Anyone know if there's a national database that putting our VIN into will tell the service history.....ie i want to see if the timing belt has been changed on mine.....there's no way i can get a service history on it unless the VIN can be looked up in a database....my local Volvo dealer is an idiot (sells chevy and nissan too, so service dept is crap) and was only able to tell me it wasnt serviced at his shop.

If you do a carfax it will tell you where and when the car was bought. From here, you can find the dealerships in the area, give them the VIN and see what pops up. If that doesn't work, just look at the belt and see the cond., it will cost about 200 bucks and change to replace both drive and timing belt. If you really want to be safe, go ahead and replace the belts.

Hope I helped!!
Costas Kotinopoulos

had same q. too - localdealer here in NY told me "volvo computers don't talk to each other" meaning there is no way to find out if the car was not serviced at that dealership before. they also said that GM computers are connected.

I live in Northern, CA and I bought my 855R from my cousin in LA whose dealer did all the work. The dealer up here had to call LA and ask for the service history over the phone. He had no other way to access it.

Volvo's service dept computers do not talk to each other.
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Nathan Valles, Black 855R, Tint

Unfortunately i wont know where it was at, well maybee i will via carfax. Thanks for the info.

I think there is a registry but it is used to hold recall data.
So, they can tell you if recalls hav been done (but probably not
service history).

New timing belts come with a sticker that is to be affixed on the
timing belt cover. Might poke around under the hood looking for the
sticker.

What year is it?
How many miles does it have?
It is possible to take the cover off and make some judgements as to its condition and probable age. Ask what the dealer would charge for this.
Do you know where the car might have been when the belt was due. In my experience dealers that I have called have shared whatever information that they have. Call other dealers in the area.
If in doubt, change the belt. If you are an ace mechanic the belt does not cost much and is a far easier job than repairing the front end.
Call any other brand of dealer and ask them the same question, perhaps they are all crap, I don,t think that mine is.
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2 8s & 2 7s 600,000 miles total