Hello, I just purchased a 2012 S60 T5 last month. I'm new to the Volvo line. None of my friends or family have ever owned one. My last two cars were Toyota Camrys; a 1989 and a 1998.

My dealer wants to sell me an extended service contract and I have no real knowledge of the reliability of Volvo cars. I don't think I can judge them against my Camrys.

How reliable are Volvos? One of the main selling points was the 5 year/60,000 mile warranties on my 2012. How reliable are Volvos after this period ends? What does it normally cost to maintain a Volvo after this period? I don't mean regular scheduled maintanence, but breakdowns.

The service contract only goes to 7 years and costs about $2,000. Would the average Volvo need $2,000 in repair costs in year 6 and 7?

Any advice would be welcome.

 

That car is pretty new so it's hard to tell. You can check Cars.com and see what people are saying about the 2008 - 2011 models and try to decide from there.

 

Of course your dealer wants to sell you an "Extende Service Policy"! Dealers love those things, great profit for everybody invilved. Realistically now - do you think that these companies are in business to protect YOU???

I'm sure someone will chime in that they had an engine cheerfully replaced but the dealer gets a big cut and the company has to show a profits so how often do you think they shell out some cash?

Volvos disintegrate by mileage, not time, with the party beginning at about 100k on most of them, These things are generally considered "maintainence" by definition so the service contract won't cover them. Then, when/if something breaks they will move Heaven and Earth to find where you missed some maintanence and then they are off the hook (" Gee, looks like you whent 500 miles past that oil change last year....)

Most Volvo owners seem to report about a grand a year in cost to keep them running so a 2 year policy for 2 grand doesnt seem like a deal to me - you could pay for your regularly scheduled replacement items instead!


Just my 2 cents worth

 

Thanks donf, that is the information I am looking for. I'm retired and put a lttle under 10,000 a year on a car so 100,000 miles is 10 years down the road and a long way past the longest service contract of 7 years.

A grand a year isn't bad.

 

This thread is a little old, but I thought I would add my 2 cents...

Whether you buy an extended policy or not, it might help to know that the price of these contracts is negotiable. Last time I did the research (admittedly over 10 years ago), it was reasonable to pay about 50 percent of the list price for the extended warranty. Now many things have changes, so others might join in here.

Also, you are not limited to the extended service contract through the dealer. An extended service contract is really just another type of insurance. As such, there are many third party providers these days, but going outside of the dealer takes a bit more caution and extra research time.

 

I know I'm late to this thread, but...

1. Who backs the ESP? Volvo Cars NA or some company you've never heard of? At one time, a lot of customers got burned by semi-phony service contracts?

2. Ask your friendly salesman this question: "How long do I have before this car is NOT eligible for the ESP you're selling". Most can be bought at any time during original factory warranty. I bought one for a piece of junk Olds Minivan at 35590 miles, approximately and used the hell out of it. Original warranty was 3yrs/36K.

3. What exactly does it cover and what does it not cover? Lets say radiator not covered, water puimp not covered. They go bad and engine overheats and blows head gaskets. You could find yourself not covered b/c failure due to failure of non-covered part/system.

4. Ask whether there is refund if car sold before the ESP kicks in. Usually not, but I lack the psychic ability to know with certainty that any given car will last for years 6 and 7. Maybe I'll sell it, maybe it'll get totalled.

5. $2000 for 2 years of warranty is or isn't a good deal depending on the above.

I'd wait, if possible, to see if car is a good 'un or a bad 'un. If its a terrible 'un, you'll be selling it long before original factory warranty expires.

Good luck.

 

is a suicide if you don't get the extend war. now a day car is so advance, even if the computer break down in the dealership, they can't even diagnosis the car. I m not saying you can't get anything done @ the outside shop, but even to replace the rear brakes you need to hook up the computer. so if the war. cost 2G, I'll get it for sure.
answer to malaka:
1) it is another company that war. the ext. war. but they been doing ok w/volvo so far. so I would worry too much about that. they are reasonable
2) u get the ext. war. anytime before the factory war. end.
3) let I said, i been pretty reasonable. any hoses, wear & tear items, rear shocks, software upgrade,...etc. they are not cover. but for normal usage rad. leak (no visual damage), water pump, engine over heat (due to internal fault) they do cover that. but of course in some case, they would send an inspector to inspect before approvel
4) no refund on the ext. war. but you can transfer to the next owner
5) $2G is totally worth it when u see the bill later on