Question on Repair Costs

Hello. I have a 2002 v70xc AWD with around 63,000 miles. I took it in
to my closest service center today for the scheduled maintenance and
they had some suggestions.

Here's what they suggested:
1) The 60,000 mile service: This is what I initially took it in for.
This appears to be one of the more rigorous service milestones so I
expected to to be expensive. Estimated cost: $670

2) Occasionally I've been hearing a hissing from the brake pedal on
release. They say this can be fixed by replacing the brake booster.
Cost: $975

3) The inner tie rod is causing excess play. It needs to be repaired
and the wheels realigned. Cost: $410

4) The brakes have a groove in the rotors. The rotors eventually will
need to be replaced. Cost $630

I know very little about cars so any comments, suggestions or questions
you think I should ask would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Some of that is reasonable, $630 for the brakes sounds a bit ridiculous
though, have you shopped around on that one? Brake booster seems rather
high too, but then that is a fairly new car so parts will be more
expensive and good used ones harder to find.

 

Is it under an extended service warranty? if so the dealer might do #2 &
#3 maybe otherwise keep reading

Do you live near Washington DC? If so, I can suggest an alternative
repair source. Wonderful people, highly qualified, in business 13 years,
volvo parts, AND they stand behind their work. No they are not free and
don't get it all done while you finish a cup of coffee. In fact there
isn't a customer coffee machine. But the labor prices are better (well
not as much as the neighborhood Volvo dealer), I think the parts are
less and they tend to use Volvo parts.

Bethesda Import Specialist
5435 Butler Road
Bethesda, Maryland 20816
http://www.bethesdaimports.com/
Our phone number is 301-656-0056
Our fax number is 301-656-0071
email: <mailto:>

and no i am not an interested party to their shop but I am a long time
customer and they can't identify me from this post either (I think)

In this area, look up washington volvo club, http://volvoclubdc.com/
If not in this area, join volvo club of america; http://www.vcoa.org/

 

....on a 3 year old car - unload it quick! I doubt any of those have ever
been replaced on mine in 25 years and don't think any of it needs replacing
soon. Specially rotors - if they are flat and grooves are smooth and run the
full circle evenly... what's the problem?

 

Auto repair prices at dealers and elsewhere seem to have gone through
the roof in the past 10 years. Personally I would do all of the work
you detailed myself, but not many DIY folks have the equipment and
experience I have accumulated in ~30 years of DIY mechanic work plus a
bit of time out for my engineering degree.

I would try to find some reputable independent Volvo/European car
specialists in your area and get a second quote. I wouldn't go to most
do-it-all garages nor to most chain stores. There is a good chance such
places will get something wrong and then your headaches really start!

You might post a question here with your general area and see if anyone
has pointers on good shops for you.

John

 

Makes me glad I drive an older 240! Still, for a full service that is
about right. You would pay about that much on any newer car.

OUCH! Does this job come with lubricant? I can get the transmission
totally overhauled on my motorhome for over $100 LESS than that! Hit a
few local brake shops and see what they say. It mught just be a leaky
fitting, but you should be able to get it done for a lot less.

That should have lasted longer than that.

Eventually could mean in another 100,000 miles. The shops are in a big
hurry to turn rotors if there is the slightest defect in them. They
say it is becasue of safety and liability, but I have run grooved
rotors for many miles on various cars and they work fine. Antoher way
to look at it is that the surface area is increased which means better
braking! ;-)

Once they have been turned it means that they are thinner and that
means they are more prone to warping. If the car brakes straight and
predictably and thre are no computer faults from the ABS system. don't
let them touch them. Just make sure you get the pads checked and
changed before any damage is done from metal to metal contact.

Wothout seeing the groove it is hard to say, but I would leave them
alone. Especially at that price.

__ __
Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
\__/olvos
'90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate
"Shelby" & "Kate"

 

That seems quite high, but you do own a luxury car. If you live in the
Philadelphia, Central New Jersey, or DC areas I can suggest skilled and less
expensive independent shops.

You can also go to this page for a hint:
http://www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/
or this one: http://www.ramac.com/locator.asp

I think *some* hissing is normal. In any case $975 sounds amazingly
expensive. I could not find the part on line, but for a grand I would live
with it.

~50 to 60 bucks each for parts, I will be generous and say an hours labor
and a full alignment, add 25% mark up and you are at no more then $225-$250
at a independent shop for one, if it's both then the Volvo price is starting
to look 1/2 decent, but still I would rather have a relationship with a
independent shop then the dealer...your opinion could well be different.

Assuming fronts you are looking at ~$200 parts and 1 hr labor. No more then
$250-275. Add $25 or 40 if they are bleeding the brake system, which is
always a good idea.

The dealers service department has a few advantages. They can do almost
everything, they will stand behind the work, and it will make the car a
little easier to sell, however a good independent shop will do a great job
for less money. The service department is what keeps most dealers in
business, and you don't want to pay for that lovely showroom and nice shiny
painted floor in the shop do you?

Wait...every Volvo dealer I have been to has a wonderful coffee machine in
the waiting area. that alone is worth a C!

Best luck!

 

if you think about it the grooves give you more brake area .Discs are
machined to put grooves in them to allow gases to escape even if your
grooves dont do this how could they hurt as long as they are round they will
work fine .Sorry but at the cost you have shown you must be going to a full
price dealer check your local Volvo car club for a pleasant surprise .We are
a bunch of tight wads who wont pay those over the top prices .

 

Thanks for all the advice and tips. I do live in the Washington, DC
area - Fairfax county off of Gallows Road - so I'll definitely look
into the washington volvo club and Bethesda Import Specialist.

Thanks again.

 

Don Buyers Volvo does have those lovely 'free' concerts and book readings
however!

 

....and you hope you're not waiting long enough for it to be the Mahabharata?
Closest I have come to such in-house entertainment at a car repairers is the
muffler shop where the doberman starts to like you if it's a longish job.

 

Jesus H C.....
Well, I have an 03 and If I took mine in for the 60K and they wanted
$3,000 bux for service, I'd introduce my XC to the boat launch ramp at
Lake Mead. With my luck, it would take three days to sink!

 

Please...Give me a BREAK!!!!
This is an extremely polite group, but....Luxury car My Ass!

Volvo of Las Vegas doesn't even stand behind a leaking valve stem when
they install new tires and you return two days later with a flat in the
cargo area.

Just one more thing about the coffee machine. I've noticed that the
salesmen drink 85% of the coffee and when the pots are empty then never
make any more. They just leave the grounds in the bottom of the empty
pot and put it back on the warmer.

Happy New Year, all!

 

How appropropriate.
Every time that I drive into the dealer I feel like I'm going to the
Gallows...or since it's such a fancy-schmantzy dealership, more like
lethal injection.

 

LOL!
"Yes, sir, we know that it's a steep price but after all, you did get
your face washed by the dog!"
I know where the dog's tongue has been but I always wonder just where
the dealer's tongue has been.

 

Tightwads???
I think Not.
Do you realise that this service is going to cost the poster about
$500.00 for every 10,000 miles that he has driven his vehicle, NOT
including all of the cumulative costs that he's already put into it over
the span of 60K? I just wonder how many XC70's that there will be
driving around at the age of ten years once the unfortunate owners of
these vehicles find out that it's gonna cost them $6 to $7,000.00 go get
their pristine, shiny, dentless cars back into shape. The managing
broker (Real Estate) in my office has a ten year old Rolls that has over
250K on the clock and he states that virtually nothing has gone wrong
with it since he bought it new. After I emailed him this post he stated
that he now knows why I'm never at the office in the mornings and always
say that I'm at the dealer. He told me that someone in the office
suggested that I might always be out driving around looking for sex. No
such luck...I'm being screwed by my car.
[/QUOTE]

 

"........................................................"

Well what class would you put a $40,000 car in? The Volvo does appeal to
different folks then a Lexus or a Bimmer and to be sure quite different then
a MB...OTOH I also think there is a lot of the same type of buyer in the
Subaru store as a Volvo store...

 

I think a lot of Subaru shoppers are Volvo and former Volvo owners wishing
that a Subaru is a reliable Volvo. Alas, Subarus are reliable, but they're
not Volvos.

Eventually, after 10 or 20 years of expensive Volvo repairs and a few dozen
days spent standing on the side of the highway next to your broken $40K
Volvo, many give up comfort and performance for reliability.

 

That's a funny thing - my next choice (for a newer car, later) could well be
a Subaru. Old volvos seem very reliable and new ones don't sound as though
they are as good. I guess it means we are a discerning lot & Subarus are a
good choice.

 

I spent most of my Thanksgiving vacation trying to get a new power steering
pump for our '96 850 wagon in the back hills of upstate New York, after it
failed (quite dramatically in fact, the shaft and pulley came completely out
of the pump body, thus also disabling the serpentine belt, the water pump,
and the alternator) in a blizzard, miles from anywhere and miles from cell
phone service.

During the 2005 Thanksgiving-of-hunting-Volvo-parts, I got a good bit of
experience riding around in my elder brother's Subaru wagon, of
approximately the same vintage. It's a typical low-end japanese car,
spindly seats, clicky controls, light-weight all around, poor low-end
torque, etc. It's also rusted all around the wheel wells. If the Volvo
were functioning, the Subaru wouldn't hold a candle to it, in any
competition. On the other hand, he's had it for 10 years and it has never
broken, other than routine maintenance, while our Volvo has had more major
systems replaced than I can remember. He will never buy anything but a
Subaru.

-----

-RL
('76 264, '78 264, '87 240, '89 240, '96 850, '96 850, now driving an Acura
and considering a Subaru to replace the last ever Volvo)