How to Save Money on Volvo Maintenance
Archive for October, 2011
Volvo 5 Year Safe And Secure Program – Free Volvo Factory Scheduled Maintenance Program
Oct 28th
Did you just purchase a new Volvo? please make sure you know when to bring your Volvo in order to qualify for free factory service.
Volvo recommends to bring in your new Volvo for service every 7500 Miles or One year, whichever comes first.
In some cases the service reminder light may come on prematurely. On one occasion an angry customer called to complain that she had just purchased a new Volvo and within a week the service reminder light had come on. Why?
Like most of our customers, you probably dislike to see the service reminder light, notifying you, that it’s time for regular service. But it’s for good reason because we no longer use stickers on the windshield. You can simply have the service reminder light reset if it comes on prematurely.
With Volvo’s, the way it works is that when we receive a new Volvo from the factory we have to prep it for the potential retail buyer. We call this the pre-delivery inspection or PDI. This process involves waking up the car’s computers and in some cases adding extra features such as Park Assist, DVD Entertainment System etc.
So, when our accessories technician does the PDI, he also resets the service reminder light.
Now, if the PDI is done and the car sits on the sales lot for 11 months without moving an inch, the service reminder light will come on, automatically. This is not always the case but it does happen.
The service reminder light is activated either by time, every 11 months or by mileage, every 7500 miles.
By Time:
Most Volvo owners in the Washington DC Area do not drive much, so it makes sense to come in for service just once a year. Please do not go past one year or Volvo will not pay for the service.
Under the Safe and Secure Program, Volvo will pay for service for the first five years or 50,000 miles (2012 models) – you get Free Service and only pay for tire rotation. Volvo does not recommended tire rotation, I don’t know why. Personally, I rotate my tires so that they can wear evenly, and thus last longer as recommended by tire manufacturers. Volvo believes otherwise, but most of our customers request for tire rotation. Get your tires rotated at every service interval or every 7500 miles.
Tire mileage warranties – vehicle owners are required to prove that the tires were properly inflated, rotated and aligned.Please note that if the worn appearance indicates that tires weren’t properly maintained, the tire manufacturer will not be obligated to honor the tread life/mileage warranty.
By Mileage:
If you are a high mileage driver then it makes sense to come in for service every 7500 miles. Volvo gives you an allowance of plus or minus 1500 miles. So, if you come in for service with less than 6000 miles on your car and ask for the free Volvo scheduled maintenance service or over 9000 miles , guess who is paying for it. Yes, you.
Free Factory Scheduled Maintenance – Safe and Secure Coverage plan ( 5 year/ 50,000 miles for 2012 models and 5 year /60,000 miles for 2011 models)
- 5 year warranty/ 50,000 miles
- 5 year wear and tear/ 50,000 miles
- 5 year scheduled maintenance/ 50,000 miles
- 5 year road side assistance/ unlimited miles of road side assistance
- The maintenance program covers the first eight scheduled services at no charge on model year 2011 vehicles. The service schedule is 7,500, 15,000, 22,500, 30,000, 37,500, 45,000, 52,500 and 60,000 miles.
- The maintenance program covers the first six scheduled services at no charge on model year 2012 vehicles. The service schedule is 7,500, 15,000, 22,500, 30,000, 37,500 and 45,000 miles.
- Tire warranties are covered by the tire manufacturers, and not by Volvo. Tire tread life and mileage warranty only applies to the original owner and the original vehicle. according to most states’ laws, tires become legally worn out when they reach 2/32″ of remaining tread depth (identified when the tread blocks/ribs wear down to the bars molded across their tread pattern), all tire manufacturer tread life/mileage warranties that specify pro-rated replacement will only be consider when all four tires reach that point.
New Car Buying Tips – How To Hagle Down The Price on A New Volvo
Oct 20th
Many of us are nervous about facing a car sales person because we don’t know how to hagle down the price of a new car.
With this in mind, I recently sat down with one of our leading Volvo Sales & leasing Consultants at our dealership and asked him for some buying tips to help future Volvo owners save money on a new Volvo.
“With the current dire economic condition, consumers have the edge in negotiating down the price of a new Volvo as a result of low demand for new cars”, he says.
Dealerships currently have very low inventories of new cars as a result of preparing for the worst – a double dip recession. Hence, not many new car sales due to low demand, but alot of used cars are available due to high demand.
This is what you should know before you face a Car Salesman:
- Do your research: go online to edmunds.com, which is a great resource for reviews and prices, also call your insurance company and ask them for information on the car you want to buy.
- Get the invoice price for the new Volvo from edmunds.com. You can also get the True Market Value(TMV): TMV price is EDMUNDS.COM, an exclusive method for calculating what others are paying for a new car in your city — just plug in your zipcode – (based on actual sales data from your region).
- Ask for a rebate, or negotiate for at least $500 less than invoice price if possible, don’t pay MSRP.
- Best time to buy a car is at the end of the month when the dealership is trying to meets it’s sales quota. The sales manager will knock down the price of the new Volvo in order to hit that quota.
- Absolute best time to buy a car is at the end of the year; end of december when dealerships are clearing out last year’s models.
- Alternatively, you can purchase one of our Volvo loaner cars. Benefits include: the engine has been broken in and you save on depreciation costs.
- When you take delivery of the car make sure it’s in broad daylight and it’s not raining so that you can walk around the car and inspect it for body damage and scratches.
- Check the interior of the car:fabric, dash and carpets. Damp carpets in the footwells are a sign of troublesome leaks.
- Ensure that the salesman explains how to work the accessories. If you have bluetooth make sure the salesman pairs your phone to the car.
- Most important read your Volvo owners manual to familiarize yourself with the car, you will be suprised how many people don’t do this.
Tip – MSRP is an appetizer — starting point for negotiating — invoice price is where the meat is, and less than invoice price is desert.
Volvo Auto Detailing – Why You Need To Wax Your Volvo 3 to 4 Times A Year
Oct 14th
According to Alex, the business owner of Volvo/VW Auto Body shop in Rockville Maryland, “the paint job on your car is like your skin”.
Don’t you rub some lotion or sun screen on your skin on a daily basis to protect it from the elements. Okay, I see you nodding your head in agreement.
Waxing three to four times a year helps to protect the paint job and the clear coat on your Volvo by preserving oils in the paint that help to prevent oxidation.
Your Volvo’s skin, or should I say paint surface, is porous and all the nasty stuff in the atmosphere:acid rain, calcium, airborne chemicals, toxic bird poop, hail, tree sap, ultra violet rays, smog, and normal wear & tear will destroy that shiny finish.
You will start to notice that as time goes by, the once bright shiny coat will begin to fade, this process is known as oxidation. And what is happening is that the harsh chemicals in the air begin to slowly work their way into the pores of your Volvo’s skin and erode not only the color, but the thickness of the clear coat. So, the wax acts like a shield over the paint and thus slows down the rate of chemical oxidization or fading.
You can tell when you need to do a wax job by doing an easy test, commonly known as the water beading test.
The next time you wash your Volvo, observe how water behaves on the wet surface of your car. If the water beads up nicely — forming spherical droplets, then all is good. However, if the water forms a “sheet”, then you need a wax job asap.
For Volvo Auto Detailing, we refer our customers to Mobile One services, they come to you and although they are pricey, they do a terrific job.
In these hard economic times you may choose to wax your own car. In this case you need to know what products to use.
For a high class glossy finish, buy premium Carnauba Car Wax and get excellent results. Carnauba is also known as the queen of waxes. And because of it’s hypoallergenic and emollient properties as well as it’s shine, carnauba wax is used in many cosmetics formulas to thicken lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, foundation, deodorant, and other skin care products such as Sun Screens.
This excellent car wax is the hardest natural wax in the world and is obtained from the leaves of the carnauba palm trees in northern Brazil. Naturally occurring, the wax shields the palm leaves from the intense tropical sun and from rain by shedding water. The wax is harvested every year and graded according to its color, where it was grown, and its purity. The highest grade wax is put into car wax.
For production, the leaves are collected and beaten to loosen the wax, then refined and bleached to perfection.
How to apply Carnauba Car Wax
- Pour some wax onto a picece of clean microfiber cloth and dampen it well.
- Wipe the wax length wise on the car panels, never use circular motions.
- Let it dry out for ten minutes.
- With a dry microfiber cloth, wipe or dust off the white haze or residue to get a nice glossy finish.
Wax Tip – It is especially important to remember to cut down on swirl marks by waxing lengthwise on the panels.
How To Custom Build Your New Volvo For Less:Special Deals For Washington DC Diplomats
Oct 6th
Are you a Washington DC diplomat looking to enjoy great savings and benefits of a custom made luxury Volvo.
And off-course the most popular Volvo’s for Diplomats are Volvo S60, XC60 and V60.
Email or Call this lady right now for Diplomat Deals before they expire. And She will show you how to take advantage of Exclusive Offers, available for tax-free personnel at embassies, consulates, EU, UN and other international organizations.
This is how it works
Simply place your order with the Volvo Dealership (Diplomat sales) for your customized Volvo and arrange to pick it up in at the famed Volvo factory in Gothenburg, Sweden. While on vacation in Sweden you can drive around in your new Volvo and at the end of your vacation you can drop off the Volvo at the same facility in Gothenburg, where they will ship your car to Washington DC for you.
This is a very popular program and lots of customers take advantage of it, and the greatest benefits after saving money is that your Volvo is covered by international warranties and programs such as Volvo Assistance Europe.
Tax Free Deals not Just for Diplomats only, but also includes tax free personnel at:
- Embassies / Consulates
- United Nations (UNESCO, IBRD, World Bank, IMF etc)
- European Union (commission, parliament, institutions, agencies etc)
- International organizations (NATO, OECD etc)
The Volvo Diplomat Sales Program offers unique savings, convenience and benefits, including:
- Competitive diplomat prices
- Special offers on extra equipment
- Correct specifications for the country of your stay
- Customized delivery and shipment services
- Comprehensive warranties
- Professional service by our international sales team
