VOLVO OF AMERICA-BAY RIDGE VOLVO, POOR SERVICE, SCAM PRACTICES, USELESS CUSTOMER SERVICE Brooklyn, New York

My family and I are fed up with this company and the 2004 s40 we own! Since purchasing the car, it's been nothing but a headache! We've had multiple malfunctions on a car with under 50k miles on it, that are normally expected for a car with 100k+. In addition we've been victims of faulty business practices and overall nonchalant responses from Volvo of America. In addition, Volvo FALSELY advertises the quality of their vehicles; in reality they are overpriced & poorly manufactured.

Here are some of the ridiculous things we've experienced:

1. Passenger-side speaker broke within the second year of owning the car. It was under warranty BUT it was an absolute nightmare to fix it! It took us a total of 6months before the service center finally replaced it with a working speaker. Every time we went to them they claimed that they "ordered the wrong part." Yeah, right!

2. Heating Core & radiator replaced @ 30k. For three months in 2007 we had a problem where the interior of the windshield would fog up. This "fog" could not be cleared by the defroster and could only be removed manually via towel/paper. We took it to the service center multiple times. They assured us that they'd done some tweaking & it shouldn't happen again. They did some "tweaking" all right. One day when my parents were driving the car it began to OVERHEAT on them. I promptly called a trusted mechanic. We had to have the car towed to him. Within an hour he informed us that the heating core & radiator had MULTIPLE HOLES in them. This was where the "fog" was coming from. ANTIFREEZE was leaking into the cabin. Our mechanic called the dealership to request the parts necessary. They told him the warranty for the parts expired earlier that month! Talk about scam artists!

3. Unnecessary replacement of headlights & taillights. Every time we took the car to be serviced, they replaced all the headlights & taillights on the car, claiming that the lights were "almost gone." How is it then, that approximately 2months after these services that one light would randomly fritz?

4. The Service center has a tendency to damage our vehicle when they "fix it." That's right. There were numerous times we would pick up the car. I was smart enough to notice something fishy and would always check to make sure everything was fine. 4 out of 5 visits, we would give the car back to them before we even pulled out of the service center. On one occasion they broke the automatic gear shift button. Another time, I couldn't put the car in reverse. On yet others, I've found screws on the car seats, broken interior lights, missing electrical outlet cover, missing floor mats, and even the steering wheel not screwed in properly (although WHY they messed with that I shudder to think!)

5. Replacement of ALL struts, strut mount bearings & rotors @ 45k. Yes. Apparently it's "normal" to replace struts & rotors at 45k miles on a Volvo. Struts should NOT require replacement until AT LEAST 100k. We took the car to our trusted mechanic when we noticed something off about the car. He was highly annoyed & angry to find the struts completely gone, as well as the mount bearings & rotors. What this means is that the quality of these parts was EXTREMELY poor. The only time you have to replace them with low-mileage is if they are not higher quality. This means that Volvo charged us $26k for a car with cheap and unreliable parts.

6. Do your homework. Nearly every Volvo model has life-endangering recalls. I found out that our model make & year has 5 recalls, 4 of which could result in a fire due to improperly welded bolts, as well as improper location of certain parts. After some more research, I found the same was true of other models. When questioned, Volvo assured us that our car was not affected by these recalls. I'm inclined to think they're lying. Why? Well the last recall described to a "T" the very recent issue we had with the car. While driving one night, the check engine light flashed at me several times. I barely limped the car home, because it was stalling out and the entire engine was stuttering. This was the exact problem description in the last recall. We had no choice but to take it to the dealer. They claimed that the spark plugs, spark plug wires & 2 ignition parts had to be replaced. While this claim is valid, the additional problems experienced make the recall valid as well. When looking at the receipt, I found covert evidence that the problem part, as per the recall, was replaced!

7. Volvo of America will not help you in disputes with the local dealership. Volvo of N.A. doesn't care what the local dealerships do. We attempted to write numerous letters in order to describe our bad experiences & ask that Volvo take some action in order to rectify the poor practices of Bay Ridge Volvo.  The responses we received were nonchalant if not condescending. We were informed that they "couldn't do anything" because they were not responsible for the practices of the dealership, but that they would inform their "Dealership Liaison" and "hopefully things would improve." How's that for a slap in the face? Volvo of America doesn't care what their dealerships do, nor do they care to take customer complaints seriously. Things have only gotten worse over the 5 years we've had this car, and we're looking to get rid of it.

I strongly warn anyone of purchasing a Volvo of any kind! These problems I've highlights ARE NOT unique to me. There are many Volvo owners who are bitter and experiencing buyer's remorse. While there are others who praise the car they own, they will most likely eat their words within 1-2 years of ownership. We had this exact thing happen to us. We loved the car at first and everything was fine within the first year. But since that first year, all of these horrendous problems have arisen and the car has become nothing but an unreliable headache. Please DO NOT do business with Bay Ridge Volvo and DO NOT purchase a Volvo. I'm writing this report to save someone else the massive trouble they will undoubtedly experience at one point in time upon owning a Volvo. Buyer be VERY aware!