Impressed by pricing on original parts...

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Hi all,
I've been hunting for a proper Bosch OEM distributor cap to go with my new Bougicord HT leads (the car currently has Bosch leads and a pattern cap with poles that aren't brass...I've been strongly advised to use the spec gear on the ignition side so this stuff has to go), and was surprised to find the Bosch caps on eBay going for upwards of £70.

I decided to call my local Volvo dealer yesterday and was surprised to find that a genuine Volvo cap (made by Bosch but with a lacquered interior to help prevent water ingress based tracking) was only £52 inc. VAT! Ordered one and and it arrived this morning...it's SO much better made and heavier than the pattern ones for a similar price point. Includes the black back cover etc too, just bolt on and go...has a warranty too.

After a similarly pleasing result with the exhaust kit I bought from them earlier in the month, I'm starting to think that for most of my standard maintenance odds and ends I'll get everything straight from Volvo from now on. Price difference is minimal (and sometimes cheaper), and any extra is a small price to pay for great service and peace of mind.

[Laird Scooby]

That's not a bad price from Volvo Phil, i remember buying one for my last 740 and paid about £35 for a pattern part.

However the lacquer had flaked inside the cap on the original and was harbouring oil and moisture plus dirt causing misfires all over the place. Swings and roundabouts!

On other things like oil filters, Volvo are very competitive compared to aftermarket and as you say, they're guaranteed and have the all-important Volvo logo on.

Best thing is to shop around, if you can get OE quality elsewhere considerably cheaper then it's a no-brainer, if the pattern and genuine parts are within a small margin then unless your budget is being squeezed, go for the OE, again if OE is cheaper it doesn't matter.

Many pattern aprt manufacturers take advantage of the fact that dealer parts have historically been expensive. Can't remember the make now but one pattern part maker made side repeater lenses for Vauxhalls (the round ones, about an inch diameter, Mk2 Cavaliers etc) and sold them in various accessory shops for between £2.99-3.99.

While in the Vauxhall dealers one day picking up some parts for work, i enquired about the cost of the side repeater lenses - the parts guy didn't even need to look them up, 99p each including the dreaded!

I'm sure many other manufacturers have similar price structures except perhaps BMW, Porsche, Mercedes etc. I know Bentley charge a lot more for the Crank Position Sensor than Volvo do but in turn, they charge more than Kia but even Kia are more expensive than the best pattern parts.

[deeman940]

i have always found Volvo reasonable, the trouble is alot of parts are no longer available. For instance front ABS sensor, i could go on.
Also, some of the parts are not what was originally specified for the car i,e water pumps,,
But generally they are always my first port of call. Always looks good in the service folder too wads of Volvo dealership receipts!

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by deeman940

i have always found Volvo reasonable, the trouble is alot of parts are no longer available. For instance front ABS sensor, i could go on.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ABS-Senso...1/263202894244

Leave some for me though!

[MiniNinjaRob]

I’ve bought a few things from the dealers and found them to be fantastic. My local Volvo dealers (Clive Brook, Mr Brook himself has a very nice P1800) do heritage days when you can get your car up on the ramps and they can advise you on any work that needs doing and they do deals on parts etc and provide some snacks.
Even when I’ve been in as a regular customer they don’t bat an eyelid when you ask for parts for a 940. I recently got a new expansion tank and hoses when mine split and while I may have paid a bit more for them they were available the same day and were very high quality original parts in Volvo boxes/bags.

[Stephen Edwin]

Originally Posted by AllHailKingVolvo

Hi all,
I've been hunting for a proper Bosch OEM distributor cap to go with my new Bougicord HT leads (the car currently has Bosch leads and a pattern cap with poles that aren't brass...I've been strongly advised to use the spec gear on the ignition side so this stuff has to go), and was surprised to find the Bosch caps on eBay going for upwards of £70.

I decided to call my local Volvo dealer yesterday and was surprised to find that a genuine Volvo cap (made by Bosch but with a lacquered interior to help prevent water ingress based tracking) was only £52 inc. VAT! Ordered one and and it arrived this morning...it's SO much better made and heavier than the pattern ones for a similar price point. Includes the black back cover etc too, just bolt on and go...has a warranty too.

After a similarly pleasing result with the exhaust kit I bought from them earlier in the month, I'm starting to think that for most of my standard maintenance odds and ends I'll get everything straight from Volvo from now on. Price difference is minimal (and sometimes cheaper), and any extra is a small price to pay for great service and peace of mind.

Hello. I remember your exhaust pipe. the dealer carefully checked what was in the box of exhaust parts for you. Probably for two reasons. First, good dealers know that for SOME models Volvo exhaust boxes have at times contained a poor assortment of parts. My 240 exhaust was also good to go. My dealer also checked in the box before sending by DPD. Above all, you have a good dealer. Interested in providing a good service to owners of modern classic Volvos. Top tip is find a good dealer and make them your regular supplier. Use them or lose them, they need our custom to stay providing that service for our classic cars.

When my 240 needs parts I call my dealer. FRF Swansea, many miles away, truly excellent service. I had a good local dealer but they got taken over.... I have experience of FRF after discussion including price, tell me, we have sent the parts you wanted, please pay us. They were working to help me against the clock. And I hope that I have built a good customer relationship by buying regularly.

I rarely feel the need to check other prices elsewhere. Partly because prices vs delivery etc can be swings and roundabouts, snakes and ladders. Look at delivery from one well known supplier.

Some parts that are not available from Volvo (240 washer pumps...) or that are EEK expensive (headlight reflectors), can be bought well from for example Charlton Volvo in Scotland. I haven't needed them often yet but they are "on speed dial". Much better than a certain well known third party supplier.

Water pumps. Well at least there is a hint in another thread that Volvo will supply a good quality item soon. For now, it is known that the SKF? pump is good. The forum sharing information is invaluable.

There was a very long thread which culminated as a fuel pump failure. Only a Volvo dealer managed to supply the pump. I think they supplied innards to repair the pum. The pump had been discounted early in diagnosis....

There are other parts that only Volvo supply.

Remember. Volvo made these cars. They are Volvos. If I survive to sell mine I want it to still be a Volvo.




Slightly enhanced typos &c. so E&OE.


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[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Stephen Edwin

Water pumps. Well at least there is a hint in another thread that Volvo will supply a good quality item soon. For now, it is known that the SKF? pump is good.

Remember. Volvo made these cars. They are Volvos. If I survive to sell mine I want it to still be a Volvo.

If you fit an SKF pump it is original Volvo quality - when i say original Volvo quality, i mean original Volvo as SKF were the original parent company of Volvo way back when.

The initials SKF stand for Swedish Bearing Factory (in Swedish = Svenska Kullagerfabriken) and Volvo is derived from the phrase "I Roll" in Latin :

"Assar Gabrielsson, SKF sales manager and Björn Prytz, Managing Director of SKF were the founders of Volvo AB in 1926. In the beginning, the company functioned as a subsidiary automobile company within the SKF group. SKF funded the production run of the first thousand cars, built at Hisingen in Gothenburg, beginning in 1927. SKF used one of the company's trademarked names: AB Volvo, which derives from the Latin "I roll", with its obvious connotations of bearings in motion. The ownership of Volvo lasted until 1935 when the last shares were divested. "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SKF

Even now with only a tenuous connection left to SKF, it's probably the closest you'll get to original Volvo quality and i would still use a SKF product over A.N.Other bearing as they some of, if not the, best bearings you'll get.

[Stephen Edwin]

We remember a forum discussion around the nuances of exactly who SKF are. Interesting. They certainly sound like the business. Kushti.

*****

David I remember you also have a good relationship with a Volvo parts dealer. It's becoming time for the forum to have a list of recommended Volvo parts dealerships actively good for modern classic Volvos.


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[Laird Scooby]

When all of Geely have succumbed to Corona Virus, maybe SKF will buy Volvo back from the Chinese.

[Stephen Edwin]

China are exporting the Dalek virus .......






See the computer pics of the virus. The antenna are Dalek sink plungers .... the Day of the Triffids has nothing on whatever will eventually happen to us all.



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