Bought a 2005 volvo s60 auto with 185k miles for $5000 two weeks ago.(illinois) thought it was a good price but now a know why it was so cheap. Everything seem too work at the dealer.couple bulbs were out but no big deal right? Drove it for a week and notice 1st gear would shift and downshift hard. Sometime when at a stop sign. id press the gas and the car would rev and not move for 4 secounds or so then it would get in gear. being a long time guest on this fourm and swedespeed I knew alot about this car. I knew i needed a new trans, because the tranny fluid was burnt to hell. preious owner probaly never change the fluid because its LIFETIME fluid, but we know thats BS. So I took it too the Stealership...cough cough i mean dealership for a trans fluid change. drain and fill of couse and a diagnostic to see if any thing else was wroung. I was hopeing that or a software update and my tranny would run like new....Nope dealer would not even try to change out the fluid. said it was too late and i needed a new one. He gave me the diagonostic report and said to get rid of the car. i was like why? He said it need $13000k to repair everything. I was shocked. I love the car but thats too much money. I will list the things that need to be fixed and put the dealer price. I need to know how much cheaper i can get these repairs if i go to a private garage. Ballpark estimate. ive decided to repair the vehicle hopefull for half if not less then dealer price. heres the report.
DSBULB- recommended new trann $7,523.71
- All Taillight/headlight and Marker bulbs replaced $220
-New upper engine mount $1400
-Struts $1400 -front stab links $800
-All 4 brakes, tires and alignment. no price but im sure not
Cheap!..
I need too know if those repairs really cost that much or can i get the for a 1/3 of the price at a private shop. Im getting new tranny for $3500 with is half the dealer but i need to know about the others. I plan on putting over 300k miles on this car. Im 20 yrs old so i dont have much experience with car repairs so i dont want to be riped off. Please some advice as i love my car.

 

$1400 for the upper engine mount? That must be a typo. $800 for sway bar links?

 

Do you have full coverage insurance?

 

The best advice I can give you is to never "fall in love with a car". Go to one of the vendor's sites and price out the parts and you will see that the estimates are high. If there is a car club in your area join and learn to do your own repairs. If you have no desire to do your own work then take the money that you would spend on a transmission and find a car with fewer miles. Trying to get 300K miles out of an S60 is going to be an expensive proposition. I totally understand the feelings for the car, my first car was a Triumph TR250 and it was a dog when I got it. Whatever you do, don't take it to a shop that's going to put a junkyard transmission in.

 

Ya those prices are correct. Seems way too high tho. I do have full coverage for now. Im getting a remanifactured Tranny, so crossing my fingures that it will last a long time. Upper engine mount cant cost that much, That seems like a fairly easy fix, maybe and hour and half labor at a shop im thinking. Struts about $300 maybe less. ?

 

Sorry but I work at a dealer and it does not cost $1400 to replace the upper engine mount. It takes 5 minutes to replace so let's round it up and say an hour for labor that would still mean the part would be $1300. Surely they typed it wrong. And insurance would not cover any of the repairs because they are maintence items. Insurance only gets involved if damages occurs to the vehicle like running into a curb or other things like that.

 

I think the insurance question was a joke about ditching the car, but I could be wrong. The motor mount is an easy fix. The struts and sway bar links aren't difficult other than replacing the springs. Find and independent garage in the area. Did you try the local area section of this site? What type of warranty comes with the transmission?

 

Im getting qoutes for the engine mount and struts soon. It would be a 1 year 12k mile warranty on the tranny. The dealer must of been trying to screw me or left something out about the motor mount because he confirmed the price. cant believe they would over charge like that unless he left something out? anyways Im going to shop around to get a great price on the repairs. I know a mech, so he can probaly give me a really good price. I would like to avoid the dealer at all costs now, but is it true that certain repairs can only be done at a volvo dealer. timing belt can be done elsewhere right?

 

There has got to be a misunderstanding with the upper engine mount price. The part is like $85.

What dealer is this?

 

Ya did research and $85 is what i got for the part. dealer did say their was oil pressure build up that would cost $1000( . can see a leak. not sure if that has anything to do with the cost. he said it was not too bad tho?? Idk I think he just wanted me too trade the car in for a newer one in the lot. They offered to take the car off my hands for trade in value towards a new car. Dealer is "International Volvo of orland Park(Illinois). my guess is that they just wanted me to buy a new car. I will post back on the cost of these repairs at a reliable garage. Im just so shocked at the cost from the dealer. I know it needs some work, but what car doesnt at almost 200k miles.

 

Yeah but what I'm failing to see is what the oil pressure build up has anything to do with the mount.

 

DIY will save you so much money. I know a family who hates Volvo because they strictly take it to the dealer and end up paying through the nose. I just did a whole tranny flush today which wasn't difficult for $65 and I already notice the transmission shifts so much smoother.

 

I plan too do some repairs on my own once we get the garage cleaned out. I owned a 850 turbo and currently own a Jeep cherokkee, and their cheap to fix. well the 850 had bad turbo seals and was smoking bad so i sold it and got my money back( i was 16 at the time and had no money for the rebuild so only had the car a couple months. Loved the way the car drove. steering was spot on. The s60 on the other hand is hell to park. turn radius sucks really bad but it drives good. I will only buy jeeps and volvos so i knew repairs would be more, but i need to just shop for the best price and find a quility shop that is alot less then dealer...

 

I don't know much about the Volvo (never owned 1) but if it was me, I would flush the transmission first before investing thousands of dollar on a rebuilt transmission. It took me 15 minutes with 3 and 1/4 qts of Mobil 3309 to complete a partial transmission fluid change for my daughter last week. In your case I would recommend to do a full flush (required around 12 qts of Mobil 3309 or Toyota T-IV) to clean the garbage out.

 

Just to give some input on the transmission flush the Toyota T-IV is about $6/quart. I paid $5.50/quart for a case of 12 cause the guy at the counter was super friendly and gave me a holiday deal. No problems so far but make sure to get new yellow O Rings on the return line, I initially didn't and they leaked at first.

 

Volvo dealers must be the worst dealers, domestic and imports all together.

Two things come to my mind. First, the average customer who has no way to go to a independent garage and ends to the dealer. When such customer spends 10.000$ in repairs for a 40.000$ car, the only thing that comes to his mind is never again. Volvo simply doesn't seem to be aware of this. This brand will soon be history.

The second thing is that the repairs he suggests, are just the point of the iceberg. Even once done, you will see how many little or less little things will show up on a 200k miles car.

On a side note, given the behavior I would suggest have the transmission level checked and reprogrammed. It seems it takes too long to engage, and I believe it's related to software.

 

You can find new engine mounts for 50$ online. I just ordered them a month ago and had a friend install them. I had a new water pump, new timing belt, new serpentine drive belt, two new mounts, my headlights buffed out all for $950. Granted a friend did the work but that should still give you an idea of the cost of parts.

 

Maybe that quoted comment refers to a potential PCV system service that could be needed ???

 

Yes crankcase pressure issue. Valve cover leak. he just looked at the leak and said well thats going to be at least $1000. He said not to worry about it for now as the leak was not bad..

 

I was kinda serious. With the cost of repairs more than twice the cost of the car, it's a thought.

I don't know what I'd do. I would start by watching some YouTube videos to see what repairs I could do myself.

I would also consider a tranny with much lower cost. A tranny from a salvage yard from a wrecked car or car with a blown motor should be ok. Just have to find someone that could install it for $1,500 or less, that would put you under $1,750 for the job. May take some leg work but there are people that know what their doing that can do the job. Ask around. I had a tranny put in my car for $655, used tranny, RMS, seals & fluid. A indi Volvo mechanic done it for me at his shop. That was over 50,000 miles ago and I tow trailers and everything else with my car.