Volvo Dealers Repair Prices...?

Feb 8th, 2006, 12:43

Wow, I have just had a real shock.... The trailing arm bushings (bushes as i have always called them) have gone on my 240 estate, I have been going through the yellow pages to get quotes for them replaced and have also taken the car to a garage to be priced up 'manually' and have had some interesting results.....the Garage that i presumed would give me the best price for the work done (the main Volvo sales, service & repair centre) have quoted me....wait for it.....£200-250+Vat (depending on how easy it is to extract the old bushes and time taken) - yet the smaller garages have quoted me upto £100 less. - how can the Volvo garage justify such a quote bearing in mind that they obviously have the correct extraction tools etc to the job quickly and efficiently.
If there are any Volvo mechanics/specialists reading this i would appreciate your thought's on the prices given.

All the best,
Grub.

bogart · Feb 8th, 2006, 12:57

Main dealers are always the dearest. Often they do have biggest overheads but still charge way too much per hour. Any garage that calls itself a garage will have 99% of any tools required anyway. Plus often in an independant garage you tend to get an older guy doing the work, rather than the spotty faced youngster the main dealer often employs, who hasn't a clue most of the time what they are doing. And try and get a fixed price, if the old bushes are hard to extract then its just tough luck on them.

penninepullman · Feb 8th, 2006, 19:48

You can keep the cost down by replacing them yourself. The Owners Club has the proper tool available for hire, and the latest Technical Driver reprinted the article on 'how to do it'.
I did these bushes some years ago without any problems using this tool.
Bushes available from places such as Euro Car Parts or Braydons. So total cost should be about £30 - £40.

Erling · Feb 9th, 2006, 07:42

You can also make a copy of the Volvo TAB tool yourself, with common 2" plumbing parts. Here is mine:

The Tool at work:

More details on my web page; http://home.no.net/ebrox/

Cheers,
Erling.

Feb 8th, 2006, 12:43	#1
Grub Guest Location:	Volvo Dealers Repair Prices...? Wow, I have just had a real shock.... The trailing arm bushings (bushes as i have always called them) have gone on my 240 estate, I have been going through the yellow pages to get quotes for them replaced and have also taken the car to a garage to be priced up 'manually' and have had some interesting results.....the Garage that i presumed would give me the best price for the work done (the main Volvo sales, service & repair centre) have quoted me....wait for it.....£200-250+Vat (depending on how easy it is to extract the old bushes and time taken) - yet the smaller garages have quoted me upto £100 less. - how can the Volvo garage justify such a quote bearing in mind that they obviously have the correct extraction tools etc to the job quickly and efficiently. If there are any Volvo mechanics/specialists reading this i would appreciate your thought's on the prices given. All the best, Grub.

Feb 8th, 2006, 12:57	#2
bogart Master Member Last Online: Jan 31st, 2023 09:51 Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Languedoc Roussillion	Main dealers are always the dearest. Often they do have biggest overheads but still charge way too much per hour. Any garage that calls itself a garage will have 99% of any tools required anyway. Plus often in an independant garage you tend to get an older guy doing the work, rather than the spotty faced youngster the main dealer often employs, who hasn't a clue most of the time what they are doing. And try and get a fixed price, if the old bushes are hard to extract then its just tough luck on them. Last edited by bogart; Feb 8th, 2006 at 13:02.

Feb 9th, 2006, 07:42	#4
Erling VOC member Last Online: May 8th, 2007 20:15 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Stavanger	You can also make a copy of the Volvo TAB tool yourself, with common 2" plumbing parts. Here is mine: The Tool at work: More details on my web page; http://home.no.net/ebrox/ Cheers, Erling. __________________ The older I get, the better I used to be.

Feb 8th, 2006, 19:48	#3
penninepullman VOC Member Last Online: Yesterday 14:09 Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Harrow	You can keep the cost down by replacing them yourself. The Owners Club has the proper tool available for hire, and the latest Technical Driver reprinted the article on 'how to do it'. I did these bushes some years ago without any problems using this tool. Bushes available from places such as Euro Car Parts or Braydons. So total cost should be about £30 - £40.

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