First breakdown

[krzemien]

Major service in my case is around £400, minor £300. So not sure where your quoted £600 is coming from, perhaps you did not negotiate...

Please also note that annual service at dealers also includes one year of roadside assistance (EU included).

Alas, what I'm primarily buying is simply peace of mind: I do care about our safety and need to know that car has been serviced as expected and described by manufacturer, and resulting chance of breaking down in the sticks due to one's neglect is next to nothing (age of car and unexpected events notwithstanding). I guess my 11 years of trouble-free ownership - backed by my presence on these either forums - should somehow prove that I haven't gone wrong with this approach so far?

So I don't think it's a bad deal I've been getting for my money after all - and across the years either.

And I really couldn't care less if somebody will check all these invoices later, or not (yes, I do have them all) - I know that my conscience will be squeaky clean.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by krzemien

Major service in my case is around £400, minor £300. So not sure where your quoted £600 is coming from, perhaps you did not negotiate...

Please also note that annual service at dealers also includes one year of roadside assistance (EU included).

Alas, what I'm primarily buying is simply peace of mind: I do care about our safety and need to know that car has been serviced as expected and described by manufacturer, and resulting chance of breaking down in the sticks due to one's neglect is next to nothing (age of car and unexpected events notwithstanding). I guess my 11 years of trouble-free ownership - backed by my presence on these either forums - should somehow prove that I haven't gone wrong with this approach so far?

So I don't think it's a bad deal I've been getting for my money after all - and across the years either.

And I really couldn't care less if somebody will check all these invoices later, or not (yes, I do have them all) - I know that my conscience will be squeaky clean.

It seems servicing costs varies by dealer. I’m just going off my local one, as the next dealership is miles away & not a viable option due to distance. They also have a habit of adding stuff that doesn’t really need doing, which also inflates the price. I declined these & it was still much dearer than my local indi.

You said in another post that you had doubts about whether genuine parts were used by the dealer... That’s on your conscience.

I service my car myself & the bigger things I let my local indi do. My car is well looked after, servicing is done just as good as the dealer at a fraction of the price with genuine parts. I also have VIDA & I’m not second guessing whether something has been done, as I did it myself.

[foggyjames]

This is a really, really dangerous game on 2010-on 5-cylinder diesels with the Bosch CP4 high pressure pump. You can read the full story by Googling "Bosch CP4 failure". The key things to avoid are:
1) Running out of fuel
2) Mis-fuelling with petrol
3) Failing to change the fuel filter - this was my mistake - I thought I was safe, as a P2 Euro 3 D5 will throw a fuel pressure fault code if its filter is getting clogged.
4) Failing to adequately bleed the fuel system after changing the filter (either with several ignition cycles to run the pump, or preferably manually actuating the pump for 2-3 minutes using VIDA).

The only consolation is that many other car manufacturers went over to the CP4 much earlier, so the danger window is narrower with Volvo. Really shoddy work on Bosch's part.

My parts bill alone was above £3k.

cheers

James

[MCFastybloke]

It happened again, cold start and ruff idle, then as i pulled out my downhill driveway and onto the road he died. Tried a couple of restarts ,dies as soon as you touch the throttle, took the fuel cap off and after a minute or so all is normal. No fuel related codes.

i suspect the tank isnt venting

[yostumpy]

Originally Posted by MCFastybloke

It happened again, cold start and ruff idle, then as i pulled out my downhill driveway and onto the road he died. Tried a couple of restarts ,dies as soon as you touch the throttle, took the fuel cap off and after a minute or so all is normal. No fuel related codes.

i suspect the tank isnt venting

was there a suuuuuup! noise when opening the tank? How long had it been idling , as it would take a while to build up a vacuum?

[MCFastybloke]

Originally Posted by yostumpy

was there a suuuuuup! noise when opening the tank? How long had it been idling , as it would take a while to build up a vacuum?

Not that i heard but i was at the side of a very busy A road, could easily have been drowned out,car was idleing for a few mins while i moved my other car off the wash bay.

[XC90Mk1]

Originally Posted by krzemien

Major service in my case is around £400, minor £300. So not sure where your quoted £600 is coming from, perhaps you did not negotiate...

Please also note that annual service at dealers also includes one year of roadside assistance (EU included).

Alas, what I'm primarily buying is simply peace of mind: I do care about our safety and need to know that car has been serviced as expected and described by manufacturer, and resulting chance of breaking down in the sticks due to one's neglect is next to nothing (age of car and unexpected events notwithstanding). I guess my 11 years of trouble-free ownership - backed by my presence on these either forums - should somehow prove that I haven't gone wrong with this approach so far?

So I don't think it's a bad deal I've been getting for my money after all - and across the years either.

And I really couldn't care less if somebody will check all these invoices later, or not (yes, I do have them all) - I know that my conscience will be squeaky clean.

Well put, it’s absolutely each to their own. I have never gone near a dealership for service work and mine is now 11 years old with 115k and no break downs (had a leaking seal once that meant it drove poor for a day and that’s it).

My car is better than most and that’s with my service work, others like independents and some like Volvo.

Each to their own.

[Kev0607]

I wouldn’t pay those prices either. I can buy the parts & oil for about £80-£100 (full service) & do the work myself. I understand not everyone can for various reasons, but still, £400 for a full service is a rip off in my book… People need to shop around. Parts/oil cost around £80-£100 tops for a full service, so you’re paying £320 in labour! £300 for a minor service is even more of a rip off! A minor service is basically an oil change.

Don’t mention the free software updates by getting a Volvo dealer service, the car is years old… its very very unlikely to need any - That’s just another gimmick. Any software updates will have been done long before now, especially if its had main dealer history since new.

If a car is new or well up in the years, yes bring it to the dealer for servicing to adhere to the warranty. Once the warranty expires, go elsewhere like an independent garage or do the servicing yourself. You’ll save a lot of money by doing so. Full dealer history come sale time means practically diddly squat… you may get a bit extra for it, but you definitely aren’t going to recoup the thousands spent on servicing at a main dealer over the years. That is guaranteed.

Each to their own, but there is no point going to a dealership to service a car that is out of its warranty period. There’s plenty of cars out there that have been DIY serviced or brought to specialists that are still very well looked after. You just have to look for them, know what you’re looking for & don’t get excited when you see a book full of stamps. Yes, it means a car has been looked after, but it also means that someone paid through the roof for glorified oil changes because they didn’t shop around. Just because a car has been serviced by an independent or DIY doesn’t mean they didn’t do it right, nor does it mean its been neglected. It just means people are trying to save money! Independents service cars with Volvo parts too for a fraction of the price.

“Free breakdown cover” included in the Volvo service sounds great. Its not “free”(nothing is free)… its part of the £300 extra you’ve spent in labour by them charging over the odds to change the oil. You can get breakdown cover from the AA or RAC & it’ll be much cheaper. AA or RAC policies may not cover you in the EU (you’d have to check the policy wording), but if someone doesn’t go to the EU driving, it makes no difference. There’s also policies you can get solely to cover you whilst you’re away in a foreign country anyway.

Like I said though, each to their own. This is my personal opinion… what people do with their cars is their choice. I have a different approach, which I’m entitled to the same as someone is entitled to bring their car to a dealership to get it serviced if they wish. This post is purely for discussion, not to cause arguments between anyone. Just to be clear on that.

[foggyjames]

At least on my car, there isn't a vent - just the filler neck tube.

Are you confident that the in-tank pump is running? They can be prone to failing - I say they - it's usually the PEM (on a...2012-on(?) car), which is mounted to the top of the tank, or the connector on the top of the tank module getting corroded.

It's a huge PITA that there's no access hatch on P3s, otherwise it would be worth checking them as a matter of routine. Given that there isn't, it's hard to justify the time. I dropped the tank on mine 18 months ago, on the driveway, using a trolley jack, and it took about 4 hours (and that was with the exhaust already cut and sleeved). I suspect it'd be a lot quicker with a better lifting mechanism, in fairness.

cheers

James

[Familyman 90]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

That’s why when you do a job yourself, you know its been done.

I understand that not everyone can for a multitude of reasons, but I don’t like dealerships. Shoddy work & ridiculous prices… some are good, but they’re few & far between.

Although, as the OP states, the suspicious fuel filter originates at a local garage and not a dealer.

Ive come across as many shoddy and downright dodgy independents as I have dealers. The name over the door seems to have lottle correlation to either the dilligence and quality of their work or the hinedty of their practices. A bad garage is simply a bad garage.