I'm looking for help/feedback. I'm looking for the community to tell me whether or not my expectations are realistic or if I'm being unrealistic about what I think a Volvo buying experience should be like.
Sorry this post/thread got super long. I/we are a little confused and frustrated with our new Volvo. Thanks for taking the time to read.
A little less than a week ago we bought a CPO 2021 xc40 t5 momentum with ~25k miles on it. We bought it from a pretty well-known Volvo dealer about 4 hours away from us. She wanted thunder grey and no black roof which is basically impossible to find around us. So when one came up that checked all of our boxes, we jumped on it.
We noticed a few concerns and issues on the way home and now I don't know what to do. Our free scheduled maintenance expires soon so if we have issues, I want them addressed NOW --not after the maintenance expires. We were told and under the assumption that all required maintenance was performed at normal intervals, everything was up-to-date, and the car was fine/needed nothing.
I was even pleasantly surprised that when we picked the car up (the day we bought it), it had new tires & brakes. Cool --I was expecting to buy a xc40 with ~25k miles that might need tires & brakes (at least front pads) in the next year or so... But the dealer put new tires and brakes on it --awesome... Except the dealer won't acknowledge doing that work, which is weird.
All that we can see on the carfax is oil change at 12k miles and another at ~20k miles. Nothing says "factory maintenance" or "20k scheduled maintenance", etc. It just says "oil change". It doesn't even list the new tires and brakes. Not only that --I'm a BMW guy. I've owned a couple BMW track cars, I do my own maintenance, etc. and on some bmw track cars, we use Volvo calipers for bigger brakes (poor man's big-brake-kit). When we picked up that car it had brand new brakes and brand new tires --like the wheels were balanced and someone took it for a quick test drive but there was less than 5 miles on the tires. The thing that is most weird: We asked the dealer twice about the new brakes/tires and they never responded to us. They never confirmed or denied it and it says nothing on the carfax. WTF. Why won't they tell us in writing that the car got new brakes+tires?
We asked about getting the orange key programmed and technical journal 35978 (TJ35978). They said it would be done when we picked up the car --that's our bad. We didn't know how to use the car (profiles/setting it up) and we didn't check to confirm that the orange key was programmed to be a normal black key. That was the start of the issues.
The wheels aren't balanced. There are weights on the wheels. idk, when I was a kid I worked at a gas station part-time. I've used a tire machine and I've balanced wheels. The wheels have wheel weights on them and someone used a chalk pen to mark how much weight and where to put the weights --then idk, I guess they just got lazy and figured "good enough"?? It's all 4 wheels when you get up over 55 and driving at highway speeds you can feel it. The wheels need to be balanced properly --ASAP.
So...
#1. Wheels need balancing --I don't know what "dealer's service tech being lazy" would be covered under but we are still within the "free scheduled maintenance" period and I don't really care --I just don't want to pay to have the wheels re-balanced.
#2. We want the warranty software done for TJ35978 to make the orange key (my key) a "normal" black key.
#3. When it rains, the rear license plate light is getting water/condensation in it. When it stops raining the condensation goes away. Probably needs a gasket --that should be covered under warranty I assume.
#4. I'd like the maintenance records for the vehicle. The carfax says "oil change" at 12k, 20k and now ~25k just before we picked it up. There is zero mention (nothing in writing) of the full 20k scheduled maintenance on the vehicle. The vehicle's free scheduled maintenance period expires soon --Sept 2020 through Sept 2023. If the 20k service has not yet been done (meaning the dealership lied to us verbally about it), then I want it done BEFORE September 2023. (cabin filter, air filter, clean windscreen in front of forward facing camera, adjust headlights, etc. the full 20k scheduled maintenance service.)
#5. Something is rattling under the hood at startup. It distinctly sounds like a heat shield. Maybe a spot-weld popped... idk. The plastic fairings under the vehicle are perfect. There are zero scratches or marks so it's not like someone ran over something and caused it to happen. That noise was not there when we left the dealer, we noticed it the next day. I assume this would be warranty??
#6. Rough engine idling. When the engine auto stop/start thing is engaged (like when engine turns off at stoplights), when the engine turns back on, it is loud and it idles really rough. When it idles rough, you can hear a heat shield or something also rattling --as if a spot weld on a heat shield popped and when the engine idles smoothly you can't hear it but during rough idle it makes noise --and you can feel the rough idle in the car: steering wheel, accelerator pedal, in the chassis, etc. This also happens sometimes during a cold start (in the driveway, in the morning).
She really loves this car. I'm a BMW guy through-and-through. I tried really hard to sell her on an x1 or x3. She even admits to trying really hard to love the BMWs she drove. But you could just see it: The second she sat in that Volvo the smile on her face, etc. --she loves that thing. All I want is her to be happy and love her car. I don't care if I have to be a royal jerk *hole to Volvo, the dealers, etc. I just want her to have a good experience because she loves that car enough that she'll probably buy Volvos for the rest of her life (unless Volvo screws this up).
What do I need to do? The car was initially sold to first owner in Sept 2020 so we have another ~month of free service/maintenance (and then a few years of factory warranty). We are well within the first 30-days of lemon-law from the dealer too (but don't want to go down that road, they are 4hrs away, we would need to hire an attorney, etc.). I'd rather get the current car/issues fixed, get all the prior history/service documented and be done with it.
What I'm worried about is that "On Call" said to "call the dealer where we bought the car". We did and we basically got a reply that we could bring the car back there and they would take a look at it --but other than that, we are on our own. So should we go back to On Call? They said they documented the issues and the car's VIN#.
The most pressing issue is that local dealers are booking appointments a few weeks out: After our "free factory scheduled maintenance" date expires. How do I get an appointment for this vehicle at a dealer --like for tomorrow or this week? This is not the local dealer's fault but also I don't expect a local dealer to bend over backwards to get us in for a bunch of free/warranty work. And at the same time, I'd like to establish a relationship with a local dealer so that next time when she's ready for a new car, she can just tell them: "Here's what I want, call me when one comes in and I'll be there the following day with a bank check". I don't want to start off on a bad foot with a local dealer. Especially when they had nothing to do with this vehicle or these issues.
One last question to the community:
This is about DIY oil changes, service and scheduled maintenance.
The program that she has been on is she buys a CPO vehicle that is 2-3 years old, she drives it for ~5y, then she trades it in, and we rinse/repeat. So this Volvo XC40 falls right into that plan: She bought a 2021 (sold Sept 2020) so 3y old CPO w/~25k miles. She puts ~12k/year on her vehicles so she'll drive it for 4-5y and she'll trade it with ~80k for her next vehicle (which I would guess will be another Volvo).
We have never gone to a mechanic. I can't do wheel alignments, mount/balance tires or state inspections. And if there is a warranty/recall issue we'll take it in for that. Other than those few things, I've always done everything else on all of our vehicles.
Because she's going to trade this thing in 4-5y down the road... Should I just not give a crap, wash my hands of it and take the thing to a dealer every 10k miles? I do 5k oil changes on all of our other cars. Normally I'd do oil+filter every 5k, check the intake air filter every 5k --change air filter every 10k no matter what. And I check cabin air filter every 10k and usually end up changing it every 10k miles. On this Volvo I'd also probably run 0w30 in the summer and either keep 0w30 or maybe run 0w20 during the winter. If she trades it in at ~80k I probably wouldn't touch the diffs or transmission but if she were to keep it through 100k miles I'd probably do transmission and diff fluids at ~75k. I have a power brake bleeder, usually I do brake fluid at 2x factory recommended intervals, etc. (no clue what brake reservoir cap Volvo has vs. BMW)
Can anyone tell me how Volvo's dashboard "idiot oil service light" works? Is it based on driving conditions? Will I screw things up if we take the car to a dealer every 10k for factory service specified in the book --but then I change the oil every 5k on top of what the dealer does? I guess I just would keep the receipts and not reset the oil light?? So the car wouldn't know that the oil was changed? Or would that mess with the car's computer? That seems dumb: If I change the oil I want it documented. Is there any way to do that?
Anything specific we should watch out for on these cars? Leaks? Anything specific about the turbo?
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond. Hopefully we get some good suggestions on how to deal with the dealer and these immediate issues with the car. Thanks.
Oh: I promise last question. I have a laptop loaded up with BMW factory software. I can update navigation, maps, firmware, software packages, do resets, etc. I can do anything --change the odometer, change between Celsius and Fahrenheit, turn on/off seatbelt warning lights/gongs, air bags, etc. Add/delete packages, program keys, change park distance control settings, etc. basically anything the factory can do.
Is there something like that (must be 100% legal --I'll pay for it if needed but must be legal/legit) for Volvos?
Thanks again.
Sorry this post/thread got super long. I/we are a little confused and frustrated with our new Volvo. Thanks for taking the time to read.
A little less than a week ago we bought a CPO 2021 xc40 t5 momentum with ~25k miles on it. We bought it from a pretty well-known Volvo dealer about 4 hours away from us. She wanted thunder grey and no black roof which is basically impossible to find around us. So when one came up that checked all of our boxes, we jumped on it.
We noticed a few concerns and issues on the way home and now I don't know what to do. Our free scheduled maintenance expires soon so if we have issues, I want them addressed NOW --not after the maintenance expires. We were told and under the assumption that all required maintenance was performed at normal intervals, everything was up-to-date, and the car was fine/needed nothing.
I was even pleasantly surprised that when we picked the car up (the day we bought it), it had new tires & brakes. Cool --I was expecting to buy a xc40 with ~25k miles that might need tires & brakes (at least front pads) in the next year or so... But the dealer put new tires and brakes on it --awesome... Except the dealer won't acknowledge doing that work, which is weird.
All that we can see on the carfax is oil change at 12k miles and another at ~20k miles. Nothing says "factory maintenance" or "20k scheduled maintenance", etc. It just says "oil change". It doesn't even list the new tires and brakes. Not only that --I'm a BMW guy. I've owned a couple BMW track cars, I do my own maintenance, etc. and on some bmw track cars, we use Volvo calipers for bigger brakes (poor man's big-brake-kit). When we picked up that car it had brand new brakes and brand new tires --like the wheels were balanced and someone took it for a quick test drive but there was less than 5 miles on the tires. The thing that is most weird: We asked the dealer twice about the new brakes/tires and they never responded to us. They never confirmed or denied it and it says nothing on the carfax. WTF. Why won't they tell us in writing that the car got new brakes+tires?
We asked about getting the orange key programmed and technical journal 35978 (TJ35978). They said it would be done when we picked up the car --that's our bad. We didn't know how to use the car (profiles/setting it up) and we didn't check to confirm that the orange key was programmed to be a normal black key. That was the start of the issues.
The wheels aren't balanced. There are weights on the wheels. idk, when I was a kid I worked at a gas station part-time. I've used a tire machine and I've balanced wheels. The wheels have wheel weights on them and someone used a chalk pen to mark how much weight and where to put the weights --then idk, I guess they just got lazy and figured "good enough"?? It's all 4 wheels when you get up over 55 and driving at highway speeds you can feel it. The wheels need to be balanced properly --ASAP.
So...
#1. Wheels need balancing --I don't know what "dealer's service tech being lazy" would be covered under but we are still within the "free scheduled maintenance" period and I don't really care --I just don't want to pay to have the wheels re-balanced.
#2. We want the warranty software done for TJ35978 to make the orange key (my key) a "normal" black key.
#3. When it rains, the rear license plate light is getting water/condensation in it. When it stops raining the condensation goes away. Probably needs a gasket --that should be covered under warranty I assume.
#4. I'd like the maintenance records for the vehicle. The carfax says "oil change" at 12k, 20k and now ~25k just before we picked it up. There is zero mention (nothing in writing) of the full 20k scheduled maintenance on the vehicle. The vehicle's free scheduled maintenance period expires soon --Sept 2020 through Sept 2023. If the 20k service has not yet been done (meaning the dealership lied to us verbally about it), then I want it done BEFORE September 2023. (cabin filter, air filter, clean windscreen in front of forward facing camera, adjust headlights, etc. the full 20k scheduled maintenance service.)
#5. Something is rattling under the hood at startup. It distinctly sounds like a heat shield. Maybe a spot-weld popped... idk. The plastic fairings under the vehicle are perfect. There are zero scratches or marks so it's not like someone ran over something and caused it to happen. That noise was not there when we left the dealer, we noticed it the next day. I assume this would be warranty??
#6. Rough engine idling. When the engine auto stop/start thing is engaged (like when engine turns off at stoplights), when the engine turns back on, it is loud and it idles really rough. When it idles rough, you can hear a heat shield or something also rattling --as if a spot weld on a heat shield popped and when the engine idles smoothly you can't hear it but during rough idle it makes noise --and you can feel the rough idle in the car: steering wheel, accelerator pedal, in the chassis, etc. This also happens sometimes during a cold start (in the driveway, in the morning).
She really loves this car. I'm a BMW guy through-and-through. I tried really hard to sell her on an x1 or x3. She even admits to trying really hard to love the BMWs she drove. But you could just see it: The second she sat in that Volvo the smile on her face, etc. --she loves that thing. All I want is her to be happy and love her car. I don't care if I have to be a royal jerk *hole to Volvo, the dealers, etc. I just want her to have a good experience because she loves that car enough that she'll probably buy Volvos for the rest of her life (unless Volvo screws this up).
What do I need to do? The car was initially sold to first owner in Sept 2020 so we have another ~month of free service/maintenance (and then a few years of factory warranty). We are well within the first 30-days of lemon-law from the dealer too (but don't want to go down that road, they are 4hrs away, we would need to hire an attorney, etc.). I'd rather get the current car/issues fixed, get all the prior history/service documented and be done with it.
What I'm worried about is that "On Call" said to "call the dealer where we bought the car". We did and we basically got a reply that we could bring the car back there and they would take a look at it --but other than that, we are on our own. So should we go back to On Call? They said they documented the issues and the car's VIN#.
The most pressing issue is that local dealers are booking appointments a few weeks out: After our "free factory scheduled maintenance" date expires. How do I get an appointment for this vehicle at a dealer --like for tomorrow or this week? This is not the local dealer's fault but also I don't expect a local dealer to bend over backwards to get us in for a bunch of free/warranty work. And at the same time, I'd like to establish a relationship with a local dealer so that next time when she's ready for a new car, she can just tell them: "Here's what I want, call me when one comes in and I'll be there the following day with a bank check". I don't want to start off on a bad foot with a local dealer. Especially when they had nothing to do with this vehicle or these issues.
One last question to the community:
This is about DIY oil changes, service and scheduled maintenance.
The program that she has been on is she buys a CPO vehicle that is 2-3 years old, she drives it for ~5y, then she trades it in, and we rinse/repeat. So this Volvo XC40 falls right into that plan: She bought a 2021 (sold Sept 2020) so 3y old CPO w/~25k miles. She puts ~12k/year on her vehicles so she'll drive it for 4-5y and she'll trade it with ~80k for her next vehicle (which I would guess will be another Volvo).
We have never gone to a mechanic. I can't do wheel alignments, mount/balance tires or state inspections. And if there is a warranty/recall issue we'll take it in for that. Other than those few things, I've always done everything else on all of our vehicles.
Because she's going to trade this thing in 4-5y down the road... Should I just not give a crap, wash my hands of it and take the thing to a dealer every 10k miles? I do 5k oil changes on all of our other cars. Normally I'd do oil+filter every 5k, check the intake air filter every 5k --change air filter every 10k no matter what. And I check cabin air filter every 10k and usually end up changing it every 10k miles. On this Volvo I'd also probably run 0w30 in the summer and either keep 0w30 or maybe run 0w20 during the winter. If she trades it in at ~80k I probably wouldn't touch the diffs or transmission but if she were to keep it through 100k miles I'd probably do transmission and diff fluids at ~75k. I have a power brake bleeder, usually I do brake fluid at 2x factory recommended intervals, etc. (no clue what brake reservoir cap Volvo has vs. BMW)
Can anyone tell me how Volvo's dashboard "idiot oil service light" works? Is it based on driving conditions? Will I screw things up if we take the car to a dealer every 10k for factory service specified in the book --but then I change the oil every 5k on top of what the dealer does? I guess I just would keep the receipts and not reset the oil light?? So the car wouldn't know that the oil was changed? Or would that mess with the car's computer? That seems dumb: If I change the oil I want it documented. Is there any way to do that?
Anything specific we should watch out for on these cars? Leaks? Anything specific about the turbo?
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond. Hopefully we get some good suggestions on how to deal with the dealer and these immediate issues with the car. Thanks.
Oh: I promise last question. I have a laptop loaded up with BMW factory software. I can update navigation, maps, firmware, software packages, do resets, etc. I can do anything --change the odometer, change between Celsius and Fahrenheit, turn on/off seatbelt warning lights/gongs, air bags, etc. Add/delete packages, program keys, change park distance control settings, etc. basically anything the factory can do.
Is there something like that (must be 100% legal --I'll pay for it if needed but must be legal/legit) for Volvos?
Thanks again.
