Volvo V70 T5 engine mess
- Thread starter Quattro Pete
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Well, let's just hope she has warranty and get's this taken care of. I have to put far more blame on the API and lame North American dealers.
Here in North America, dealers like to perpetuate the "maintenance free" myth of owning a car. True, if I was leasing or trading every 2-4 years, I would never open the hood.
Ever.
But I keep my equipment forever, so I look after it. Longer OCI's are appropriate with proper synthetic oils, especially combined with bypass filters. Not with some "low bidder" Brand X that's delivered in unmarked barrels.
Speaking of salesmen, I was window shopping at a Toyota dealer in Orem Utah back in 1994. A nice young gal was looking at a Camry and the slick salesguy told her "it's maintenance-free! Weld the hood shut, we don't even use spark plugs anymore."
He went to answer the phone and I politely told the nice gal that the salesguy was so full of s*** I could smell him upwind. She thanked me and left.
I hope she spread the word and it cost him his job. That level of bulls*** has no place today, and vultures like that can be blamed for perpetuating maintenance-free myths.
I suppose a savvy buyer can always check out the European car sites, which seem to offer much more direct and are more forthcoming with information. Like VW UK. But that's a huge pain.
Here in North America, dealers like to perpetuate the "maintenance free" myth of owning a car. True, if I was leasing or trading every 2-4 years, I would never open the hood.
Ever.
But I keep my equipment forever, so I look after it. Longer OCI's are appropriate with proper synthetic oils, especially combined with bypass filters. Not with some "low bidder" Brand X that's delivered in unmarked barrels.
Speaking of salesmen, I was window shopping at a Toyota dealer in Orem Utah back in 1994. A nice young gal was looking at a Camry and the slick salesguy told her "it's maintenance-free! Weld the hood shut, we don't even use spark plugs anymore."
He went to answer the phone and I politely told the nice gal that the salesguy was so full of s*** I could smell him upwind. She thanked me and left.
I hope she spread the word and it cost him his job. That level of bulls*** has no place today, and vultures like that can be blamed for perpetuating maintenance-free myths.
I suppose a savvy buyer can always check out the European car sites, which seem to offer much more direct and are more forthcoming with information. Like VW UK. But that's a huge pain.
She's just out of warranty and now stuck with a huge repair bill. That's why she wrote this post.
What's scary about this episode is that the same thing could happen to any of us in a field that we are not as educated consumers in (medicine and real estate come to mind)...
In the end it pays to be as smart and well-read as you can be.
In the end it pays to be as smart and well-read as you can be.
Yep, there are two ways to learn:
(1) from the book
(2) from one's own experience
Guess which one is less costly?
Unfortunately, one person cannot possibly learn everything, as someone already noted.
(1) from the book
(2) from one's own experience
Guess which one is less costly?
Unfortunately, one person cannot possibly learn everything, as someone already noted.
Interesting. Now at the 150K mile mark, the turbo 2.3L engine of my sister's '97 Saab 9000 has proven to be the most bulletproof part of the whole car. While I've never peered through the oil filler cap for sludge, not a single engine problem has made itself known, although plenty of other parts have failed -- she's gone through three trannies, for example. I believe she's only used whatever bulk SL conventional her independent garage buys, most likely Castrol, Pennzoil, or Valvoline. I'll sneak a peek inside the filler cap next social visit.
Keep in mind that the notorious Toyota "sludge monsters" apprise less than 1% of those engines, from what I recall. I'd bet the mortgage that a similar situation applies to these Scandanavian engines.
Keep in mind that the notorious Toyota "sludge monsters" apprise less than 1% of those engines, from what I recall. I'd bet the mortgage that a similar situation applies to these Scandanavian engines.
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