I feel obliged to warn off fellow brickers to this dealership. I don't know how many of you are in California, but this might be one to keep away from. It seems like this lady could use a hand Volvo...
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/20/video-disgruntled-volvo-owner-starts-blog-crafts-lament-in-her/

See her whole story here:
http://www.rusmackedvolvo.com

I like her "spunk", but she needs help. While the dealer is not up to standard, her Indie isn't either. She has a long road to go down and I wish her luck.

If there is a headgasket leak, a compression test is warranted. If the heater hoses are leaking, show her the leak and do a pressure test on the cooling system.
The replacement tranny is broken??? The dealer needs to stand up for that one.

Klaus
--
Proud owner of a 220S. If I had more room, I would have more Volvos.

I completely agree. A compression test would put these guys in their place pretty fast, and I don't understand why her indie didn't do that for her.

Leaking heater hoses should be very easy to see, and also a risky thing to leave as they could leave you with no coolant in a hurry.

Also a trans should last a long time. I would be thinking either they put a used one in the first time or they f@#$ed the job up and that's why it has failed. Either way they need to stand behind that one.

I also think, however, shame on Volvo NA for not helping this lady out. I would think Volvo NA would have a vested interest in hunting down these rotten dealers and either getting rid of them or selling them to someone who wants to run them properly.

My experience with Volvo NA, at least during the Ford era, was that once your warranty has run out, you are scum, something that doesn't generate profit so is thereby wasting their time. I'll never buy a new Volvo until a new corporate owner reorganizes the North American organization and returns to respecting the customer's interests. Remember the fiasco with the ETMs on the 1999-2000 cars?

haha check this one out too.

When I first heard of her story on Autoblog I went the rusnak volvo website and left a note for them informing them that the story was reaching wider attention in the online media and to perhaps lend a hand prompting them to give her some attention.

I never thought they would write BACK to me!

Dear Client.

 

Freya has received a complimentary transmission at 86000 mile on her 2001 vehicle and now wants another one at 100000 at no charge. The cost is over 5000 dollars.

 

Would you pay it this ridiculous request?

 

"Please reserve judgments till both sides of a conflict have been heard"

 

Thank You .

Yohan Haddad

General Manager

Rusnak | Pasadena Volvo

Office: (626)-229-6776

Main: (626) 577-6661

2025 E. Colorado Blvd

Pasadena, CA  91107

www.rusnakonline.com

Haha I don't know why I'm sticking my nose into this one so much but after I was done sending a message to the shady dealership I also sent a note to Volvo NA via their website.

Again I was not expecting a response, but guess what happened! They wrote me back!

Hello Joel,

 

Please continue to watch Freya's story.

 

I'm sure she will update everyone as we work through this.

 

We consider our owners family, and we do not ignore family.

 

Thank you for writing in!

 

Drive Safely,

 

Bill Casey

I guess maybe hahas come in threes too?

Freya received a phone call from Bill Casey at VC NA not long after I received the email he sent me.

Here is her post about this:
http://rusmackedvolvo.com/2009/11/21/update-call-from-volvo-corporate-office/

I certainly won't claim to have caused Bill Casey to act on this case all by my one little email, but maybe the combined efforts and wider exposure of the story helped out?

I can say one thing - a good outcome in this story will renew some of my faith in this company. If only they would reprimand the dealer....

Freya's car was inspected by Volvo corporate's engineers. It's an interesting addition to the story. It seems like Bill Casey (customer care rep VCNA) has really stepped up to the plate:
http://rusmackedvolvo.com/2009/12/12/debriefing-from-volvo-part-1/#comment-299
--
1998 V70 AWD->FWD Turbo 200k+

Just wanted to update folks here. Freya's car has been reviewed by Volvo and they have told her about everything that is wrong with it and how they're going to fix it and how they're going to pay for (most) of it.

I think VCNA should be congratulated for dealing with this situation when her dealer was unwilling to do so.

http://rusmackedvolvo.com/2009/12/15/debriefing-from-volvo-part-2/
--
1998 V70 AWD Turbo 195k+

Freya has posted some info about her initial conversation with Bill Casey regarding her case.

Thankfully it seems she is seeing that this is more of a dealer abuse problem than it is an issue of a crap car. I think she probably has a good car, but her dealer is not championing her the way they are supposed to.

Read her initial round of advice from Bill Casey at Volvo NA here:
http://rusmackedvolvo.com/2009/11/24/breaking-news-update-from-volvo/#comments

actually I think we should all take 2 minutes and send a letter to volvo na's website as Freya suggests. It will only take a minute of your time. And honestly if you were in trouble like this wouldn't you want fellow brickers to get behind you?

http://rusmackedvolvo.com/2009/11/19/letter-to-volvo/