Volvo Dilemma.

Hi I am in a bit of a quandary about replacing one of our Volvos.

Dad's got a new Volvo every three years or so. Now he's getting old and his
01 V40 1.6SE is approaching it's third birthday and therefore the end of the
warranty.

He likes hassle free motoring. None of us have any technical knowledge what
so ever. We love the cars and are prepared to pay our local and very good
dealer the necessary to keep us on the road.

Now as I said Dad is getting old and won't be driving for ever even though
he is in perfect health. Although the V40 is 3 years old it's only
covered - wait for it - six-and-a-half thousand miles. It still has the bits
of flashing in the tyres, the spare's never used the leather seats in the
back never sat on....Get the picture?

The other day the battery died and Volvo installed a new one under warranty.

A nice hassle-free feeling to be at the dealer and not worry about the cost.
While it was there I got them to fix something on the exhaust that was
rattling - again under warranty.

So with it being nearly up on the warranty it is time to change.

But what a waste. It's a new car in terms of mileage.

Anyway, got chatting to a mate of mine who's one of the sales guys there.
He offered me a mint deal on an S60T. 4 K on the clock, loads of discount -
it's only 4 months old - and about a grand over book for the V40

A smashing deal - and not much to change. But still a hell of a lot to pay
for a new warranty which really is the only reason the car will be changed.

If we run the car out of warranty we take a big chance. It's a damn
complicated car...Ecc Cruse heated seats etc etc.....

And being a low miler can't do the engine that much good.

It's about 500 UK Pounds for a year extension on the manufacturers warranty.
Bloody expensive.

It's seven thousand pounds to change to a newer car. A bit extravagant. when
the old one's still got the Dutch factory stickers on it.

Any thoughts on what might be best?

Are there companies in the UK that offer warranty insurance packages that
cover faults other than on the engine. The CD player, info centre headlight
wipers...All non-essential items which make the car so nice must cost a
fortune to get fixed.

I'd really appreciate your ideas. Thanks JD

PS Anyone know a good independent Volvo specialist in NE England.

 

That seems like a rather silly thing to do, have you considered how much
having a warranty is costing you? If your dad kept the cars twice as long,
or even longer, he could afford to pay a reputable mechanic to repair any
little thing that breaks during that time and probably still come out ahead.

 

Sell the V40, buy the S60, buy a bike, give me the S60. ;-)

don't bother with the warranty, just have the car serviced yearly according
to the schedule with a 6 monthly oil and filter change cos of the extremely
small mileage covered and have an extra holiay per year.

Make sure you give it a hard fast run every fortnight or so once at
operating temperature to drive out the moisture that will have acculmulated.
(15miles +)

Tim..

 

Yeah. Do the maths. ;-)

Buy the extension on the warranty and save £6500. Do all the
scheduled maintenance prescribed in the owner's manual. The car will
be hassle-free for the rest of your father's life and much of yours.

 

Actually it is peanuts compared to the depreciation you will suffer if you
buy a new car.
The current car has lost around £9000 ($16000) in 3 years, but depreciation
will be gentler from now on, why on earth would you want to buy new again
and be back to losing 3 grand a year when the car you have now is
practically in new condition anyway?

 

I agree.

There is another option, though. Before it goes out of warranty, get it
extended as long as humanly possible - out another 5-8 years if you can.

Yes, it's a lot of money, but compared to a new car every three years,
it's a no-brainer.

 

Do they offer a longer warranty extention for a lower per-year rate?
Might make it a better deal.

In any case, even without a warranty, I think it'd be a better deal
than a new car.


Gary

 

Thanks for your eplies...Plenty of food for thought there. If I could get
it warrantied in advance for another few years I would but they only sell
the extensions on a 12 month term.

I'll let you know what I decide and how I get on.

Thanks again,

JD

 

Hi,

A volvo does not need warranty: do without it. If you ever need
repairs, go to a good volvo garage. Assuming that you loose when buy
another car every 3 years, about (I think in Euro) 3000 to 4000 Euro a
year, you can do an incredible amount of repairs. But Volvo is very
good and needs no repairs: We have a '95 Volvo 440 1.8i, ran 230.000
km now, and is still like new. We had only one repair: had to exchange
the waterpump, costs only 125 Euro. And every couple of years a set of
tyres.

Don't be afraid. For that price you pay for warranty, you can replace
the whole motor every 3 years!

The Volvo is my wife's car, I drive a peugeot: 300.000 km now. And I
know somebody with a citroen (turbodiesel) with almost 400.000 km!

We bought the Volvo secondhand, aged 5 years, from somebody who knew
the waterpump had to be replaced and was afraid: "o no, we're getting
costs". So he bought a $$$$$$$ new car, and we bought his for the
price that was equal to the value he lost every year.

Volvo lets the motors run at low rpm's, ours only does 4000 rpm when
we drive 160 km/hour. That is why they do not wear out quickly.

Pieter Hoeben

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say it'll need *no* repairs, but you could
certainly pay for any feasible repair it might need for much less than
buying a new car every few years. My roommate was into the warranty thing
for a while, took several years of seeing how much money he dumped into that
before he realized how pointless it was.

 

Why do they sell Warranties?
Because they make a profit.
Why?
Because the warranty costs more than it is worth.

DUH!!!




Had
79 245 D,
81 240 D,
86 240 320,000mi and running fine when traded
94 944 Green 257,503 mi CRUNCH Parted out
Have
94 944 White 149,000 The New one
94 944 Maroon 135,000 mi