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Bought a few months ago and went to mechanic for check up. I’m told the suspension is so bad that it is causing the tires to “cup”. I suspect a horrible bill. Can anyone tell me approximately how much a repair like this might cost? I’m a Volvo lover, but no mechanic and it’s standard for women to get ripped off. The car only has 114K miles on it and I thought it was a sweet deal. I took out a small loan to pay for it, so no dumping it.
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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We all have sympathy for you,
Try going on facebook and other social sites to see if you can locate others that might have had your experience - If you have a bunch of witnesses, sometimes you can win your case.
Once my uncle found a buyer for a repair garage and the seller refused to give him the 3% finders fee he was promised. He found two other guys that were promised the same deal. In court he got his 3%.
If it was a new car dealer or a franchise, you might talk to the local or national representative, maybe even the main office. You may have some luck id f there have been other complaints.
At the least, talk to the Better Business Bureau, in some cases, they can get you some relief.
My suggestion would be to get your car serviced at a good Volvo dealer, You could actually hang around outside the service department and ask people if they like the work they get. I like my dealer because I have a wife and two daughters and never had any problems,
Volvo dealers are expensive, mistakes are also.
4 drivers with 80 driver years so far - over 1 million miles on 1 new and 12 used Volvos
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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To all of you who have responded- thank you for your expertise and especially to David's response: I bought it from a dealer when I was between a rock and a hard place; my Saab basically having died. I asked about maintenance, and was given very lengthy CarFax records which showed consistent maintenance and care. As to the timing belt, I was told "Of course, that's standard". They also dissuaded me from taking it to a mechanic, saying that they couldn't let it off the lot for that long, other people were ready to buy as is, and I had the extensive CarFax records, so why would I want to go to all that trouble? (I know, I was totally gaslit and walked right into the bear's den, but it was my first time buying a car from a dealer and I had no one to advocate for me.I know I should have been more vigilant, but I was in a rough spot) So jump to today; my old mechanic is the guy who checked for the timing belt. He also said a lot of the repairs suggested by the SF place were unnecessary and he can do front axles, cv joints and struts for $1600, and the timing belt (first) for $1k. I have found a law firm that specializes in suing dealers who lie to their customers and have filed a report but it's probably a fart in the wind at this point. There are other things that happened related to this dealer that seemed a bit shady also, but right now I'm just hoping the car runs until my guy can pick it up on Thursday. That would really suck...when you look at the amount of chaos and broken things in the world, it's amazing that more bad stuff doesn't happen. I'm just getting my quota of it now.
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Hi _?_,
What state are you in? Many states have lemon laws and the first thing you should do is call your state's attorney generals office. Tell them about the sleazy dealer. Meanwhile the Timing belt is a time bomb at this point.
If it breaks, it damages the cylinder head & valves, and is a BIG expensive job.
Second is to forget your old guy as discussed in previous posts.
It sounds like your old guy is knuckling you with dealer prices.
Good luck, Bill
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Hello B,
So I got the front axles changed, the cv joints,the timing belt and water pump. My 'old guy' charged around $600 for parts and labor on the belt, and that was hundreds less than any other quote I got.This is the San Francisco bay area, after all. Also a brake line was busted. Total came to almost as much as I paid for car,($3400) and I KNOW I was ripped off by the dealer. As far as lemon laws go, I don't have anything in writing saying that the cars maintenance was up to date. Just the CarFax, which showed regular care.And the dealers assurance that it had been well cared for. As I understand it, lemon laws are for cars that have frequent trips to the mechanic. It might be a fraud case, but so far I have been told that I would do better in small claims court.But I should have had it checked out by a mechanic before I bought it_ I was in a bad place emotionally and needed a car right then, and it was SO much money...no excuse really. Still cogitating about it as it's a lot of work and possibly for naught. Funny (not)thing is, the car drives exactly the same!
I have, however, noticed a high pitched whining with acceleration or climbing a hill. And it seems really sluggish, like it's working REALLY hard to get up that hill. Any thoughts on that?
I appreciate all the comments and suggestions I have received- I am slowly becoming more Volvo savvy, however, at great expense!
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Hi __?__,
Let me understand this better.
Your old guy did the T-Belt with parts $600
Those parts were what exactly?
T-belt, water pump, Serpentine belt, tensioner, idler gear,
maybe engine seals.
Did you get two bills? Was the following $2800?
The drive axles include the CV joints
The brake line is a new issue?
Was there a front end alignnment?
The whining noise and sluggish is a mystery that you might ask the mechanics that worked on your car.
Yes, you should have taken the car to a mechanic before purchase for an inspection.
Yes, you should take the car salesman to court for selling a car with
an overdue timing belt job and a front end needing so much work.
Yes, there's a good chance that the car dealer might be responsible for your huge repair bill.
Yes, if you beat a predatory car dealer in court you're providing a public service.
You might ask the judge for additional punitive damages for all the time that dealer wasted for you.
Bill
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Hi,
I would have liked to respond to your post but I’m a 200 series car man and the Brickboard was off line for a few days.
When I first read your thread I wanted to say that that the expensive mechanic was absolutely nuts going after that many repairs, to any car, with only 113,000 miles on it.
If you take an average speed of just 40 miles per hour and divide into the mileage you get less than 3,000 hours of driving time.
If you drove the car around the clock, like in a 24 hour Le Mans, that would only be 117 days and they convinced you the car is supposedly worn out.
Hello?
After a very slow 117 days or hours of normal driving.
I’m sure a Lamborghini might be able finish with one-fourth as many at full throttle.
With as many turns as you would have in town on OEM axles.
It just doesn’t figure in my mind that you needed that much work.
Tire cupping or dips cut out in the tread pattern is caused by the wheel hopping. Therefore is just a shock absorber dampening problem or at least a balance issue. If the tires were really old I might buy into a fatigued tire carcass since it’s a FWD machine doing two jobs up front.
Electric cars wear them tires but they have a reason for it.
They can still get 50-60k each.
Do you have records for the number of tires being put on the car? There should be a record of tire renewals in twenty five years.
At least three sets if the seven year change out is followed to the letter by reputable shops or dealers.
That is if Car Fax actually was worth anything? I’m skeptical of any being even close to accurate.
Not everyone participates trust me!
I change my own tires to stay away from fast and young shoddy tire busters!
Some don’t even know how to put wheel covers back on.
It’s all about big rims for show!
As far as the whine and being sluggish I have to ask if it was that way before the timing belt work?
In my mind you would have not purchased the car if it was during a test drive.
What you say?
Can you say that the whine is coming from only the engine because under a driving load or acceleration that doesn’t seem right either. Axles and the CV joints are sold as sets for each side anymore and are usually cheaper that way.
You may never know if you got economy or an OEM that are overpriced.
I’m sorry to say, You might paying deeply for this lesson in buying a used car
Inspect the old parts as they come off with any mechanic. Be from Missouri “the show me state.”
I’m starting to feel like this car has far more miles on it than the dealership says!
It hard to imagine a vehicle wearing out in a few months of less than a Le Mans.
It must be at least twice that amount or was used as a UBER on back roads in maybe Mexico.
This car was made in the last century.
Did it look like it was kept in a garage as far as the interior goes.
I’m just as scared as you, in what bought too!
The next trick is getting the good information and the work you need done in today’s labor atmosphere of money grabbing.
You might have to become more self reliant with different forums to gather up the right mind sets as they can be helpful.
I commend your efforts.
Phil
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Hi Phil,
Maybe you're right about the mileage.
Looking at The Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) for S70
Port A7 Instrument Cluster
Modes 5 & 6 include
112 Odometer
114 Odometer Manipulation time
Maybe a Chain Auto store can read that for free?
If not certainly a Volvo dealer will do it, maybe for a fee.
If she discovers the odometer has been tampered with she's got
the used car dealer in the soup.
Cheers, Bill
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Look up a few repair garages in your area - drive by, the ones with a full lot are good candidates to get an estimate
A large, private tire shop is also a good possibility - as the other poster mentioned, my tire shop is where several repair shops send their cars for alignment - an alignment shop will check for problems in the suspension, an alignment won't work on a car with suspension problems.
Look and see how neat the shop is.
How did you buy the car - if it is a private sale, you should have had a mechanic check it out
If it was any kind of a dealer (new or used) there should be some kind of law in your state - like if it doesn't pass inspection for a safety reason, the dealer must fix the car.
My Volvo dealer charges one hour's labor to check a car out. Cheap insurance.
For instance - upon inspection my dealer fpund a leaking vaucume pump and said that the brake pads did not meet properly with the rotors. The Kia dealer sent the car to his Lincoln branch, installed a new vacuume pump, changed the front rotors, smoothed out the rear rotors and installed new pads all around. Probably $500 work, and we had already agreed on the price of the car.
Good luck
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Thank you for your informed response.The fancy SF tire shop wanted to replace pretty much everything including tires and hadn't finished their estimate by the end of the day where it stood at $4500. I contacted my old reliable mechanic (who had moved away) and he said the only things needing replacement were the front axles,cv joints and struts. Also found out that, contrary to what I was told, the timing chain had not been replaced for 16 years. Good thing the mileage is 113k. Fancy shop hadn't even gotten to that. So now I'm looking at about $1600 for axles, cv joints and struts. Timing chain another $1k. This done by my old and reliable mechanic who I am now willing to drive an hour to see.This is gonna hurt but I am hoping this car will be a reliable (and fun!) car for quite a while. Thoughts?
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Did your old mechanic actually inspect the car? If not, it may not need some of the parts. The struts and/or tie rods sound more likely, but without a look and shake, who knows. If it drives straight, save up for the fix if it's a big number.
I'm with BB on the timing belt. Volvo Cars recommends changing the belt based on either mileage or date in-service. In your case it's 70k miles or 15 years. The rubber can become brittle and brake, as it ages. Do that first. They also change the tensioner and roller guides. Because its time consuming to remove these parts, they may suggest a water pump, since that's how to get it out when time comes.
Do the timing belt first thing. That's the most important problem. Here is a link to read.
www.swedespeed.com/threads/s70-and-850-timing-belt-failure.33785/
The S70 is a great car. These repairs are normal wear and tear items. You can easily drive this car forever, if routine maintenance is followed. Remember its cheaper than a new one and more fun to drive. The S70 is like a time machine. Enjoy!
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Hi David,
Nice post.
I'd add a new serpentine belt, and maybe a new crank seal to your
list, and check the lower motor mount that is a high mortality item.
She should have them verify the drive axles ahead of time and confirm
what needs replacements from that evil list that she started with.
It would be better to know up front what needs to be done after inspection,
that I assume she didn't have done when she bought it.
Yes! the S70 is worth restoring, better than any crap made in USA or Asia.
Bill
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Hi,
What's an SF tire shop?
Sounds like you walked into the garage from hell.
Is that SF= Frisco? What's your location?
Maybe someone can chime in with a good independant Volvo shop for you.
Do some checking around to find a qualified and honest garage as mentioned in earlier posts.
Your S70 has a timing belt not a chain. If it breaks it does major damage to
the engine resulting in a ugly repair bill you don't need.
While you're asking around, get a quote for a new timing belt.
If it's never been changed at 114K it's a miracle that it hasn't snapped and killed your engine.
Did you buy this car from a dealer? If so you might have the dealer pay for the job. Did you get any service records when you bought it?
Ask around and spend the time to find the right shop.
Bill
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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Hi _?_,
All you need to do is ram your front wheels into a high curbstone and you
can raise heck with the front end.
It's standard for every gender to get ripped off. :-)
If you buy a used car be prepared to sink some loot into it
for deferred maintenance items.
I suggest you ask around some local garages or body shops near you
to see where they send their cars for front end alignment. Then go there.
It is likely not some national chain store.
There are wear and tear items: Ball joints/tie-rod ends,
strut mounts, end links, the list is extensive. Don't give up on the S70!
It's a fine car worth sinking some $$. A front end alignment specialist
should find this stuff and give you an estimate.
Without parts a 4-wheel alignment is maybe $85/90, and they'll tell you what you need.
Did you get the maintenance records for your car? Pay attention to when the timing belt needs changing. Use only full synthetic oil, change it yourself to save loot and be sure the car gets the quality oil it needs.
Good luck, Bill
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posted by
someone claiming to be
on
Wed Dec 31 18:00 CST 1969 [ RELATED]
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First of all, check that your tire pressure is set correctly. Second what part of the suspension do they say is worn? Hard to estimate without more information. Is this mechanic an independent Volvo shop? Get an estimate from a reliable independent Volvo shop prior to taking the word of a Firestone or Goodyear shop.
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