I have a Certified 2012 S60 (certification runs out in 2018). I got 2 free scheduled maintenance visits with the car and at this point, I have 1 remaining.

My question is: after I use up my free every-7500 mile maintenance, should I continue to go to the dealership for subsequent maintenance visits or is it too expensive to go to the dealership. What I want to avoid is losing my certification coverage because I did not go to a Volvo service center for regular maintenance. Also, any ideas on cost of these regular visits would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
-bobolat

 

By certified I assume you mean CPO. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but only a Volvo dealer can perform Volvo CPO work.

 

The dealer should have a maintenance schedule with cist estimate.

 

Maintaining the car elsewhere won't go void the warranty unless doing so causes a problem. For example, if another shop replaces the spark plugs with the wrong ones, which cause a misfire that eventually damages the catalytic converter, that wouldn't be covered. But if a covered item fails that has nothing to do with it, coverage is the same.

Wherever you go, compare the price of the service versus just having the hard items replaced. In most cases, it is less. Any good tech will inspect the car very well if he wants to make money. So for a 45k service, it is likely less to just have the oil changed and the cabin filter changed as opposed to some "service package".

As for CPO repairs, those must be diagnosed and repaired at a dealership.

One warning- if you service it elsewhere and ever have a major repair needed that CPO does not cover (or when CPO is expired), don't expect any goodwill assistance from Volvo. They are much more willing to help customers who service their car at the dealership. As a technician, I will sometimes go to bat for a customer to help a good customer with a major repair. If I see they only come in for free stuff, I will make it a point to make sure those who make goodwill decisions know that when they come asking for goodwill assistance on a larger repair. More often than not, they get no assistance at all.

 

Would this vary from dealership to dealership? We have 3 Volvo dealerships in this area. Would it help to ask all of them for a quote?

 

Yes. Some add other work to the factory schedule. Some don't follow the schedule exactly. So see what is included in each service and compare costs. A 60k might be more expensive at one dealer than another, but they may be replacing the spark plugs on an engine that has 75k plugs.

 

Makes sense. Thanks!