Hi,

I am trying to help my girlfriend sell her 2006 S40, it has roughly 42,000 miles on it. A prospective buyer had it checked out at a volvo affiliated service center and they recommended the following repairs were due. I'm a bit skeptical of their pricing and recommendations as they are not doing this for my girlfriends benefit but themselves and the purchaser.

1. Recommend wiper blade replacement $45
2. Recommend change rear brake pads wear down to 20-25%. $165
3. Recommend flush transmission with synthetic fluid $240

I have a feeling that these can be done a lot cheaper elsewhere if necessary and I'm sure the buyer will try to use this to lower the price. This car has had all recommended services done and had been well taken care of.

I would appreciate your comments.

 

1. Wiper blade price is absurd for OEM. I paid about that much for PIAA silicon wiper blades.

2. The dealer will always charge more for this sort of thing. Call a few all purpose brake shops around town, should be cheaper.

3. I'm not sure about this last one, it seems like with that low of mileage it really shouldn't need it yet. Did they say anything about the color being other than red or smelling burnt?

 

It is a used vehicle. Buyer will offer what he/she feels it is worth to attain, not to say you will sell it at that price. Let the new owner do the repairs and maintenance at their shop of choice. Accurate and complete car history is all you need to provide to be a responsible seller.

 

All they mentioned was that they noticed the transmission fluid was dirty !
I heard of some concerns where flushing the transmission can cause more problems than it solves due to loosening up gunk etc.
I checked the Pennzoil website, they charge $90 for a tranmission flush would this be equivalent, do they use cheaper crappier fluid ?

 

What I would do is tell the person who's interested in it that it is a used car that you are selling and these issues go with the car. That's really nothing to worry about. No real "problems" that NEED to be fixed. It's only $400 worth of random stuff.

That's not really something that would be the sellers responsibility. Now if the transmission needed replacement, that would be an issue.

 

Thanks for the advice, I'm just trying to figure out how much of a realistic 'discount' the buyer will look for when negotiating the final price based on the recommended repairs.

BTW I have a feeling we share the same last name

 

Give 'em $150 off and call it good.
None of that stuff is urgent or even really necessary. (I wouldn't even call them repairs)
The dealers are ALWAYS going to give you a list of stuff that "needs replacing." Especially things like brake pads and wipers that are easy for them to do, but make them money.