I recently got into my 1998 V70 which, two months earlier, had gone through an expensive 75k check at the dealership. On my way to the grocery store I noted that the front driver's side wheel was making an ungodly noise so I turned right around, headed home and had my husband drive the car around the block. He, too, thought the car shouldn't be driven again until Volvo had a chance to look at it. The dealership could/would not schedule me for at least a week, would not give me a loaner etc. so I managed to get it to a local garage where the technician told me the front driver's side wheel was almost off the car by the time I arrived. It turns out the Volvo logo nut in the middle of the hubcap had fallen off (the other four nuts had not and were difficult to remove), the tire was close to doing the same thing, the axel was broken and the rotor was damaged. All in all, an $1800 repair bill on the heels of a $900 75k standard check in June. Upon looking in my garage I found the nut lying on the floor. I hadn't hit anything with that side of the car and my kids aren't in the habit of trying to losen the nuts on the tire - not that they would have been able to since the oldest is 8.

I'm losing faith - I've gone through two sets of rear rotors in one year (Volvo balked at having to pay for the second set as I didn't feel I should since they only had about 15,000 miles on them and the warranty was one week past due only because the dealership couldn't fit me in earlier) and other expensive repairs that seem to crop up out of nowhere. Is 75,000 miles alot for a 1998? Should I be expecting more expensive repairs? Anyone know of a good mechanic just west of Phila. that isn't a Volvo dealer? This may not seem like much but I've been through other repairs with this car - some my fault and some which appear to reflect design flaws in the car (cracked radiator due to parking curb - the car seems to sit very low; broken cup holders which are $60 a pop to replace; tailgate latches which don't function).

fjdale