Greetings- I would really appreciate an experienced look at this repair scenario:

I noticed my 1998 V70AWD is hesitant in shifting, and decide to take it in for a look before I move from NY to DC. It's not slipping out of gear, mind you, just not anting to shift up or down as it should - I'm thinking an actuator or something like that.

Against my better judgement, I brought it to the dealer, and was told "the transmission is shot"... no further explanation. I did not want to bring it to the shop, but I am a soldier and had to report to a new duty station in just a few days. When I asked, he just said "we hooked up the computer to it - it says it's an internal malfunction... long story short, it cost me about $2000 for a used transmission (allegedly w/38K on it). After the tranny was installed, the dealer clled me back and said "More bad news." It seems the reason the transmission wasn't shifting was because the turbo was seized up, so the engine wasn't throwing enough power to the tranny for it to shift. So I ask him "If it wasn't getting enough power, then how do you know the tranny was bad?" to which he just said "the computer said so."

Having moved to DC, Five weeks and over $3000 in repairs later, I flew back to NY to get the car and it seemed to be running fine, except for the fact that on day two, my entire cooling system purged all over a parking lot. I brough it back and the dealer fixed it fast, but told me it was a "non-related" problem... just a coincidence, despite the fact that he had run a pressure check on the cooling system while he had the vehicle, as I had asked him to (to trouble shoot a persistent coolant smell.)

So... Here is my question- How many times and how badly was I screwed here? What do you think the proper recourse is for this kind of situation? I should tell you he discounted the repair bill by 15% (resulting in a total $3200 repair bill) because I had to wait so long, but he had already told me he was discounting it by 10% for being active-duty military!

I am really re-thinking my love of Volvos.

"I am really re-thinking my love of Volvos."

http://www.astroglide.com/

MY big mistake was buying the extended warranty, which welded me to my dealer for the first 100,000 miles. Not ALL the dealers suck, but a lot of 'em sure do, and it's something not just limited to Volvo dealers. I've finally concluded that there are only two rational choices, either buy the car and get rid of it 1000 miles before the warranty expires, OR get it away from the dealer and into the hands of an indy you can trust as fast as I possibly can!

(We also have an Acura and a Honda, and they've needed warranty repairs a grand total of 0 times!)

I still LOVE the Volvo seats and ergonomics, so I MAY still buy yet another Volvo!

-BTC

'98 V70T5 5-speed, 147k mi. IPD stabilizer bars, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, Bilstein HD, V-1, Mobil-1 always

This could have happened no matter what kind of car you have. I am NO expert on any of this but my gut tells me that you got screwed on the tranny. My gut would have told me to tell the dealer that I will "think about it" before authorizing the tranny repair, then take the car elsewhere for a 2nd or even a 3rd opinion. The problem is, it is difficult to know who to trust with transmission work. But maybe, just maybe, you didn't get screwed at all, maybe everything was as the dealer said, how can you know? The other thing is, I would not want a used tranny, I would insist on a remanufactered unit. Anyway, chaulk this up to experience; be more wary before authorizing major work in the future. It is always O.K. to "think it over" and then take it someplace else for another opinion.

Thanks... I feel a little better. Normally, I am EXTREMELY cautious about authorizing any repair (let alone MAJOR repair) on my cars. In this case, however, I had to report to duty right away, and I really had no time to negotiate or shop around. As far as the tranny goes, my big question was whether the sequence of trouble-shooting used by the dealer makes sense. I went with the used tranny rather than the remanufactured one for three reasons: 1. it was $1000 cheaper, 2. it carries a lifetime warranty on parts (1-yr labor), vs. a 1-year warranty (parts and labor)on a remanufactured one, and 3. The remanufactured one would have taken longer to get in stock. At the time this decision came up, I didn't know I would be waiting a month for a turbo!

Thanks again for your response.... duly noted!

did ya have on your car? Your making me nervous about mine with 110K on it! My brothers 98 AWD with 126K needed a new trani and his simptons sounded like yours.

Believe it or not- my car had 126K miles.... almost exactly.

Sorry!

Good Luck!