I own a 1998 Volvo V70 AWD - 94k miles. Every time I take
Carla in for a tune up it comes out acting older and clunkier than when she went in. Mind you, Carla should be a cute, and spunky V70 with lots of guts. I drive her that way.

The last time she went in, the mechanic handed me a list of 'TO DOs' that threw me over the edge. My latest repair replaced the VS170 Broken Spring Seat Bearings (56 CV = $350; 2 8646713 spring seats = $87.10: total $444.72).

Along with the bill, they wrote out a list of things to get done: Front Bevel Gear Leaking - $700, front to rear driveshaft front cv seal blown $800 to replace front cv joint assy or recommend $1150 for new fron tto rear driveshaft, rf engine mount collapsed $280, replaced front upper strut
>mounts. (When I asked, "So what needs to be done right away? Dealer Mechanic said "The front bevel gear is most important; with leak you can never tell when something might cease up." So what does that mean? I'd stop dead in the road?)

Also, how serious is all this stuff? My car sounds like it's hawling a cement
truck. The heavy heaving sounds are all in the front end but only when I'm driving at slower speeds and usually when it's cold. The breaks grind (report says 'front brake ginds when in reverse -- front and rear brake pads appear to be new but not greased also no signs of rotor grind').

What's my next move? Do these prices sound reasonable? I'm not happy with any of the Volvo dealers I've been to in Berkeley and I've checked out four of them. They all have given me back a car that has aged tremendously over the 8 hours they had her.

Thank you so much for your help-
Bonkers in Berzerkeley.

Hi Bonkers,
I've had sporadic luck with McK...... myself.
I do most of my own repairs, except for a leaking bevel gear assembly, which for $530 wasn't worth the trouble.
If I was you, and I really wanted to keep the car, I would deal with the bevel gear assembly first, but I would get an assurance that the unit is in overall good condition before you commit to repairing the leak.
It would be really irritating to invest $700 (reasonable) to repair the leak and change the fluid, and then find out that you were 5000 miles too late, and the whole unit is ruined..$2500 minimum. The growling sounds concern me, especially if they occur all the time, not only just when you're using the brakes.
What I'm getting out of their description is that the brakes are OK, just noisy, which is an all too common issue with Volvos.
The front to rear driveshaft is expensive, but can be had for less from reputable dismantlers. The drive shaft can even be removed from the car, and run without it, but you will lose your AWD capabilities.
The engine mount should be replaced, but again, I wouldn't do it until you find out just exactly how much money it's going to take to get Carla back on her feet again. You could easily spend $5000.
Another thing to consider is whether your mechanic is really looking out for you or not. A thoughtful service advisor would have explained that the front struts had to be removed in order to replace the spring seat bearings, and that it might be a good time to replace them, basically for the cost of the parts, since they're in there anyway. If you need struts any time soon, you'll have to spend another $350 on labor.

Anyway, I'm rambling

Good luck,

Mark

Mark-
Thanks so much for your indepth note. Well, I've been asking myself if I actually want to keep the car. Since you know Volvos, are there other things that will start to go on it besides this list of items? I thought I'd have this car for 150k miles. If 100k is the best I'll do before I've got to rebuild the car, I'll fix what's immediately needed and sell it.

Luckily the grinding noises are only when I brake or when the car is cold. But, I better get the bevel assembly done before it gets too bad.

It sounds like you know Berkeley mechanics. Are you familiar with Walsh Bros on 10th and Harrison? I get mixed feelings when I'm in there. Actually, I haven't been to McKevitt's until this last repair. I got the same estimate from Walsh and thought I'd just take it to the dealer. Could you recommend any of the other local volvo repair shops? I'm desperate to get it fixed but, at your suggestion, want to get a solid, honest read on the work that truly needs to be done.

I hardly go where I need the AWD. Would removing the drive shaft jeopardize the car's integrity? It sounds like it wouldn't. What other issues might come from removing it?

Sorry to be so inquisitive but I can't just take it in for the laundry list of repairs the mechanic thinks I need.

Thanks so much for your expert opinion.
Trish

Trish,
My apologies for leaving you hanging. I had to scroll through the posts to find your message.
The car could easily go 200k with the right TLC. It's really hard to evaluate it without a look see. I'm sorry I can't really recommend another shop. I just don't use them, nor do I know of anybody who has had a consistently good experience. It's no wonder, because auto repair shops are hovering at the top of the complaint list with the BBB.
While I haven't any personal experience with disabling the AWD, (mine works fine) by all accounts there is no downside really. The car cannot detect that the driveshaft is not in place. You may even get a marginal improvement in gas mileage.
I would be willing to look at the car, but I'm at a loss as to how to accomplish that.

Mark

OK, my first reply was a misfire.

First of all, (though I will probably get some slack from other posts), I would NEVER take my car to a dealer unless it was under warranty. You need to find someone who knows volvos that you can trust. You will save much money.

Can't imagine what your car has been through. Some grinding noise my car recently had in the front end was related to a wheel bearing. However I would think that they would have identified this as well for you if that was your problem.

I have a 98 S70 with 130K and it drives like a new car (minus the recent wheel bearing deal).

Also, if you find a non dealer mechanic, you can utilize like new (used parts). I have had good luck with parts off of wrecked cars in the past. This is something that dealerships don't typically deal in. There are nation-wide parts houses that your mechanic can have parts from in a day or two - not to mention his labor should be cheaper than a dealership.

Hope this helps, Thomas

The fact that dealers don't know the cars and can't be trusted isn't always true. The indy Volvo shop around here has screwed up my wifes V70 one too many times. The dealer (North Point Volvo) hasn't screwed up yet, and treats us a whole lot better (they act like they care). They actually let me talk to the mechanics about what's going on with the car, and really investigate areas that I think are troublesome. The car's still under warranty unto 10/31/04, and after that has an extended warranty, but even if it didn't I'd still take it there.

My point wasn't that dealers can't be trusted - it is that my experiance has been they charge more and don't deal in used/ wrecked parts - which might be a good option in many cases (especially for the lady with the mega-problems).

thanks, TB