Volvo Service Price Indicator - Beware!!!

[froggyted]

Here's an update on this thread:

After exchanging several emails with Volvo UK, they offered me a 'goodwill' voucher worth £250 after i'd reminded them that flagging up the error in their Online Service Price Indicator could potentially save them from legal action from disgruntled owners.

However, i'd already started to consider the advice of several that posted on here and, after having my current and previous cars main dealer serviced for approx. 12 years in total, i'd taken a look at the Volvo Independent option.

In the end, i came to this compromise: i accepted Volvo UK's offer and booked my car in for the ten year service minus the belt changes. I was quoted about £280 for this; i expressed some surprise over the phone because last year it was nearer £230 (but the dealership has changed ownership over the last year or two). The person on the phone misunderstood me and said that if that's what i'd been quoted they would be happy to honour it (this shows how much profit dealerships are making and how much wriggle room there is). To my surprise, the free breakdown cover was still on offer, even though i'd opted out from some of the service schedule. I gladly accepted this reduced quote, and in the meantime booked my car into an independent (Elite in Bristol) for the following day. When i came to pay for the work at the main dealership i proudly presented my voucher. They'd never seen one before, and for some reason they were unable to process this as a part payment together with the £30 outstanding cash. They therefore waived the £30 cash payment, and full credit to them here for doing so.

The work at the Indie the next day came to about £430; they informed me that the DPF filter and additive, as listed in the Online Service Price Indicator, were not needed. The total cost, therefore, for my ten year service was approximately £660, but in effect, due to the discounts, i only paid a total of £430. To say i am pleased is an understatement after initially facing a bill of approximately £1,300, and indeed i paid only £200 more for all this work than i would have done for a basic oil and two filters service.

Moving forward, i have decided to continue to get my car main dealer serviced when the services are basic ones. To me, the value of free breakdown cover and main dealer expertise and diagnostics (plus the stamp in the book) is worth the money, as explained earlier in the thread, even though i accept that some others disagree. (I have in fact already used the free breakdown cover after i inadvertently ran my batteries down by leaving a non-OEM dashcam on whilst the vehicle was parked for several days). I intend to have all other work done by the Volvo indie which, as others had suggested, is vastly cheaper than the main dealerships, primarily because their labour charges are about half the cost. This strategy, i feel, will give me the best of both worlds: greatly reducing my outlay whilst maximising the integrity of the work done on my vehicle.

Meanwhile, about two months on, Volvo UK have STILL not revised their Online Service Price Indicator, which continues to misinform users about the service interval for the belt change on a 2.0D S40 as being 12 years rather than 10. So much for caring about your aftersales consumers, eh, Volvo? Thanks for the voucher, but my estimation of your Q of S has taken a serious tumble.