Volvo Owners Club Forum

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-   XC40 '18> General (https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=205)
-   -   Why is this section so poorly visited? (https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=310665)

anotherv60 Oct 7th, 2020 18:50

Why is this section so poorly visited?
 
Volvo sold 5653 XC40s in the UK in the last month (September), which was over 60% of its total UK sales. XC40 September sales alone accounts for over 10% of Volvos annual sales in 2019 in the UK. In fact the XC40 is the 9th most popular car on sale in the UK. So why then is this part of the forum by comparison to other sections limited on posts? Could it be that the XC40 customers are mostly new to Volvo and are not aware of this forum? Or does nothing go wrong with the XC40??

Durovigutum Oct 7th, 2020 19:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by anotherv60 (Post 2671380)
Volvo sold 5653 XC40s in the UK in the last month (September), which was over 60% of its total UK sales. XC40 September sales alone accounts for over 10% of Volvos annual sales in 2019 in the UK. In fact the XC40 is the 9th most popular car on sale in the UK. So why then is this part of the forum by comparison to other sections limited on posts? Could it be that the XC40 customers are mostly new to Volvo and are not aware of this forum? Or does nothing go wrong with the XC40??

I suspect that most people have been sitting indoors watching their car sitting on the drive, rather than actually being able to enjoy it. It does rather reduce the motivation to talk about your car - while it's not exactly a modders vehicle....

MikeGMT Oct 7th, 2020 21:56

Maybe with nothing better to do during lockdown they have read the Handbook. :tounge_smile:

zapcity1 Oct 7th, 2020 23:26

Not an XC40 owner, but a good question asked by the OP., so I thought I'd chip in to spark a bit of discussion.

It's a new and expensive model, so ownership is still limited and most of these will be with the original 'purchaser' I'd imagine. Outselling the Ford Focus in September however is a hell of an achievement by Volvo!!

As 80% of new cars are 'purchased' on PCP and then 80% of these are returned at the end of the deal, the chances of the 'owner' being interested or inclined to service or modify etc. must be low. I guess it's just a drive and main dealer service vehicle all the way for the majority.

VOC membership still seems niche, and mostly older models in my area. Not aware of a new XC40/60/90 ever turning up to a meeting.

When they become an affordable 2nd hand car, I'd expect the forum use to rise as people want to know how to change brakes, ATF etc. Currently owners seem limited to questions about bluetooth, delivery and mpg! (Mike - good point made about reading the manual :teeth_smile:).

The reality is as well that forum use is dropping as the world moves to anti-social media. The 480 forum I use only has about 10 regular contributors now!

Great looking car by the way. Must get a test drive at some point.

MikeGMT Oct 8th, 2020 02:25

I think you have hit the nail on the head with your deductions Zap, that plus there is a site just dedicated to the XC40 which seems lively enough.

I'm not a XC40 owner either, but I did test drive one, it was the Launch Edition, loaded up to the gunwales with every option bar one. It was priced at just under the magic £40K. I think they only made a certain number of that model. It was nice, but I wasn't overly impressed, although they seem to be selling like hotcakes. Perhaps a lot of buyers moving up from Foci',
Vauxhall et al and new to the brand can see the attraction. As mentioned the forum may well pick up in time.

T5R92011 Oct 8th, 2020 12:34

It'll pickup when the warranty runs out.

Clan Oct 8th, 2020 12:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by anotherv60 (Post 2671380)
Volvo sold 5653 XC40s in the UK in the last month (September), which was over 60% of its total UK sales. XC40 September sales alone accounts for over 10% of Volvos annual sales in 2019 in the UK. In fact the XC40 is the 9th most popular car on sale in the UK. So why then is this part of the forum by comparison to other sections limited on posts? Could it be that the XC40 customers are mostly new to Volvo and are not aware of this forum? Or does nothing go wrong with the XC40??

I would think 99% of the owners have no real interest in cars just buy what they fancy and drive it , they want something different .. nothing really goes wrong with XC40..

zapcity1 Oct 8th, 2020 13:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clan (Post 2671534)
I would think 99% of the owners have no real interest in cars just buy what they fancy and drive it , they want something different .. nothing really goes wrong with XC40..

Spot on Clan. Most of my neighbours pay £300/month for a French sh*tbox, drive it, clean it once a month at the £5 drive through and give it back in 3 years for another. Simple A to B economics that works for them.

They all think I'm mad spending a Saturday changing ATF or machine polishing!

T5R92011 Oct 8th, 2020 14:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clan (Post 2671534)
I would think 99% of the owners have no real interest in cars just buy what they fancy and drive it , they want something different .. nothing really goes wrong with XC40..

Thats an interesting observation. I mean I would expect software glitches etc but I guess a lot of those would have been ironed out due to 2nd gen XC90 having already been running with similar software for 5 years now.

I do wonder what difference the lack of Ford involvement will make to the long term reliablity of these newer Volvos. I do remember trying out a later model V40 and thinking that it felt very solid despite the Ford underpinnings, but more so than the S40/V50.

Clan Oct 8th, 2020 15:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by zapcity1 (Post 2671541)
Spot on Clan. Most of my neighbours pay £300/month for a French sh*tbox, drive it, clean it once a month at the £5 drive through and give it back in 3 years for another. Simple A to B economics that works for them.

They all think I'm mad spending a Saturday changing ATF or machine polishing!

Most common cars now are treated like a washing machine or fridge ..or gas boiler .. and how many teenagers have an interest in cars like they did 20+ years ago I wonder ... Most of the ones in my car club don't have any mechanical skills or inclinations , neither do that have any interest in going into the Motor trade .


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