I have an '07 S60 2.5t and I had purchased the prepaid service package ($2700 for 60,000 miles) and I was told I would save money by purchasing this package in advance. I have a few questions:
1) Is there any truth to this?
2) How much should 60,000 miles worth of services cost me anyway? (7500k, 15,000k, 22,500k, 30,000k) x 2 = ?
3) The salesman also said I shouldn't take my car to an independent shop because they don't do the software upgrades, does the dealer charge for these upgrades?

I don't know much about cars, so I can't do anything myself to save me some money, so any info. would be appreciated.

Thanks,

 

Hi speedster77,

I am going to be very direct in my opinion, but others may have different perspectives so judge only after receiving at least a few replies to your questions.

60,000 miles is just before one major service, which is the timing belt, at 70,000 miles (unless '07 S60 has different service intervals). This service, if done at a dealer, would be approx $600 plus/minus (others should have more accurate figures).

Any "additional" service recommended by the dealer (extended warranty, etc...) is 80% of the time worthless. And I believe they only cover for routine services, such as engine oil & filter, coolant, etc... If you have the service details, you may want to post it here to see what people think.

It is best to stick with the dealer for software upgrades. And since you paid the dealer the service fee, they can't cover services done at other shops. I'm not sure if the dealer charges for software upgrades, unless it's a recall item (recall items must be repaired by the dealer at no charge to the customers).

>I don't know much about cars.
This is a formula for disaster. Once a shop finds out you don't have much knowledge, they'll try to sell you all kinds of unnecessary parts & services. I would at least buy a book on cars (just one book) and learn the basics. See if you can find a book that is written easy for you to understand. And make sure that the book covers modern electronic controls, should you decide to buy one.

Good luck, and wait for others' replies.


JPN

 

Agreed... I got ticked off the first time I bought a new car from a dealer. They had me perfectly because I was in a rush to get to work when signing the forms. They slipped in a $1000 extended warranty that basically covered nothing and I never used. I would always be very wary of any "extra" agreements a dealer tries to sellme. They are just trying to cash in. If it was really worth it, they'd be losing money. That means that 90+% of the time they are making money and therefore you are losing money. (Anotherthought if it's a long extended service agreement orpaid as part of a financed loan - the time value of money means that money today is worth more than money tomorrow. So if you pay for it today or worse pay interest on it starting today, the value in the future would be less than today's value.)

 

Uhh... EVERY S60 (and every > 2000 Volvo, AFAIK) has a 105,000 mile service interval for the timing belt. I would probably do mine ~100k but certainly not 70k! Older Volvos did have the 70K interval, though, so I'm sure that's why you're confused.