Auto gearbox oil.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by zapcity1

Have to agree with Clan on the staff issue above. My experience of Main Dealers in my area has been very, very poor.

I've always found that the service advisor knows very little about the product; far less than I do on almost every occasion. Why do they seem to recruit people who have no interest in Volvos? I guess they look at it as just a sales role?

But then I assume I am not their target audience. I get the feeling the dealer is only interested in you leasing the car, servicing it as told, then changing it after three years for another on a lease deal. People like me who are often the 3rd, 4th, 5th owners with higher mileage vehicles don't figure in the business model, as we are more likely to use independents for our work anyway.

I feel totally alienated at a Main Dealer and it shouldn't be like that. Volvo don't have to sell me a car, as I'm not going anywhere else! In the future, hopefully I'll be driving a V90CC (once the XC70 is no longer) then the electric equivalent after that.

However, some of the parts guys I've dealt with are excellent. FRF Swansea (Simon etc.) are exceptional as you probably all know. Always go the extra mile.

My localish Volvo dealer, Donald's in Colchester, have an annual open day where our local VOC can meet and the techs are on hand to put your car on a ramp and just chat. Great initiative and really builds trust. I'll give them a try next time I need any main dealer work.

I'm sure lots of people who work for Volvo are like me, passionate about the brand, but I've not met many. Probably this is not just confined to Volvo, it's industrywide. I'm naive enought to think it's about the cars but like everything else, it's just about sales.

Anyway, off to change the ATF on my C70. Good discussion all. Very enjoyable.

I think with the introduction of the Electric vehicles things are going to change massively over the next 5 years , volvo have already moved on to on line sales only with the Polestar 2 . Each dealer has a Product expert to help out with customer queries , he should be busy 8 hours a day around the sales and service departments ...

About 75% of the staff at a volvo dealer are passionate , In my long experience , if they can weed out those who are not and Don't own a volvo we will all be better off .

[Kev0607]

@Clan

You still have no evidence , you have heard other uninformed people writing it on here that's all ..you talk of dealerships, there are 120 in the uk , you cant possibly know what each one tells its customers ... you have only been in 2 or 3 % of them.

Uninformed people? So the people that post on here all lie about what they were told? I never claimed to know what each dealership across the whole of the network tells their customers. You don't know that either.

If a fluid change is an “option”, they should at least mention it. Then its up to the customer if they decide to get it done, but they don’t. Here’s an analogy for you;

I’ve read my owners manual & the only reference to a transmission fluid change is if the car is used for towing or in arduous conditions. It doesn’t say anywhere that it still needs to be changed, even if the car isn’t used for towing etc. exactly that's an option in the service schedule which i fully explained above in my previous post.

An "option" for those that fall into that category, i.e. people that tow or use their vehicle as a taxi. Where's the service schedule for the people that don't? So because I don't tow with my car, in Volvo's eyes, the transmission fluid doesn't need changing? Would you never change the oil in your car because you only use it for pottering around town?

yes , it is common sense , alas very very few customers of any make now have any interest in their car mechanically , all they want is to spend the least amount possible on it .. as you would with your refrigerator or washing machine ...Any dealer employee telling their customer that the auto transmission never needs attention needs disciplinary action , remember its not the dealer or volvo telling them that..... its someone on the front desk who could have only been there six months ...
Its all about training . The channels are there , Volvo has the best training facilities of anyone in Daventry , they need to up their independent mystery shops by a factor of 10 it seems and make your question one of the key questions they should ask the " service adviser " ....

The fluid doesn't need changing according to the owner's manual though? You only need to service the transmission if you use the vehicle for towing or arduous conditions remember... that's in the handbook . So if you don't tow heavy loads for example, the fluid never needs to be changed in Volvo's eyes. The only service schedule that exists for the transmission is "optional" & only applies to vehicles used for towing or in arduous conditions. So its fine for me to drive 160,000 miles, never tow & never do a fluid change in Volvo's eyes... that sounds okay to you?

Thanks goodness some people don't take heed of dealerships.