searching the internet shows numerous parts dealers, who do you guys trust for quality parts? i would prefer to pay a extra for quality parts that will fit properly & Last.
thanks all.

I add my vote for IPD and FCP Groton, both very professional.

In the eBay "don't go there" department, I had a bad experience from an outfit from New York that calls itself Deutschepartsusa. It is my fault as well, I looked for the cheapest crank pulley replacement, and that is exactly what I got. Although they advertise it as an OEM part, and it had some gobbledigook in German in the bag, I highly suspect it is an oriental knockoff. After I had removed the old failed pulley, and put the new one in place, I found that the holes in the new pulley were too small, so the tool to hold it still would not fit. Fortunately I had read about the "rope trick" and that is how I tightened it.

Charlie
'85 245
'88 244

I like Brentwood Volvo in St. Louise, they give a discount to out state mail orders, and the guys at the parts counter are helpful, they will even ask a mechanic if you have a hard question. And its all Volvo parts

for used I've had very good luck with the RevolvStore in Arizona.

I do not usually focus on the negative, but in order to help other Brickboarders...I recently had a very difficult time with VLV World.com. I was billed for the part I ordered and the part never showed up. My e-mails were not answered until the third time and they don't have a phone where you can talk to a person. I finally received an e-mail that they are refunding my money through paypal. This process took over one month. Very poor customer service.

I live in Portland, Oregon - and am fortunate to have IPD 10 minutes away and a Volvo dealership parts counter about 5 minutes away. I have had good luck with eBay for some cosmetic stuff, and have had really good luck with people parting out cars on CraigsList. I get to come see the car and pick the stuff I need/want and maybe pick up a spare, too. We purchased my girlfriend's 1985 240 wagon 6 months ago, and with some patience and attention to detail, the car looks almost showroom new. Lots of new little bits that didn't cost much, but make a huge difference in overall appearance and performance - all for much less than a few new car payments.

I like to check a few placed (IPD, Volvo Dealer, FCP Groton, CraigsLIst), then decide how much my time is worth and how much I really want to spend. We want to keep this car for a long time, so we see these parts as investments.

Another option is Voluparts.com (Atlanta, GA). I've used them with success over the years. Parts are Volvo. Many times I have the choice of new or used. Most recently, I purchased a rear trailing arm. I didn't need a new one, afterall, who is going to see it and the quality is the same as a new TA. I had crushed my own trying to press out the front bushing. In the phone conversation, I asked about the condition of the front bushing. He had it right in front of him, said it was great and without any delay it was in the mail and on my doorstep in two days. He was right, I kept that bushing - worked for me.

Mike
--
'83 245 GLT, '90 760 GLT

www.getvolvoparts.com
will bring you to tasca volvo, cheapest volvo parts i have found without the vcoa club membership.
at this point if i plan on keeping the volvo i use about 85 percent volvo parts.
good luck with most aftermarket parts, most are poor quality.
fcp groton can get volvo brand parts at a decent price if you ask for volvo parts.
you can save money on cheap parts but you will be replacing them much sooner.
good luck
Mike

I have purchased from every vendor mentioned in this thread through the years and have nothing but good things to say about them - with the exception of eBay. Be careful there.

The vendor who gets most of my Volvo/BMW parts business is Autohaus, because they have a very complete inventory that they ship same-day with near-zero errors, price is always competitive, and they identify the brand of every part. I don't buy from internet vendors who don't identify brand names.

The Volvo name on a part is not an absolute guarantee of great quality.

That was true even back when Volvo cars was owned by Volvo. All of us own cars with plastic interior parts that are biodegrading as we drive, and the newer Volvos are worse.

When the original water pump failed on the '87 245 at 75k miles, we priced one at the Dealer, then went to NAPA and paid 1/3 as much. The NAPA pump is still doing fine 150k miles later. In fairness, however, my experience with NAPA brake rotors was not so good.

"The Volvo name on a part is not an absolute guarantee of great quality."

Maybe not absolute, but in 40+ years I've never got a bad one, speaking of Volvo-specific mechanical parts. Or even plastic that I can recall.

Anything else except OEM (OE Manufacturer, current or former) has proven to be a crap-shoot, in my experience.

With OE parts at a 15% mark-up plus shipping (Tasca) or at a 20% discount with free shipping (Beechmont-VCOA), why gamble on aftermarket quality?

I had very good luck with this place. Good prices and parts (Tune-up) arrived in 2-3 days.

http://www.myeuroparts.com/

Erie Volvo has a good selection of used parts with a good price and great warranty.

www.erievovo.com

steve

PS- any experience with parts from Ebay?
--
RCA

I have purchased a few things off ebay. A lot of the Ebay stuff is from FCP Groton or from Junkers who know Euro cars. You will see a lot of SAAB, Beamer, and VW parts listed with the same buyer on the Auto Recyclers. There is this guy up in Canada that lists almost every single part as rare. Some of them are rare but most are pretty common, after you look for a while you spot the pattern.

I purchased for a good price a pusher fan off and a 5 bar oil gauge off ebay. Both were good buys but took a while to find. I would not want to put a needed repair in the hands of a EBay purchase however. Use ebay to add little upgrade or hard to find part.

If I need a part right away, PUP, Local Euro House Auto parts, FCP or IPD. And that is based on price, need, and convince. For gauges sending units and fittings the best place seems to be egauges.com.

Good Luck,

Paul

I've had pretty good experience getting bits from eBay. We actually bought our 1987 245 on eBay!

I've bought quite a few used bits on eBay... some new ones too... just be careful to research things and know what you're getting. Lots of junk out there.

-Ryan
--

Athens, Ohio
1987 245 DL 314k, Dog-mobile
1990 245 DL 134k M47, E-codes, GT Sway Bars, GT Braces
1991 745 GL 300k, Regina, 23/21mm Turbo Sway Bars
Buckeye Volvo Club

The others have listed the favorites of most on the list. Word of advice: When in doubt, don't be afraid to ask BrickBoarders about the quality of a part from a given manufacturer. Some parts are the same thing that Volvo gets and puts their name on it and charges more for. This is what people call OEM, or original equipment manufacturer. Like a Bosch distributor cap. Same part that you get from Volvo.

Some parts manufacturers aren't OEM, but are equal in quality, good enough, or a different flavor of the same thing. Shock absorbers are typical example.

Some parts simply suck from a given manufacturer. Rubber bushings are a classic example. Mysterious rubber parts are almost certain to fail on you in the short term.

In short, it's better to ask or research a part a little bit before wasting money, time, sweat, and blood on a part that turns out to be sub par.

-Ryan
--

Athens, Ohio
1987 245 DL 314k, Dog-mobile
1990 245 DL 134k M47, E-codes, GT Sway Bars, GT Braces
1991 745 GL 300k, Regina, 23/21mm Turbo Sway Bars
Buckeye Volvo Club

Parts:

you should check all of them for pricing & completeness of parts to finish a job....you cannot rely on any local outfits to stock anything for 240s

iPd
[about 1/2 from iPd, a feature I likeon this website you can create an account for each car and shop for parts, and store your parts into "baskets" which you can then order at any time. you can set up and name the baskets by repair job. it's handy to print out and make a shopping comparison chart....order free paper catalog...has good info...everybody in sales is great...]

FCP Groton
[about 1/2 from these guys, tend to be less $ than iPd, and on the east coast so shipping is cheaper & faster for me...also a wider selection of odd parts, and soem that others don't carry...and Nick B is super to deal with...]

eEuroparts
[free shipping for orders over $40 - but you have to check against other for "delivered" price...i use them for Saab parts mostly]

TASCA Volvo
[dealer that sells parts at reasonable prices - for when you need OEM Volvo part...Tony M is the man up there]

also used Autohauz AZ once, but they turned out to be a WorldPac distrib and I can do better locally because we have a WP dist center here in Raleigh, so shipping is free [thru my Saab indy...lol]

HTH,
Have Fun

edit: although NAPA does have online sales, I do drive up...haven't purchased much from them, but I did get rotor, cap & plug wires from them...actually better stuff than Bosch and an 8mm silicone plug wire set for a great price...if you have AAA you get a discount


--
89 245DL M47 310K+mi no rust

One exception to this rule might be for rebuilt brake calipers and the like. No empirical evidence to say whether Napa/Autozone/Etc are any better or worse, but for same day or next day availability, I'd say your odds of getting good parts are very similar to the mail order houses.

Zach
Anchorage, Alaska
1990 245 w/265k miles and two brand spanking new bullseye crack in the windshield (first in 3 years in AK - previously more or less unblemished) after driving too close to a tour bus down the Seward Highway this weekend. GRR!

FCP Groton: http://www.fcpgroton.com

IPD: http://www.ipdusa.com

Both speak Volvo and have good websites. There are some that will rail on the FCP new layout. The old one was easier to use.

Used both more than 5 times each for orders from $10 to $600, had a minor issue with parts quality quickly resolved. Parts were shipped promptly and orders were accurate. Humans answer the phone and know what they are selling and what you need.

You can trust both.

Regards,

Paul

I am having problems with VLVworld-Paid with paypal.I get no reply to emails,no confirmation on my order and according to their website the Parts are in Chicago.I am a 2 hour drive from there.I ordered the parts on July13th and I still dont have them. 4 emails to their customer service and NOTHING.I have ordered from Lampsandlenses and had fast delivery and service.I am waiting for the dispute to be resolved and I will try Ipd or FCP.All this BS for some 55.00 worth of bushings.