[slender]

Well, I gave it one last shot and sent Volvo a letter suggesting that to meet in the middle with no strings attached would be the fairest solution to this matter. I pointed out that they may have to reimburse me £400 if I did buy another Volvo in the next 12 months or they may not. I also intimated that reimbursing me an extra £150 now could go a huge way to keeping a good customer of a number of years standing. I wasn't greatly surprised when the suggestion was categorically rejected and a firm line drawn under the offer by Volvo. I have accepted the offer made but written back to make them fully aware that whilst I have accepted I am not happy and will think long and hard before I buy any product from the Ford automotive stable. I'm sure this will not worry them too much but they really are heading for a huge fall if they continue to treat customers in this way. I enjoy driving my Volvo car but I have ceased to enjoy being a Volvo customer. I have no intentions of cutting my nose to spite my face but I cannot be sure if the attributes that attracted me to Volvo ownership in the first place are sufficient enough to keep my long term loyalty. A used Lexus has never looked so good and I know from my fathers experience of owning a used Lexus that customer care is exemplary. Customer care and reliability, that's a combination that looks hard to beat right now.