Volvo, Worst Car Ever Made
You never expect to pay 40 grand to get a car that has lower quality than
Toyota or Nissan; however, if you choose Volvo you will. I regretted that I
chose Volvo, car with low quality, a car, which is full of problems; a car
doesn��t have good after sell service. No one expect these for a 40 grand
car. For 40 grand, I could have gone for BMW, Lexus, not Benz because I don
��t like Benz, if I push it, I could get a Boxtser.
I��m running a S-80 2.9; I bought it in January 1999. I have this air
condition compressor problem since 2000, and it has almost been a year that
the problem started. My air conditioning compressor will keep kicking on and
off in period of 10 to 13 seconds. I realize that is reasonably normal if I
set the auto climate temperature around 72F, and once the indoor temperature
reaches that degree, the A/C compressor will starting circle. So, what��s my
problem? Not a big deal, whenever I stop at red light, I will start to count
the circulation of A/C compressor kicking on and off. Loud, the noise it
creates is simply too loud. Fine, you might say, turn on the music, yeah, I
always do that, but don��t forget the vibration that comes from the steering
wheel. Not mentioning if I set the temperature lower, A/C compressor still
kicks on and off.
Bad service? Every time I brought in my car to check it out, it always come
back the same, sometimes they will replace parts (so far, 3 parts), but the
problem is still there. First it was throttle body, and it turned out to be
definitely unrelated. They also changed two engine mounts the rubber piece
holds engine. What can I say? I��m sick of dealing with this problem, and I
don��t have the money to trade my car, I need a car. There are loyal Volvo
customers out there, and believe me, I used to be one myself. My family was
simply collecting Volvo cars from 740, 760, 960, S-70. We had faith in Volvo
quality. I have tried out some other cars, Lexus GS, IS, BMW 530, 328,
Isuzu. They DO NOT have this problem, while they all have auto climate
control.
Volvo is safe because they are always in the shops it was a statement from
someone else! So, if you are considering getting a new car, cross out Volvo
from your list!
Please Read Everything: feel free to distribute
Imagine the following: you are driving a luxurious Volvo S-80. Mozart is
playing. You enjoy the ride on Malibu PCH, ocean view, and great music.
However, when you turn on your air conditioning, everything changed. As you
wait for the green light, your air conditioning compressor (for AC coolant)
turning on and off constantly. Not following the rhythm of Mozart, but
rhythm of itself. Don��t even mention about the noise it creates, as you all
aware of, AC compressor creates noise as it start rotating. Oh, I almost
forgot to mention the vibration you would feel as you grab on your steering
wheel. Unpredictable vibration and noise ruin THE DAY.
To the best of my knowledge, I have those problems for more than half a
year, perhaps a year, I don��t remember. I live in Santa Monica, California.
I drive PCH to Malibu everyday. I am a student. I am only twenty-two years
old. Fine, you have car problems, big deal! Go to your dealer and fix them,
you might tell me that. Right, I have been to Santa Monica Volvo for more
than four times (just for this problem), and every time I mention the same
problem, and every time, I spent about fifteen dollars on a crappy rental
car. All those extra costs are fine with me, but they didn��t fix the
problem, they told me when I pick up the car, well, they had done a software
upgrade, they have changed the throttle body (Advisor even told me that
costs 600 bucks, and they didn��t want to change it during my first two or
three visits.) the problem exists. I had enough, I went to a private body
shop, and the technician told me problems didn��t come from throttle body
but from AC system because I won��t have such problem as I turn off the AC.
Santa Monica Volvo told me it was throttle body not the AC system after I
told them my finding; furthermore, they even told me that Volvo north
America��s technician (Volvo USA?) had told them the same thing because one
of them was there that day. At my last visit to Santa Monica Volvo they told
me the AC problem I am experiencing with is normal for Volvo. I don��t buy
that. I didn��t have that problem before. (You will not find it when you
test drive a new car, you won��t!) Okay, I gave up Santa Monica Volvo. Let
me call Culver City Volvo. Hey, I called on first of July 2001, what they
told me? I have to wait until 16th of July. Jesus Christ!! I am a college
student, and I am extremely busy with my studies as a transfer student, a
lot of G.E. are still waiting to be completed, do they expect me to wake up
Monday morning for car repairing? And I have already been through enough
waiting in Santa Monica Volvo (for more than half a year for the same
problem!). This is the kind of service I expect from my 40,000 bucks?
Great!! I was even thinking about a trade-in for S-80 T6!! What was I
thinking?
Another event I personally experienced: my car was making some kind of
noise as car jolted, and I brought the car to Santa Monica dealership twice
or three times, well you guessed it, the cracking noise was still there. I
decided to check out the car myself. I FOUND the source of the problem. It
was the back seats that need lubricate! How obvious and easy the problem
was.
Service stinks! or it��s simply incompetent technician (I��m very open
mind)! Or it��s Volvo! I did four-wheel alignment about three months ago,
two days after my alignment, my steering wheel start slant to the right. I
told them they should check it out again. Guess what they told me. The road
is sometimes uneven, and I should try to drive on the central line of the
freeway. Oh well, I am young I admit it, but I am not stupid, I drive 10
minutes of 10 free and 20 minutes of PCH everyday. My family has a BMW (5)
and a SUV in Thailand, a Volvo (740) and a Lexus (IS) in Taiwan. I have
driven all of them; they don��t have those kinds of problems. It is Volvo
Santa Monica? Or it is simply Volvo? My advisor even asked me to say
��excellent�� if Volvo America asked for my opinion, and I did what he told,
and of course I didn��t give up yet.
Driving simply became a torture because I got very nervous with the
vibration and the noise especially the vibration. I am a very sensitive man,
and I cannot stop counting for next wave of vibration in my mind. I don��t
know how many sperms have been killed. I bought this S-80 2.9 in 1999. For
the first year, I was so satisfied about it I didn��t have any problem what
so ever. I was thinking about BMW, but my dad had great confidence in Volvo
��s safety. S-80 is Volvo��s first luxury four-door sedan. I wanted to be
unique; everyone else is driving BMW-3 or Benz-C. Furthermore, I hated
Lexus. It is Toyota, and it didn��t worth the price of BMW. I want something
different. Problem comes and this is what I get for my 40,000. After a year
��s struggle, I am about to get another car, finally. This time, I will look
more into Lexus and BMW for GOOD! (Hey, Lexus gives you a similar standard
car if you have to leave your car with the dealer, not a crappy Enterprise
rental.)
Thank you for reading,
RJ Hsu
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Please visit the following web site!
http://www.volvostinks.com/letter.html
