Hey guys, so I'm still in the process of bringing the S40 I bought up to speed, and my mechanic recommended a fuel injection cleaning as part of the tune-up. How much should I be paying for this job?

On my end, I am thinking of having the cloth door panels re-upholstered in more of a leather-like material. Has anyone had experience with this sort of job? How much should I pay for it? Which material should be used? I just think that a leather panel above the window switches would look a little nicer than the standard cloth. Plus, that cloth tends to loosen up over time and look cheap (before I bought this one, I looked at several S40s with this problem due to age). Mine is a 2008 Volvo S40, 108K miles, in great shape overall.

Oh, one final note: my mechanic also recommended that the spark plugs be replaced. I want to space out the costs of these things over time, so which is more important: the fuel injection cleaning, or the spark plugs?

Please advise when you can. Thanks!

sublimeswell

 

depends on how you want to clean the injectors. easy way is to throw a can of Techron in the tank or run premium fuel for a few tankfuls. You can pull the injectors and give them to a cleaning service for $10 per injector or so and be without your car for a bit. Clogged injectors is not a very common issue. I'd spend my money on the plugs. Normally they get replaced at 75K so if you're not sure when they were done, go for it. A more common issue is the coil packs going after 100K miles.

 

Thanks for the input. I will do the spark plugs then.

Also, I met with the upholstery guy at my shop yesterday and the re-trimming of the doors came to $400 per door plus $80 for materials. Not bad. I spent a few hours choosing the trim, though I think I'm going to wait a while before doing it. At least I know where and with whom to do it when the time comes. Got a pretty cool matching color too!