I thought it might be helpful to report my recent experience with holding Volvo's feet to the fire regarding their "Lifetime" replacement mufflers.

A half dozen years ago, when I tried to get a new OE mid-muffler from a dealer, I was told that it was NLA as a separate part and the only way I could buy it was as part of a cat-back kit (mid-muffler, intermediate pipe, muffler, tailpipe plus all the hardware). I was getting the friendly price at the dealership which was less than I would have to spend for an aftermarket Stala kit, so, I bought 3 of them.

When I opened the first box, I didn't like what I saw. The OE kit had an over-the-axle style intermediate pipe/mid-muffler and I had many painful memories from 20 years before of that type of pipe run. But, we all know that nothing lasts like an OE Volvo exhaust system, or so I thought.

I mounted the pieces and sent my daughter off in the car. After a few years, the car home to roost. Then, predictably, that wretched mid-muffler outlet elbow sheared off - after only 14 Kmi.!

More than a little perturbed, I called the dealer to get a replacement. When the parts guy realized I was trying to exercise a "Lifetime" warranty claim, he told me that there was no such thing. He said NO Volvo muffler EVER had a lifetime warranty and he's been selling Volvo parts for FIVE whole years.

After a bunch of verbal jockeying, he said that if I could fax him a Volvo document which states there is a lifetime warranty on the muffler, then he would submit it to his district service manager. I guess he figured he had heard the last of me with that one, but what he didn't know was that I had a copy of Volvo's "Quick Reference Parts Catalog" and at the top of the page showing the exhaust kit was the following statement: "Limited Lifetime Warranty only on muffler".

The rest is history. I had to fax him the referenced page from the catalog, take him the queefed out muffler and wait a couple of weeks, but I did get a replacement under the terms of the warranty.

The next time should be easier.

Rich - Near Pittsburgh

Along the same warranty lines.....you all may recall my recent dealings with a full set of 4 Boge/Sachs Automatics that after 150K on my '86 240 sedan had lost their umph to rebound. I had kept all my paperwork and receipts that had showed they were under a lifetime warranty at the time with no mention of limititations. Dealing with a rep at Boge, they replaced all 4 without any grief
or heartache on their part. Always pays to keep documentation. BTW, the replacement shocks' warranty is specific to 1 year unlimited mileage. Works for me.

"BTW, the replacement shocks' warranty is specific to 1 year unlimited mileage."

From what I know and have experienced, Bob, as long as you are the original purchaser, still alive and still own the car for which the shocks were originally purchased, the terms of the "Lifetime" warranty remain in effect on the replacement part. A company can't change the warranty which they gave YOU when you purchased the item regardless of their revised policies.

I've argued this point with parts dealers more than once and I have always prevailed. You might have to be persistent and work your way up the corporate feeding chain, but they know you are right. As long as you have the documentation, they will have to perform as they had agreed to at the start and replace the "Lifetime" warrantied part.


Rich - Near Pittsburgh

Click the thumbnails for full resolution pages (about 3mb each).

Congrats on your perseverance and the warranty success. Curious though about the 'limited lifetime warranty' wording. Hmmm...seems like that term 'limited' in there gives the dealer an easy out. Did they give you any hassle over that at all? You got me really curious what the term includes and how they'd choose to exercise it...

Some parts guys like to focus on that wording and use the term "Limited" to tack on all sorts of provisos to the warranty. Many times I've had to explain to them that in this case "Limited Lifetime" means that the warranty coverage is "Limited" to the "Lifetime" of the original purchaser.

Invariably, when these guy check with the their gods of parts warranties, they find out I am correct.

One thing though, you damn well better have the original receipt AND something with the words "Limited Lifetime". Even in this world of cheap bytes by the pound, original warranty disclosures seem to get lost in the shuffle after a couple of years.

Rich - Near Pittsburgh

Rich, for the good of the whole Volvo community, could I impose upon you to get a high quality scan of that catalog page? It would be a valuable thing to those of us who bought the Volvo muffler kit thinking the same way you did.

Sure can, Sean, but two things.

1/ I forgot to mention that I also had to produce the original sales receipt.

2/ Of course I have an all-in-one printer, so I can make a scan. I also recently acquired have my first Windows based computer and I have never attached an image to a posting on the Brickboard. What do I do with the scans?

Rich - Near Pittsburgh

You can email the scan to me and I will upload it to my personal web space, then post a link for those who might need to download it.

And drat about the original receipt. I surely don't know where my receipt is; I assumed the muffler with "VOLVO" stamped on would be proof enough that it is a genuine Volvo muffler. Maybe I had the foresight to stick it in my "car stuff" folder.

Tying to avoid posting my email on the 'board, to avoid spam, but let me know here if the Brickboard email link doesn't work.

OK. Give me a little time, but I should be able to send it off tonight. I just moved into the world of Windows and compounding that with Windows 8 I stumble around in the dark a bit.

Hey Rich,

I'm an old hand at lifting from catalogs and posting. My 91 QRP manual has the one line in very small print -- looks like they were trying to de-emphasize it even then. The 89 QRP has the same one line, but in about 3 point sizes larger but no pictures. Those are the only two quick reference parts manuals I have.

Congratulations on enforcing the warranty. I'm stickin' wit' Starla though, don' wanna over-axle and have too many of the same to start mixing systems.




--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

As usual, Art, GREAT image.

I can't fault you for "stickin' wit' Starla". I remember thinking when I first saw the contents of the cat-back kit, why in the HELL did Volvo choose that over-the-axle (OTA) setup as the only one to make available?! It seems to me that the newer, and better, piping scheme would also work on any 240 ever made. In my experience, the OTA pipe has to be precisely fitted and even then it is prone to failure.

When I use the replacement mid-muffler, I KNOW I'll be removing the outlet ell and butt welding a short, straight extension to its outlet stub. Keep it simple, stupid.

I tried sending off the scans of the subject pages (57, 58 and 59) from the 2001 QRP catalog to scorron via the Brickboard email contact, but I am not certain it worked. If anyone can post those pages here, I'm sure it would be appreciated by one and all.

Rich - Near Pittsburgh

I got it, Rich, I just haven't got a chance to post 'em up. Will do shortly!