k for front struts and seats???

[Ihatespeedbumps]

Hmm.. 7k is for new diff's? Have you noticed any unusual driveline noises or strange feel to anything?

The brakes on this car are unique to the R so a jack leg mechanic may not know that. I would suggest ONLY Volvo products.

Leaking struts due to torn spring seats sounds like a wash. If the struts are in fact leaking they are very costly to replace and there are no aftermarket substitions, but at that mileage it would be quite unusual. Actually broken spring seats at 35k sounds like complete bullshit. If they are torn you would hear noise in the front.

Where are you located? Maybe a local member can point you in the direction of a good Indy shop. You can always check out the dealer reviews section for your state, located at the bottom of the main forum.

[mustang]

My experience with any "luxury" car is that there is alway something wrong, something needs fixing, and it's a min of $1000 to get out alive.

1) fixing rear diff is $7k? Have you looked under the car to see how bad it is?

2) My strut mount bushings cracked as well ($400 quoted from Volvo, I replaced for $70+front end alignment). As you are not a do it yourselfer--2K sounds outrageous. Struts failing because of it? Sounds weird. How bad is the rattling sound due to bad bushings?

3) brakes by others. Did your pal really replace the rotors? (I'm guessing you are at 50K miles? this doesn't sound right). Volvo will of course claim it's done wrong and want to redo on their terms.

What prompted a visit to the repair shop? Leaks on the driveway, poor stopping power, rattling front end, routine maintenance. Something is really fishy here. I would do yourself a favor and do a bit of research (look under your car, were the rotors really changed, bla bla bla.). Also I hope you didn't start your line with Volvo like you did here "hey Volvo, I'm no car buff, but something's wrong...guarentee they will take that hook"

So... 7K + 2K + brakes (let's say 500) + tires (let's say 500) = 10K. Is your car really that bad?

[Big Will]

The newer AWD system should be able to handle different tire tolerances a lot better than the old system (pre-03). Best to replace tires in 4s on the AWDs anyway, but certainly in 2s.

The rear diffs on pretty much all Volvos retail for about 3600 USD now (they went up by 100% or more in the last two years for reasons I don't know). The angle gear costs in the realm of 1500 (assuming you can't just reseal it like most of us do when they leak) so that's 5100 in parts and the rest is labor. It still sounds steep to me, but you do have a lot of work to get the rear differential R&Red...15-20 hours of labor though is excessive.

I also doubt that your struts are leaking at such low mileage.
2nd opinion time as mentioned above.

[cookiemonstar]

Thank you all very much for the help so far. When I do get my second opinion should I let them know what the dealer told me up front or should I just go in and have them look over the car and see what they say? Also if these things are going out what should I exactly be looking, listening for to know I am headed for trouble?

Ihatespeedbumps-that is the weird thing about the whole situation. I have not noticed any difference in the car. No noises or no different feel to the handling. The car has been awesome, that is why I was so blown away by all of this. I am going to go to the guy I had do the brakes and see what he says. Also on another forum I got contact info for an independent Volvo mechanic that is fairly close to me so i am for sure going to get the second opinion.

mustang-1)I honestly would not even know what I am looking for? And that is what they quoted me after it is all said and done.
2)I have been told by some they are related and by others they are not related and there is absolutely no noise coming from my car. Since this has all happened I have drove around with out the radio just trying to hear something and haven't yet.
3)I had the brakes done at about 55k and I am at 68k right now. The brakes they were the most pushy on getting done by them. I am going to check back with the mechanic I know plus have them check the brakes at my second opinion.

I just took my car in for regular maintenance, I have taken it in before and they never said a word about any of this. The car has been phenominal thay is what is so mind blowing to me. This came like way out of left field. And I didn't let them know anything about my un-car savvyness.

[Ihatespeedbumps]

I wouldn't say anything about it to the indy shop, just let them see what they see. After they give you an estimate, then have that conversation.

[Boglin]

Fudge_Brownie, on 28 January 2010 - 07:08 PM, said:

$2k for front struts and seats???

4C Chassis struts welcome to the R club.

[tigmaned]

if your car feels and drives o.k. like before you took it to the dealer i would say your most likely going to be o.k. do you see any fuilds leaking under the car?? but if something does feel wrong try and find a shop thats known to work on Volvo's and have them check it out.
dealers stick together, if you take it to another one they'll bring up your VIN # and see the last report. thats how they keep there doors open and try and get you to buy new car..
just my 2 cents.

[ross84volvo]

remember machinics work off commision so even the smallest leak will be a good idea to fix in there opinion. i'd worry about the brakes first and if you cant notice any problems dont put to much thought into it and just enjoy your car and tackle them as they actually become a problem. dealerships are the worst. i have a extended warranty and usually the bill is 100 for parts and 700 for labor. they just quoted me 2400 bucks for a exhaust manifold leak. anything mechanical on these are easy to do and just take time. heres how i look at it, for example if you have a ford think about how it's made. by some low wage entry level factory worker. if he can do it so can you

[Ihatespeedbumps]

ross84volvo, on 05 February 2010 - 06:59 PM, said:

if you have a ford think about how it's made. by some low wage entry level factory worker. if he can do it so can you

These aren't Fords and that statement is retarded. Have you ever seen how vehicles are assembled? It's nothing like how they are repaired.

[ross84volvo]

Ihatespeedbumps, on 05 February 2010 - 08:48 PM, said:

These aren't Fords and that statement is retarded. Have you ever seen how vehicles are assembled? It's nothing like how they are repaired.

man fu@k you b!tch. i knew you'd run your mouth about something i said. it was a way of looking at things dumba@@ and yes i know how there assembled you f@cking fa$$ot. it doesnt matter on the brand cause all cars are pretty much assembled the same way and the point is that people in detroit live in a high poverty area so it's easy to get dumb workers. you know we should meet somewhere so i can blast you b!tch ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD in the mouth and see how much you b!tch and complain. you dont even realize the point to my post, im just saying that it doesnt take a genius to fix a car. i hope i meet you soon so i can role your little b!tch ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD and post some pics on here of what happens when people run there mouths and cant back it up. your whole f^cking statement is the retarded one, since i was talking to your ho ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD in the first place, and go ahead and ban me or suspend me i could give two s!its sweetheart. this site sucks anyways compared to ss. you f@cking moderaters on here act like you have some kind of power like posting in the band users for suspending people for calling the mods names. your a lame computer nerd redneck from nashville. grow up you little girl

[MrWinkey]

cookiemonstar, on 28 January 2010 - 06:51 PM, said:

I am just stuck in this decision situation and it is stressing me out. I am going to get a second opinion probably even a third.

Say nothing to the other shops and see what "they" come up with. Could possibly be a hungry technician?
The leaky struts always make me laugh. 35k come on...
You do want to get that odd ball tire off there though.

[Ihatespeedbumps]

ross84volvo, on 05 February 2010 - 10:37 PM, said:

man fu@k you b!tch. i knew you'd run your mouth about something i said. it was a way of looking at things dumba@@ and yes i know how there assembled you f@cking fa$$ot. it doesnt matter on the brand cause all cars are pretty much assembled the same way and the point is that people in detroit live in a high poverty area so it's easy to get dumb workers. you know we should meet somewhere so i can blast you b!tch ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD in the mouth and see how much you b!tch and complain. you dont even realize the point to my post, im just saying that it doesnt take a genius to fix a car. i hope i meet you soon so i can role your little b!tch ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD and post some pics on here of what happens when people run there mouths and cant back it up. your whole f^cking statement is the retarded one, since i was talking to your ho ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD in the first place, and go ahead and ban me or suspend me i could give two s!its sweetheart. this site sucks anyways compared to ss. you f@cking moderaters on here act like you have some kind of power like posting in the band users for suspending people for calling the mods names. your a lame computer nerd redneck from nashville. grow up you little girl

bwhahahaha! I'd love to meet you in person.


If you don't like this site, why do you keep coming back?

Time for another time out

[Ghost Shadow]

Ihatespeedbumps, on 06 February 2010 - 12:48 AM, said:

Time for another time out

i thought the asshats were on swedespeed? why does he keep coming back here then?

[jhb8426]

Definitely get a second opinion. Reminds me of a car I bought a few years back - an 81 chev malibu wagon w/85k on it. Took it in for some minor work and came out with an estimate for $2k worth of work that absolutely needed to be done NOW. I only paid 1500 for the car. Drove it another 4 years and 40k miles. Never had to fix one of the items on the list. Never went back to that shop either.

I'd be interested to hear how you come out on this.

[MrWinkey]

Ihatespeedbumps, on 06 February 2010 - 12:48 AM, said:

Time for another time out

Give him a week or more and blame it on me as I have no time for mouthy crap as such on the main repair boards! If I get involved it will be a bare butt whippin' on my front porch while over my knee with a 2x4. Did I mention while sitting in my hickory rocker (that I carved myself) while his buddies watch this horrid event.

[JesterKB]

MrWinkey, on 07 February 2010 - 01:54 AM, said:

Give him a week or more and blame it on me as I have no time for mouthy crap as such on the main repair boards! If I get involved it will be a bare butt whippin' on my front porch while over my knee with a 2x4. Did I mention while sitting in my hickory rocker (that I carved myself) while his buddies watch this horrid event.

Mr. Winkey, I can I get tickets to this event???? While Ross84 makes the realization that the manufactures can train a monkey to assemble the car, it's because the engineering upstream was done properly and the procedures they wrote were such that even a dipstick like Ross84 could do it (the reality is a 3rd grader could be trained to do it too). Trust me, I design ejection systems for military aircraft, and I have to write procedures to that level for the initial assembly! Repairing those systems is an entirely different situation, and it takes a skilled individual, not the monkey that assembled it. The real skill it knowing what is broken, not just guessing and replacing parts, and then replacing parts, and then replacing.......... This is what defines a really good mechanic.

Ross84, do you you really think the assembler can work at this level?????


Jerry

[v4lve]

Posting more to "lol" at ross, but to be on topic - if everything feels fine then it might be time for some preventative maintenance as you very well could be looking at costly repair like those if you let the unit fail. Either way looking at those quotes if you aren't on any kind of warranty i would start looking for a reliable indy mechanic.

I do have to say you are kind of shooting yourself in the foot so to speak by not knowing what too look for (that's what we're here for though ), that really opens you up for mechanic "double-speak".

[Ihatespeedbumps]

MrWinkey, on 07 February 2010 - 01:54 AM, said:

Give him a week or more and blame it on me as I have no time for mouthy crap as such on the main repair boards! If I get involved it will be a bare butt whippin' on my front porch while over my knee with a 2x4. Did I mention while sitting in my hickory rocker (that I carved myself) while his buddies watch this horrid event.

A gave him a couple of weeks in the corner to think about it