Hey everybody! I'm new here but have spent countless hours reading this forum for the past three years. Just the other week I regretfully bought my 2012 S60 after my 36 month lease had ended.

I did this because I didn't want to put $2,000+ down on a new car. There were other reasons but that was the main one.

Now since I'm roped into a 5 year loan with higher monthly payments the things I tried to ignore (only 'cause no one would help me) are starting to grind my gears. I wanted to see if any of you could offer me advice.

Since the second year I had the car it's been making this "wooo wooo wooo" noise when coasting or driving at a very low speed. It does it in reverse as well. It's a very low and drawn out noise. I've brought it to the service center at least 4 times and was told nothing was wrong.

Another thing is when I bought it at the end of the lease they tacked on a $150 volvo safety inspection fee because they "can't let you drive an unsafe car". I've been driving it for the last 3 years! I tried to fight it but they insisted. It wasn't until after I left the dealership I realized the car hadn't even moved. What kind of inspection was done, if any? I'm very tempted to ask them when I go in for my plates if I could have a report. Something tells me it wont end well. It's pretty obvious that my front tires need air and are running low on tread. But I guess that's safe...

Does anyone have any experience with either of these things?

Oh, and one more thing - I have a couple scuffs on my beechwood seats. Has anyone been successful in removing scuffs?


(PS: There's other things like the ride is very rough, the steering pulls and feels loose but I know that requires service. It's just a shame since I mentioned all of these things more than once back when I was under the lease and they brushed it off. How is a stupid girl supposed to argue anything with two mechanics? I feel like I'd have to burst in there acting like a raging lunatic to get anything accomplished)

Thanks for any responses in advance. :-/

 

Is there anyway you could back out of the purchase? I know that's probably unlikely, but it really seems like you've been shafted. My condolences.

 

It's too late.

Already signed the contract. By the time my five year auto loan is up I'll have paid a total of $39,000+ (not including the two times I paid $180 for an alignment during the lease) into a car with a starting MSRP of $32,000 back in 2012. Go me!

I'm really just eff'ed out of luck. Oh well.

 

1. It's a four year old car, how bad can it be? I'm in the process of redoing a bunch of botched "professional" work on my 16 year old Volvo.
2. Next time buy a Toyota or a Honda.
3. Woo woo noise might be brakes but impossible to diagnose via internet telepathy.
4. Scuffed seats??? Not serious, right?
5. Rough ride and loose steering. It's unlikely anything has worn out on a four year old car so someone did this. Has anyone worked on your front end? Did someone talk you into getting an alignment with new tires? If anyone has worked on your front end that is likely the original cause of your problem. In any case you must now find a competent mechanic to look at this. Try Yelp for ratings and recommendations for local shops.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write to me, Migbro. If you care at all, here are my responses to your 5 points.

1. It was leased to me as a "demo" but really it was the owner of the dealerships sons car and had 6,000 miles on it when they gave it to me. I said being the son of the owner he probably didn't put much care into the car. They told me he was an angel who would never treat it poorly. I should have known better when I came to pick it up and there were various scratches (minor but still there) on the exterior as well as nicks and stains on the interior. I pointed everything out and they documented it saying I wouldn't be held responsible at lease end (Didn't think I was gonna buy it). Chances are this kid drove the car to hell. Can't blame anyone but myself on that one. Another thing about that is apparently demos cannot be leased past a certain mile mark so they lied to the leasing company and said it had around 4,000... But If anything I'm just an accessory to that fraud.
2. No thank you!
3. True. I've tried to record it but the sound never registers on my phone.
4. Yes! Why is that so shocking? If it makes you less enraged, they're on the passenger seat. Boyfriend makes it impossible to keep anything nice.
5. No new tires with the alignment.

I've only let the "elite volvo service team" work on my car. I've been contemplating seeking out my own mechanic but was told that any work done by a non-Volvo specialist would void my warranty. I guess that's almost if not already expired by now.

Anywho, like I mentioned I'm going there to get my plates this week and I'm going to try my best to put on my big girl pants and not let them give me the run around. I wonder if there's any sort of recourse that could be taken if I have another mechanic inspect the car and they find these imaginary issues I create. I've kept every service receipt during the lease.

Thanks again!

 

Elite. lolololol. They may be elite but not in the way they want you to think.

No chance. It's your car now so never let those a$$holes see it again. And forget about the $150, it's gone.

The function of the dealership service department is not service, it's to maximize the amount of money extracted from your wallet. To do that they talk you into work the car didn't need, do some of the work they bill you for - as little as possible actually - and often break your car in ways it wasn't broken when you took it in.

 

Are you ever going to give up? Not every service department is out to get you. Not every technican breaks everything he touches. You paint with a broad brush and the truth is there are plenty of reliable guys out there who do the right thing.

The dealership does charge more in almost every instance. But there is a reason. OEM parts cost more and they have more overhead with Volvo special tools and training. You took your car to an indy shop and they jacked it up. Go back and complain. They will likely tell you to beat it. I've seen guys at my dealer mess stuff up (guess what- **** happens). The fix is absorbed by the dealer instead of just telling the customer to beat it.

And you really think all dealerships charge for work that is not even done? Please.

And do you really think Honda and Toyota never have problems? Cars are mechanical things. They break. All of them.

 

Did you even read the OP's first post? The dealer charged her $150 for a bogus "safety check" that was not done while they sneered at her legitimate safety concerns. Oh yeah, and the "elite Volvo service team" has aligned the front end twice on a 2012 car, something the car should not need, billing her $180 each time. $180 for an alignment? Wow. Not too bad for a toe adjustment that takes ten minutes if it was done at all.

"Plenty of reliable guys"? The book time system breaks the most idealistic technician who quickly learns that honesty is for suckers.

Maybe you're the one honest guy out there and that colors your perspective.

I did take my car back to the indy shop once to make them redo the sway bar bushings. After that I'd had as much of them as I could stomach despite all the Volvo technician certifications hung on the wall.

I have also had as much as I can stand of my closest Volvo dealer, also incompetent jerks. I stopped going there after I paid for them to replace a steering rack on a V70 1,000 miles out of warranty and they left the original contaminated black tarry fluid in the system and then literally said, "so what's your problem?"

You yourself admitted exactly that in a previous thread. Any work that is not essential and can not easily be checked is going to be skipped and invoiced. My 2000 Volvo V40 had the original factory cabin filter. I wonder how many times that had been billed by the dealer in 13 years.

My Toyotas are an order of magnitude more reliable than any other vehicle I have ever owned. Generally nothing but routine maintenance for 200,000 miles.

There's a reason for that. The Toyota Production System, a rigorously applied system of statistical process control reinforced by numerous design principles and a management system that support the manufacture of a reliable product.

 

How does the OP know the car was not inspected and then parked in the same spot? And if they indeed did not inspect it, how does that equate to your claim that all dealers bill work that is not performed?

An alignment twice in 3 years is not crazy at all, depending on the area. And it takes more than 10 minutes.

I know plenty of honest guys. To be fair, I also have seen plenty of hacks. They are not limited to dealers by any means though, as is illustrated by your experience with the indy shop you went to.

How do you know your pollen filter is original? How do you know the previous owner ever paid to have it replaced? And again, that does not by any means mean that every dealer tech is going to skip work that is billed. I've seen plenty of hacks overcharge or break stuff. They don't last. I don't think I've seen a guy skip work.


Your experience with your Toyota must mean that no Toyota has ever had any issue, right? My Volvo has never needed anything besides regular maintenance in 150,000 miles. So according to that, they are all perfect.

 

Occam's Razor. Same spot --> most likely cause is car not moved. In any case the "safety check" is just a checkbox list that takes 10 minutes even if a mechanic actually looked at the car.

Alignment doesn't change on a new car unless the car is curbed or front end components are replaced. 99% of alignments will be only a toe adjustment, even if the mechanic bothers to look at the caster and camber.

Most car owners don't know the work performed is shoddy. I'm a mechanical engineer and I've been working on my own vehicles for 35 years. So when I pay someone to work on my car I make a point of looking at the work. Literally every time I pay someone to work on my car the work is done with short-cuts or botched in some way.

I recently paid a different shop to change a front wheel bearing on my Toyota Sequoia as I don't have the required press plates. They changed the bearing OK (so far anyway) but twisted and crimped a brake hard line, did not reinstall a brake line clip and torqued the front wheel lugnuts over 200 ft.lbs. To most car owners that job would have been just fine as the errors are invisible until you jack the car up and (try to) take the wheel off.

I bought this car from my mother-in-law, who bought it new, for my teenage daughter to drive. My mother-in-law took the car to the dealer for 13 years. I don't know for sure that the pollen filter was original but it was completely blocked and looked exactly like a 100,000 mile pollen filter. Occam's Razor again. In any case the pollen filter is the perfect example of what I'm talking about as it's a minor PITA to change, the owner will never know if it was done or not and no obvious harm will be done to the car, so it's a no-brainer for the tech to skip.

My point is that women (or anyone else) who don't want to get bent over repeatedly by the dealer should buy a Toyota or a Honda as these companies manufacture the most reliable cars. The OP is apparently not a Toyota person so her Volvo will likely continue to abuse her until she rethinks this point of view.

 

Whatever the safety check is will likely be minimal, I agree. But there is certainly a chance it was parked in the same spot, especially if the dealership has a specific area for lease returns. I have no idea what their inspection is though, we don't do those here, unless the customer is buying the car and wants an extended warranty. In that case, the warranty company requires the inspection. And it takes more than 10 minutes.

I align my car yearly. It always needs some tweaking. Of course, it's free for me so that's different.

I wish more car owners inspected work or came to talk to the tech and see what work needs to be done. It would help weed out the ****ty guys. But to say we ALL break everything we touch and don't even do all the work is exaggerated.

I'm shocked your Toyota needed a wheel bearing. I read on the internet that Toyota's have no problems.

Those S40 pollen filters get plugged pretty easily. More so than the P2 ones. I would bet money it was not original.

Your exaggerated and generalised statements make you look silly. Even within a particular manufacturer there is sure to be a model or year that was not as reliable as others. I drive an S60. Never had an issue in 150,000 miles that was not maintenance. Would the same thing happen with an 850? Probably. How about a 1999 S80? Highly unlikely. Or a T6 XC90? Doubt it. I'm not going to waste my time checking, but I'm sure I can find people complaining on the internet about their Honda or Toyota. Or any car, for that matter.

If someone doesn't want to get bet over, they should ask questions. Ask to see the failure of whatever part needs replacement. Get a second opinion. Do some research. I never have an issue if a customer wants to come see what I'm recommending. And 99% of they time, they buy it because I can show them what's wrong. And I have never, ever skipped work I am being paid to do.

 

I just checked my service log and this wheel bearing was installed at 192,972 on the odometer.

And yes, this was unexpected as Toyota installs huge, oversized wheel bearings that quite often last the life of the vehicle.

My 2000 V40 so far has needed one wheel bearing at 99,119 miles.

I understand your loyalty to Volvo but Volvo has built a lot of crappy cars in the last 15 years. Toyota, not so much.

Example: I just replaced the oil pan o-rings on my V40. You can't get a much stupider design than that. Toyotas are reliable for many reasons but one of them is they don't design failure points like oil pan o-rings into their cars.

This is way too much to ask of the average car owner like the OP who would pay for new muffler bearings if you told her she needed them.

If you know nothing about cars and don't want to learn, Toyota.

 

Toyotaproblems.com would have many people running.

 

Two things -

#1.: I see where I leave myself open to be screwed by mechanics and dealers. After all, I do not have a *****. I utilize the internet for information as much as I can when possible. You have to understand though, I have said things but I'm almost always immediately shut down.

Me "There's been a squeak coming from the back wheel when I go over bumps. My previous car (VW) made this same sound when I drove over bumps. They ended up replacing the bushings. I think that's what it is"

Them "We drove the car. It's fine."

Me "How long did you drive it for? Did you go over bumps? Were you really listening?"

Them "The mecahnic found nothing wrong, ma'am."

This sound continued for 2 years until it finally stopped. I'm assuming the rubber has completely worn off and would account for the clunking I now hear and the rough drive. I brought this up at least three seperate times. Each time I mentioned the squeak or the "woo woo" sound I offered to drive with them (VW let me do this) since I knew what to listen for and at what times they happened. "Not necessary" is what I was told.

As for the alignments I'm aware that $180 is incredibly steep but I was scared into believing they were the only ones allowed to perform any service. I live in northern NJ so the roads here are terrible. It's quite possible that the alignment was needed.

If you're wondering why I left VW if they're so great it's because the car had a lot of issues. Thankfully they tend to cover 99% of issues. So while I never really paid for anything it was a hassle to keep having to bring it in. With Volvo, the only thing they've ever covered completely was my once annual multi point inspection and any recalls. Everything else was considered outside of normal wear and tear and if it would have been normal W&T they refused to acknowledge that there was an issue. For a luxury brand I'd expect more.

#2. ES6T -- Are you in the tri-state area at all?!?!?!

Oh and one more thing. I would never claim to know anything about cars but even I know that muffler bearings don't exist. I get that you're trying to make a point though so I'll let it slide.

PS: People with limited car knowledge would be just as befuddled with a Toyota or Honda. Are you implying that these cars are like a paint-by-numbers book? I find that hard to believe. -- If you are talking cost then I never said I couldn't afford my Volvo. I'm complaining because I expected better service. The whole point of this post was to see if anyone could give me advice.



Thanks guys.

 

Don't ask to go for a test drive with the mechanic. Insist.

Unless I'm busy in the middle of a huge job, where I am breaking everything I touch and not really doing any of the work, I never mind going with the customer. It's a win-win. Either we hear the noise and I am now aware of exactly what the complaint was (advisors are not mechanics and often things get lost in translation) and can better diagnose it, or we don't hear it and the customer at least knows it was driven exactly as they said it needed to be driven and knows we did not hear anything. We can't fix what isn't broken.

And sorry to hijack your thread without providing any help. If you're here long enough, you'll see who is constantly claiming we are all crooks and hacks. It gets old. I am not in the NJ area though, sorry.

 

That was hyperbole. They did sell you two $180 alignments. Do you know why your four year old car needed two alignments? Do you have the two print-outs of before and after camber, caster and toe they gave you? What, they didn't give you that? Oh well.

How about if they told you your car needed tie rod ends? What would you say?

How about if they told you your car needed a cooling system flush? What would you say?

Accessory belt? Accessory belt tensioner?

Transmission flush?

Thermostat?

I could go on. You get the point.

 

Funny.

I'm convinced your problem is you're an honest mechanic and you just don't grasp the scale of the problems in your industry.

 

That could very well be the case. But I know enough good guys to know that we are not all as bad as you think.

 

You have to have a certain amount of car knowledge and confidence before you start insisting anything at a dealer or a shop. For people like the OP, this is how that usually works out in reality.

 

Maybe at that crappy shop. I've driven with plenty of people who have no clue. Usually, that's why I'm driving with them. They can't even describe the noise or where it is coming from.