A fellow I work with is considering one of the above referenced vehicles. He knows I drive Volvo's (240,740, current '96 850 turbo) and asked my opinion of the new SUV. I told him basically I would ask for a "peer review" on the net here at a.a.v but that much of the knowledge passed around here was sort of historical in nature. After all, who can predict the reliability or safety of a new model? Nevertheless if you've any opinions you feel sound about, pass them along, with my thanks and I will do the same. Henry
A family I know (friends with the daughter) have a V70, basically the same engine and technology as in the XC70, minus an AWD system, and different styling. 130K Kms on this 2001 model (could be a 2000... its the oldest year of the new style), and no mechanical failures. Brake sensor/DSTC system had to be replaced at owners expense due to failure... They think the garage damaged the computer, because they put in a new "rear end controller" that didn't work properly with the car, then updated the software from the mainframe in Sweden after installing a new module.... After that they got weird computer and sensor problems, all is well tho.... $6000 in total repairs for maintenance and replacement of parts, I don't think it is realistic to expect a DSTC failure from a new one tho, my dealer and their dealer told me and them that they have all the bugs worked out, and that the
01 models (first model year) did in fact have a couple issues that had to be sorted, mostly with software updates to the plethora of onboard computers
Basically they were so happy with the car they bought it off lease, and put the money into it for whatever it needed. They really love the car, but need a bit more space right now, so they are looking at other cars, none they have looked at have been able to match their Volvo for desireability and apparant quality. They didn't like the XC90 they test drove... and it was too much money (T6).
One thing to think about, if money is a factor, is that the XC90 is Volvo's top-seller. That means that the buyer is not likely to get any discounts on pricing: around this part of the country, they are going for MSRP, and there are no incentives like dealer cash or rebates.
The XC70, on the other hand, has seen its sales slow. The general consensus appears to be that many of the XC70 buyers have jumped on the XC90 bandwagon. Right now, Volvo is offering dealer cash on the XC70 and you can probably get it for a few hundred under MSRP as well.
That being said, the XC90 is a true SUV and the XC70 sits in that sorta "middle ground". They are both nice cars, and all things being equal, it comes down to personal preference. The XC90 is a bit pricier to insure (though cheap for an SUV!) and gets slightly lower gas mileage, so it's got a higher ownership cost, but that might not be a big issue for a lot of people.
Volvo is working hard to fix that. They give the dealers that have good customer satisfaction on service a discount on their new cars. That is one of my pet peeves, I don't like customer surveys. I hate them.
We have 4 Volvo dealers near where I live. 2 are excellent. 2 are horrible. It is like everything else, you have to look for a good dealer and then find a car you like. If you do it the other way, you are likely to be disappointed. There are a lot of people that complain about their car because they chose a bad dealer. There are very few people who complain about their car if they have a good dealer.
| >A fellow I work with is considering one of the above referenced vehicles. | >He knows I drive Volvo's (240,740, current '96 850 turbo) and asked my | >opinion of the new SUV. | >I told him basically I would ask for a "peer review" on the net here at | >a.a.v but that much of the knowledge passed around here was sort of | >historical in nature. After all, who can predict the reliability or safety | >of a new model? | >Nevertheless if you've any opinions you feel sound about, pass them along, | >with my thanks and I will do the same. | > Henry |
I suppose one could consider a 17% decline in sales to be "holding its own", but there's no way it can be considered a slight increase. Now, the sales may have dropped like a stone and then started creeping back up, but XC70 sales in the US have definitely been off in '03 compared to '02. Check out:
formatting link
Personally, I never believe anything a dealer tells me about sales figures. Remember, they are trying to sell cars. The "top selling" car, or the "best value" car, or the "best peforming" car is always the car you are buying.
The real truth is to be found in the incentives. There are no incentives on the XC90 because they don't need them: sales are strong at MSRP. You don't offer incentives on cars that are selling at or above expections.
Volvo has had the program where dealers get rebates for good survey scores since the early '90s. If this was going to work as implemented, it would have worked by now. Maybe it's worked on some dealers and not others. You're lucky to have a varied choice of dealers local to you, not everybody is so lucky. Maybe Volvo USA is a little more customer friendly than Volvo Canada. When I had dealings with a crappy dealer and on to Volvo Canada for resolution, the impression I got from everybody I dealt with at Volvo Canada was not that they wanted me to be a happy customer, just that they wanted to do the minimum and get me to shut up and go away. And the most hilarious part of the story, while I was showing them all the mistakes they made, the service manager was trying to get me to bring my car there for its regular services!
In talking with many people, some working for Volvo dealerships and others ... , I came to the realization that Volvo HQ (VCNA) is there to support the dealers, first and foremost.
I cannot explain it to myself, but Volvo HQ is definitely biased AGAINST the customers who buy Volvo cars.
For that reason alone, one should question the wisdom of buying a product not supported by the manufacturer itself. In particular when it is a major purchase for most people.
Add to that the unreliability of Volvo dealers and you really have to be "courageous" to go ahead with such purchase. >"Stephen M. Henn>>
Not all the initial problems have been ironed out of the new XC90 but there getting there. The XC70 is a good solid car and few problems are reported, My advice wait till later in 2004 To purchase an XC90
My impression was that Volvo Canada HQ didn't care about me or the dealer. They only seemed to care about keeping their short term warranty expensed down. And interestingly I was surveyed after the whole thing was over, asking what I thought of Volvo Canada's customer service!
It is very simple. If you find a dealer that is in the business to stay in the business, you have a customer oriented dealer. Then, if they are a Volvo dealer, you know that they are strongly supported by VCNA. It is a strong combination.
If you find a lousy dealer, VCNA will not make them good, they will just cut them off if they are bad enough. Usually a bad dealer will shield you from VCNA so they don't find out how bad they are. There is a VCNA rep that comes out to dealerships to talk to customers and fix customer complaints. A bad dealer will isolate you from this person.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.