Well, yes, they do. But what I experienced with my Volvo I believe was definitely out of the norm and was never a thought in my mind because Volvo’s are supposed to be very well-built cars. Here is what I experienced.
My 2016 Volvo S60 Inscription engine failed after it was basically rebuilt in the summer of 2023 due to a factory issue with the piston rings. Regarding the rebuild, it took around 4 months of repeated trips to the dealership for oil changes and the weighing the oil to confirm that the engine was truly burning oil beyond the limits of the factory specifications. Once this confirmation was established the dealership needed to order all of the parts to replace the piston rings and all of the associated parts to complete this engine rebuild. When the parts came in I was notified and given a loaner car while my car was in the shop. It took a little over three and a half weeks for the dealer to do the warranty work. When I picked up my car after the rebuild the paper work noted 10,000 miles for the rebuild warranty.
In late January, on a cold Saturday afternoon as I was driving home from my youngest daughter’s basketball game, the engine light came on and the engine lost all power. I coasted to a stop by a curb fortunately near my neighborhood. I called the dealership and they said that my car needed to be towed to the dealership. The dealership said that they would contact the tow company to get my car. I noted that I had put on around 9,300 miles since the rebuild so this should be covered.
My wife had her car full of girls so I had driven to the game with my older daughter, but she was riding back with the girls since they were stopping for some treats after the game. They drove by me since I had already called to let them know what had happened with my car.
The dealership called me on Tuesday to say they think it is the timing belt and it was not covered with the warranty. The cost to replace the timing belt would be about $2,300, plus they noted that this might not fix the problem but they wouldn’t know until the new belt was installed. I felt like I didn’t have a choice and agreed to have the belt replaced. The dealership gave me a loaner car since this work would take about a week or so to replace once they have the parts.
After about a week and a half the dealership called to say that the timing belt replacement did not fix the engine issue and that the next level of work could cost between $7,000 to $9,000 to get the engine back running. This was a shocker and I was torn. I had just spent $2,300 for a new timing belt and now they wanted me to approve an additional $7,000 to $9,000 for more work. I told the dealership I needed a few days to consider this. The call came in on Thursday just in time for the weekend and I said that I would need to keep the loaner car over the weekend.
My wife and I had a conversation about options. I said that I would be better off taking that money and putting it down on a newer car. She though that sounded right but was uncommitted. Remember, this engine breakdown occurred about a week or so before she asked the question “are you happy” which may have had some impact to what I was about to experience. Also, all of this car stuff was happening around the middle of February, just three and a half months after my cardiac event.
So, I started looking at certified pre-owned cars so that I could understand the availability of cars that I would consider. Now you might think that I would steer clear of Volvo cars, but there is more to this story, and I shall explain.
I owned a 2001 Volvo S60 and learned how costly these cars are for maintenance. But I truly enjoyed my car and felt safe in the car. One night I was sitting stopped at a red light when I was rear ended by a SUV going at a speed just below the posted limit. I actually watched in my rearview mirror as the car was getting closer and I observed the person was on her phone. She appeared to be distracted and reading something. The car was not slowing down. The impact pushed my car into the rear of the car in front of mine. It was a good impact.
I sat in my car for a few minutes getting my thoughts together and to check to see if I was bleeding anywhere. No injuries that I could see. The police arrived and called for paramedics to come to the crash site. The paramedics arrived and checked me out. All was good and off they went. The other drivers said they were fine and declined for the paramedics to check them out.
The car that I was pushed into pulled off to the side of the road but my car and the car that hit mine remained in the traffic lane. The police officer said that I should be able to drive my car home. I laughed. I pointed out to the officer that my car now resembled a banana and was not drivable. I was also a bit emotional in my description of the now banana shaped car I owned. He didn’t see this until the tow truck arrived and turned on its tow bed lights which were very bright. The officer then agreed with me. My car was loaded onto the tow truck and off it went to its final destination where the insurance company would determine the damage and next steps. The insurance company totaled the car a week later.
Now back to my looking at certified pre-owned cars, and yes, I was looking at certified pre-owned Volvo’s. You might ask why and my answer would be a simple one. I walked away without injury from a crash in my first Volvo which I felt could have been more traumatic in a lesser vehicle. I originally bought a Volvo because of their safety record since I would be driving around our very young children.
So, I found several cars that caught my eye and I took them on a test drive. I settled on a 2021 S60 Inscription in the Fusion Red color. This is my third Volvo S60. While I am still upset with Volvo with what had happened with my second S60 engine experience, and how the warranty was manipulated to not cover the engine failure which I still feel was caused by the engine rebuild, I bought another Volvo S60. I also think that my wife wasn’t happy that I actually bought what I wanted. I guess she was hoping that I would go with a lesser vehicle.
I was fortunate to sell my car that didn’t run anymore for about the same cost of the timing belt replacement work. This helped offset some costs but the effort to make it happen just added to my stress levels from this experience. I did feel sad but knew that I had no choice.
I do hope that my new Volvo is built better and will last longer than the last one. I did purchase the 1,000,000-mile warranty. I hope that Volvo will be more honorable with this warranty than the last time. Fingers crossed…
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