Hello guys...I bought a 04 s60 2yrs ago from big volvo dealer in CT with 121k..the dealer said all maintenance is up-to-date including timing belt/ i did not ask for documentation on all the maintenance, took his word on it
Took the car in for oil change last week to same dealer and they say i need timing belt done, the car is at 144k now called the guy i dealt with and he says he dosen't remember what he said 2yrs ago and they have no record of timing belt ever being done by them or by previous owner.. we are at a standstill
any ideas on how to deal with this
can they sell me a car thats past due on the timing belt job

 

Sure they can. I hate salespeople.

 

Without documentation from your purchase you don't have much to work with, it's your word versus his. I don't think there's no rule saying that the dealership has to make sure the timing belt is within the service period before selling a pre-owned vehicle.

 

thanks for the input guys....the dealer called me back this morning and said he will run it by the main owner/boss but i'm not holding my breath...i was wondering if there was some rule/standard that said they couldnt sell a car that's past due on timing belt service but cant seem to find anything..

 

They can sell it however they want to anyone who will buy it. The only time there are standards is when it's a CPO car.

 

+1. With 30+ years of dealership and related experience I can tell you first hand that most dealerships pay exactly zero attention to major maintenance including the timing belt when they trade in a car. The used car manager taking it in SHOULD require documentation then dock the appraisal enough to cover the cost if not done, but unfortunately the next dealer won't so the customer will just trade in at the place that ignores that issue. Many unsuspecting customers then buy that car not aware they will either need to do it soon or risk an engine failure. This is simply one of the risks of buying used vs new. There are so many more things to consider. I always advise potential customers to have a 3rd party inspection done if they are not capable themselves, but I would estimate 1 in 50 actually do it choosing to trust the sales person or their gut, or simply saving the $100 it costs to have it done.

 

OP: you must be pretty young to be so naive; they will sell you whatever they can.

After I bought my 855t a couple of years ago (w/about 125K mls on it) I took it to the local dealer to do the fuel tank recall campaign (could not believe the previous owner didn't take care of it) and while in there, of course, they did a courtesy inspection (to see whatever else they could sell me..). There was considerable oil leakage all over the engine area; not terrible, but oil was dripping off the bottom of the transmission. So w/o cleaning any oil off and running the engine to actually see where the leaks were, they give me an estimate of something like $1200 to do the RMS. I say, "thanks very much, but I'll think about it" and take my car. As part of my stage0 I clean up the engine bay and figure out the cam seals are leaking and replace them myself. Guess what, no more oil leaks; RMS wasn't leaking at all!

If I had taken my car into them and had the RMS replaced (per their est) do you think they would have discovered they made an error in their diagnosis and just fixed the cam seals?

 

It's your car. Maintain it. If it needs repairs, you pay for them. If it breaks, you fix it. It's really just yours and your fault and your responsibility.

If you were living under the assumption that everything is somebody else's fault, then change your assumptions. It's not always somebody else's fault. Your car is your responsibility.

 

It boils down to the fact that I was told the timing belt was done(I bought the car with 122k so it made sense) it is a big dealership I had no reason to think they were playing games..I think they really thought it was done...I'm not trying to get anything for free from them just to honor their word, I would.
Either way the Process is still goin on..they still think it was done and they are coming to my house to look at it again today.. I was naive by not asking for documentation on the timing belt but will learn from it
We'll see what happens

 

... the fact that you can hope that you can trust someone at a car dealer, ... but I wouldn't, based on my life experiences...

signed, older and wiser..

 

On a 10 year old car. LOL

 

They finally agreed to do the job that they promised me was done years ago..for the price of the timing belt parts which they get for260$
The regular quote for the job was $700 so they will do the labor for free
Turns out the dealer I was talking with didn't bring this issue to the service manager till 10 days after I complained-probably why it took so long..but the service manager was very professional.

I still believe it should have been done for free but Im tired of waiting..
Thanks for the input guys

 

You're still pretty lucky. How long your guy took to go to the service manager wasn't the issue. The service manager wasn't the decision maker. The sales department was. They set money aside from each used car sale into their "policy" fund and pay for these type of goodwill adjustments out of that money. The service (and or part) manager may or may not have cut the used car department a deal. Worthiness of your claim usually has little bearing on whether or not you get taken care of. Persistence does. Still a very cheap lesson. Trust, but verify.

 

For what it's worth, I would write to Volvo AB in Sweden.

True story:

A couple I knew well and whose hubby was dying with cancer had all kinds of trouble with the Bayer Company in US.
When he died, disability stopped, pension did not start and no life insurance.
She called me desperate.
I found the Director of Investor Relations in Bayer AG and sent him an e-mail in German with all the facts and talking about how shamefully she had been treated.

Within 5 days Bayer AG- Germany sent a guy from the Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh to her doorstep in Houston with a check for $ 730,000 and a piece of paper saying she was satisfied. Her lawyer read it and she signed it.

Now she gets her pension and the Bayer America people are scared s**tless when she calls the number they gave her in case of questions.

Sometimes you gotta shame them.

How would Volvo AB Sweden feel if you sent a letter or an e-mail? An air mail letter with an e-mail address inside would do the trick, followed by a tweet if you get nothing. Just be careful not to insult anyone. Talk about lack of honesty of the LOCAL dealer sales force. That will p**s off the Swedes and they will do something. And they will start watching that dealer.
So while you're at it, ask for all the records on that car that you can find. Volvo keeps those too, but you might have to pay something.


Send your concern in an envelope marked Personal and Confidential to this guy:

Mr. Joachim ROSENBERG
AB Volvo
SE-405 08 Gothenburg, Sweden

Be polite and have someone check the spelling etc. before you send it.

You might be surprised at the reaction, because no one ever takes this effort and when someone does, it scares people like the ones that treated you so badly.

Good luck!

 

I had a problem with the Volvo 960 service records, which the loocal manager didn't want to help me with.

I ended up e-mailing the owner of the Volvo dealership, who owned 5 others. He called me and had someone check up on my question.

Bottom line: my 960 is overdue for a timing belt change!

But at least I know for sure!