How to Save Money on Volvo Maintenance
Archive for March, 2012
Free Volvo Roadside Assistance For 5 years: What You Need to Know Today
Mar 29th
The Volvo 5 year Safe + Secure plan comes with FREE road side service for 5 years.
- This plan covers anyone driving the vehicle with your permission.
- When you are in need of assistance, please call 1.800.638.6586 and Volvo will dispatch the closest tow truck service to your location.
- The network of tow truck service will tow your Volvo to the closest Volvo dealership within a 25 mile radius when traveling out of town. However, if you are stranded closer to home you can request towing to your local dealer.
- When calling for roadside service, please make sure to request a flat bed tow truck. And if the car is in a garage with limited accessibility (low clearance), you can ask for a tow truck equipped with a dolly.
- Certified Pre-Owned Volvo’s come with roadside assistance, covered under CPO Warranty for 6 -years/100,000 miles. Benefits include: free emergency roadside and towing service 24/7/365, trip routing map services, $5,000 car theft protection award, discounted car rental rates, and trip interruption coverage for a breakdown or traffic accident related to the CPO warranty that occurs more than 150 miles from home.
Volvo Free Road Side Assistance includes:
- 24-hour toll-free emergency dispatch.
- Towing to nearest Volvo dealership, even if required for something other than a covered failure.
- Trip Interruption Expense Reimbursement Benefits – up to $500 for food, lodging, and car rental.
- Battery Jump Start.
- Flat Tire Service.
- Fuel Delivery.
- Lock-Out service if your ignition key is lost, broken or accidentally locked inside your Volvo and you are unable to locate a spare.
- Computerized Trip Routing/Map Services for professional trip planning that includes detailed maps, clearly marked to indicate the most direct or scenic route to your destination.
- Winching Service to remove your Volvo from mud, sand, snow or ditch.
- Car rental discounts.
- Car theft protection reward.
What the Coverage Does Not Include
An emergency situation does not include:
- • Repeated service calls for a car in need of routine maintenance.
• Shoveling snow from around a vehicle.
• Installation or removal of chains or snow tires.
.• Vehicle storage charges, costs of parts and installation, products, materials, impounding and additional labor related to towing.
- All trip interruption claims do not cover:
- Alcoholic beverages.
- Tips.
- Pre-arranged hotel stays.
- Car rental insurance.
- Gas.
- Tolls.
- Toiletries, entertainment (movies), or clothing.
AAA Road Side Service
When your Volvo roadside service coverage runs out, get (AAA) and call 1.800.222.4357 if you need help.
Triple A Roadside Assistance with a Basic Membership will tow your car free for 3 miles. With AAA Plus Membership, your car will be towed free for 100 miles.
Volvo Extended Warranty: 7 Buying Tips That Will Save You Money
Mar 22nd
When you own a Volvo, Safety is the first priority and with that comes a peace of mind that you can safely drive your car without worring about repair bills. Naturally, it goes without question that when you run out of standard warranty you should invest in an extended warranty.
Buying extended warranty should be handled very carefully, with plenty of research, just like when you are shopping for a used car. However, if you are short of time, then your best option is to purchase a Volvo Warranty like CPO(Certified Pre-owned). And if you want more peace of mind, purchase VIP (Volvo Increased protection Plan).
When shopping for extended warranty, you should first look for what’s excluded — what is NOT COVERED under the plan. Then look for an extended warranty plan that best fits your budget and deductible options. VIP Plans offer a range of deductible options, from $0 to $500.
VIP Comprehensive Plan Exceptions (Not Covered)
- Mechanical.Adjustments and cleaning, Battery and Cables, Belts and Hoses, Brakes, Exhaust Systems (including catalytic converter), Filters, Fluids, Lights, Lubricants, Manual Clutch Assembly, Shock Absorbers, Spark Plugs and Wires, Squeaks and Rattles, Tires, Tune-up, Wheel Balance and Alignment, Wiper Blades, Coolant and Wheel Studs.
- Exterior. Adjustments (glass and body parts), Bright Metal, Bumpers, Glass, Moldings, Paint, Rust, Sheet Metal, Side View Mirrors (glass and housing), Water Leaks, Wheel Covers and Ornaments, Wind Noise, Weatherstrips, Door Handles, Wheels and outside ornamentation.
- Interior. Carpet, Rear View Mirror, Trim, Upholstery, Door and Window Handles, Dash Pad, Knobs, Clock, Buttons, and Safety Restraint Systems.
Extended Warranty Buying Tips
- Save money by purchasing an extended warranty plan while the vehicle is still covered by the manufacturer’s bumper to bumper warranty. Don’t wait until the bumper-to-bumper warranty is set to expire before looking into an extended plan, or you will end up paying more money.
- Look for excellent customer service. Customer care should pick up the phone and authorize the claim within two hours or less.
- National coverage. You don’t want a plan with limits as to where you can take your car.
- Corporate credit card to pay for services — pays out directly to the repair facility.
- Warranty is transferable to a private buyer.
- Trip-interruption coverage.
- Highly rated by The Better Business Bureau (BBB) — certified.
- If you can comfortably afford to pay for car repairs, then you don’t need extended warranty.
The Volvo Warranties we use on a regular basis are:
- CPO (certified pre-owned)
1. 6-year/100,000-mile exclusionary CPO warranty. Zero ($0) deductible. They are great, in that we don’t have to call them to authorize repairs.covering replacement or repair of defective components within the following systems:
— Engine
— Transmission
— Drive axle
— Steering
— Suspension
— Brakes
— Electrical
— Air conditioning - Volvo Increased Protection (VIP) — boosts your CPO
Extended protection of your Volvo Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle Coverage out to 7 years or 8 years and up to 100,000.
* Zero Deductible - A nationwide non-Volvo company we use is JM&A Group.
TIP – Watch out for RED Warning lights while you are operating your vehicle. If the red oil warning lightis illuminated, safely pull over to the side of the road and come to a complete dead stop. Driving your car with the oil lamp illuminated on the dash will cause further damage, leading to engine failure, and failure to protect your car shall not be covered under the CPO limited warranty.
Volvo Manufacturer Warranty:How To Avoid The Costly Mistake of Voiding Your Warranty
Mar 15th
How To Void Factory Warranty
Tip – Factory or manufacturer warranties are valid only if you maintain your vehicle regularly. So, if your transmission goes out on you and you cannot prove — through receipts or service history — that you maintain your car according to Volvo standards, your warranty claim may be denied.
For example, a customer leases a brand new Volvo XC70. He drives it for 26,000 miles without a single drop of oil change for two years. When he starts to hear some strange thumping noises coming from the engine, he brings in his new Volvo to the dealership to have it checked out. The technician inspects the engine and discover lumps of oil sludge the size of golf balls but no flowing oil.
The service advisor calls his Volvo represestative asking if Volvo can replace the engine under warranty for this relatively new car. Volvo says, hell no! The customer did not follow Volvo scheduled maintenance services, which are FREE for five years under the 5 year safe and secure program. The customer who leased this Volvo, has to come out of pocket for $11,000 to replace the new engine that he blew up. He simply voided his factory warranty by ignoring free oil changes.
Other reasons that can lead to voided claims include:
- Salvaged Title – As a result of your car being totaled, and the car rendered a total loss by the insurer.
- Misuse of your car – Anything outside of normal operation of the vehicle can be considered misuse, such as street racing.
- Natural Disasters – Floods, earthquakes etc.
- Tampered odometers - When the dealer cannot determine the exact mileage of the vehicle due to odometer replacement, tampering, or it may be broken and you never had it repaired.
- Use of improper fluids- For example, adding diesel fuel in your gasoline powered car or other types of fuel not authorized for your vehicle.
- Installation of aftermarket products and/or services on a vehicle that is still under a new car warranty. If you wish to modify the performance of your Volvo use polestar fine tuning software.
Tip – After market parts are not covered by warranty. For example, if you are looking to replace your factory exhaust with an aftermarket cat-back exhaust, we will install it for you. But we will not be responsible if there are any dire effects as a consequence of installing the aftermarket part, such as a check engine light.
Volvo Factory Warranty – 5 Year Safe + Secure
Five years or 50,000 miles on model year 2013, 2012 or 2011 vehicles – which calls for a 7,500 mile service or one year whichever comes first, for a total of 50,000 miles or 5 years.
The Volvo Service Schedule for 2011 and 2012 models is 7,500, 15,000, 22,500, 30,000, 37,500 and 45,000 miles.
The 2013 models Volvo scheduled service is 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, and 50,000 miles.
According to Volvocars.com, “It’s “Safe” because it’s from Volvo, and it’s ”Secure” because you’ll be driving your Volvo virtually worry-free for five years. The Safe + Secure Coverage Plan from Volvo. Because you should feel as secure purchasing a new Volvo, as you do driving one. The Volvo Safe and Secure Coverage Plan is a U.S. specific program and is valid only when repairs are performed at an authorized U.S. Volvo Retailer.”
Which includes:
- 5 Year New Car Warranty
- 5 Year complimentary Factory Scheduled maintenance
- 5 Year Wear Tear Coverage
- 5 Years/Unlimited Miles Roadside Service . Call (1.800.638.6586) for road side service.
7 Volvo Mistakes You Should Avoid Today
Mar 7th
1.Don’t purchase a used Volvo without the Owners Manual.
Every once in a while, a customer will call to find out why the low tire pressure warning light is illuminated.
The reason why is because you added the wrong tire pressure, 32 psi (pressure per square inch) and not the correct pressure, 38 psi (tire pressure information is usually located inside the fuel filler door). If you don’t have an owners manual, you can call 1.800.258.6586 to order a new owner’s manual or download a copy from volvocars.com website. You also need to get the radio code.
2. Don’t get emotionally attached to your old car because it’s been in your family forever.
Rule of thumb:the economics law of diminishing returns also applies to your Volvo. Applying this to an old model Volvo means that at a certain point, the cost of keeping the old car going will outstrip it’s benefit to you economically. You have to let the car go or it will cost you a fortune to maintain, unless off-course you can do the repairs yourself and save on labor costs. if you are capable of doing your own oil changes, struts, brakes, engine mounts, CV joints, axles etc. Then by all means, keep your car running.
3. Don’t neglect routine or regular maintenance service.
The best thing you do for your car is to give it regular oil changes and tune up’s. We often see cars with oil sludge problems because customer disregard oil changes. Check out clogged PVC Box system on Volvo forums and see for yourself.
4. Don’t latch the passengers seat belt into the driver’s just to immobilize the warning sound. I haven’t personally observed this myself. But I had a conversation with a Volvo owner on linkedin, a social media website, and he told me that in Europe this is a common practise.
5. Don’t go shopping around for the cheapest Volvo shop. Jumping from shop to shop will only get you taken advantage of — the mechanics will look for everything that’s wrong with the car under the sun.
It is recommended to get one good technician who will get to know your Volvo like the back of his/her hand. And once you develop a good relationship, the mechanic will do some stuff for you for free and he/she can recommend what you have to get taken care of immediately and what can wait.
6. Don’t purchase a used Volvo without getting a Pre-purchase Inspection. Ladies, beware of buying a used car based on good faith. Always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. When buying a used car get that carfax report, get it inspected by a mechanic you trust and make sure the car has passed the state inspection. Watch out if the radio is not working and says CODE, this means the car was jump started recently and could indicate a bad battery among other things. When buying from a used car dealer, make sure the car is a certified used car with at least one year warranty.
7. Don’t purchased an off the shelf Scan Tool or code reader that loads into your laptop. The code reader that you downloaded onto your laptop is designed to only read current codes and clear codes, it may be very limited in scope and will only give you generic codes as opposed to what Volvo uses — VIDA. Vida is a Volvo Diagnostic tool that gives Volvo specific DTC codes as well as diagnose the problem codes. Save your money and time, get a precise diagnostic reading from the dealership. And you don’t want to download a virus into your vehicle.
Volvo Bulb Failure Warning Lights And What They Mean
Mar 1st
Now, if you are a Volvo owner you need to make sure you keep a good eye on your car’s bulbs. Your Volvo will give you a warning if the bulbs are burned out. And if you can’t read the warning lights illuminated on your dash, then go see your eye doctor like I did.
last Saturday I paid a visit to my eye doctor because driving at night has become an issue for me.
I discovered that when you hit the age of 40 your night vision may become compromised. This is exactly what has happened in my case. I see perfectly during the day when there is enough light. But at night when it gets dark my pupils dilate and I can’t focus properly. So, I am now getting prescription glasses for night driving. It is recommended you get your eyes checked every three years before the age of 40, and every two years after 40. And once a year after the age of 60.
Bulb Failure Warning Lights
- Bulb failure position light – this means that one of your tail lights is out.
- Check stop lamp – this means that one of your brake lights is out.
- Bulb failure low beam/high beam – check your headlights for burnt out bulbs
- Multiple bulb failure – you have more than one bulb that’s out.
- Rear Fog Light – check your rear fog lamp.
- Side Marker lights and directional Indicator lights.
Bulb Safety Tips
When replacing your headlight bulbs, never touch the glass of the bulbs with your bare fingers. Grease and oils from your fingers evaporate in the heat and cause damage to the bulbs. Use disposable gloves or a clean dry cloth. And always use the correct bulb type and voltage. Consult your owners manual for bulb specifications and how to change bulbs.
Night Driving Tips
- Make sure headlights are properly aligned. If your lights are pointed down or askew, you will not be able to see ahead.
- Wipe windshield’s interior to eliminate glare. If you get prescription glasses get them coated with a special anti-reflective coating, like I did.
- Use your Volvo’s low beams when driving through fog or use the fog light.
- Reduce speeds. If you can’t see well at night you need to keep a safe distance.
- Don’t ignore eye fatigue if your driving long distance. Pull into a rest area and catch a nap.
- At dawn or dusk beware of deer. Deer travel in herds, if you see one there is bound to be another right behind it.
- If your car fails, pull off the road as far as possible. Turn on emergency lights — hazards – and the inner dome light and don’t wander. Stay in the car until assistance arrives.
