I recently bent the power antenna on my 2000 C70 convertible, right where it meets the car. I had scheduled some unrelated warranty work at the dealer anyway, so I asked them to fix it, assuming I'd pay for a new mast and a small-but-still outrageous labor charge.

I was stunned when the service writer called me to tell me that, unlike most models, this model did not allow just the mast to be replaced -- and that it would cost a little over $300 (evenly split between parts and labor) to replace the whole unit.

Can this be true? And if it is, how difficult is it to replace the entire unit myself?

On a slightly different but related subject, I have been very disappointed to be unable to find service manuals for this car. I went to the website given my by the Volvo dealer, and found that I could "subscribe" to an online service for hundreds of dollars per year. Is there no way to buy a service manual, or a third party (e.g., Haynes) manual?

..Howard

Hi,

I had my antenna snapped off twice...both times by the rear spoiler I installed on my car. The first time, I made the mistake of taking it to the dealer. The work was about $130.00 (mostly labor). The second time, I just bought the mast from the dealer and took it to some non-dealer volvo specialist. It turned out to be $50-60...about half and half on part and labor. When I saw the specialist do it, it was pretty easy work. I'm no mechanic, but it seemed easy enough. So I guess that's the best way to go...just buy the part and take it to some shop. It might not even have to be a volvo specialist...since it's only the antenna mast.

well if u just bent the mast you can yank it out and replace it with a new mast for about $30 i think. if u broke the mechanism that lowers and raises and all that motor crap down in there then i'd actually imagine it would be more than $300. see if u can do it urself by replacing the mast