I am regretting buying this car: Leaky boots, terrible (ongoing, never diagnosed) screech in super wet/snowy conditions, expensive 60,000 mile check, and NOW the transmission is failing fast, oil is leaking, the bushings need to be replaced, the breaks need to be done, and I need a new timing belt. When the dealer called to tell me what they found, he asked if I was sitting down, before he gave me the terrible news! Perhaps, I am lucky that at 117,500 miles I haven't had catastrophic engine damage since the owners manual said replace the timing belt at 120,000 miles, but the service records/maintenance service operations says 105,000 miles. Either way, upon seeing the TRANSMISSION SERVICE URGENT light come on, i brought into the dealership, and they said I am looking at $10,000 to fix everything, and it is only worth $1,000 as a trade in! I don't know much, but I am sure it is worth more in parts that $1,000. What do I do?? I bought it for $19,000 in Feb of '08 with 62,800 miles. I probably paid too much then, and now I could be buying it all over again. I live in western WA, and I am really depressed about this. I feel like it still has more life in it, but this is a huge set-back. I could probably find other places than the dealership to do the work and have it cost me less, but even $5,000 to do everything seems like so much. ANY advice would be appreciated...
Emily
Ps. I learned that many of the same models just like mine have had transmission problems that Volvo HAS paid for, but they won't cover the cost of mine because I have too many miles, and apparently they consider a car/transmission that makes it to 100,000 acceptable.

 

Emily - take a deep breath...it's not THAT bad (but it's not good either).

Yes, a 2003 with 117K miles, Volvo NA will most likely not be willing to offer assistance with the transmission repair. But the "Transmission Service Urgent" light does not always mean you need a new transmission right then...we squeaked out 24,000 out of our T6 with a few transmission fluid flush/changes (expect $300+ at a dealer for this). This MIGHT help.

$1000 as a trade is highway robbery...yes, the trade value is not great, but PLEASE. With a working transmission you should expect around $6000...maybe...if everything else is good. Try the Auto Trader guaranty trade in for an idea.

My advise is to do the repairs that are needed to keep the car on the road (not the transmission or timing belt) and start looking for another used or new car if you can afford it. Even replacing the transmission with a new unit will not get you much more (if any) added trade value given your mileage and T6's poor history.


2005 XC90 T6 AWD 103,000 (new trans @ 99,000) for sale but who wants a T6?