Volvo servicing

Sesshoumaru

I had my S40 serviced last Thursday and the bill came to a whopping 720 euro. Now im not sure if this is normal for larger saloon cars as I have only purchased this car recently... But to me it seemed a bit excessive as it was just a normal service plus new brake pads and some lights. Are there any Volvo owners on boards.ie that could let me know if this is what I can normally expect to pay to service this car? or can anyone recommend to me a good place to have my Volvo serviced in Dublin? Thanks!

alias no.9

Assuming it's the original S40, the engines are renault engines with the exception of the GDi which is very rare in teh S40 and is made by mitsubushi so if you really feel you need the technical expertise, these are your other options. The reality is that any independant garage will be perfectly competant to carry out the servicing, there is no startling technology in the S40, it's very much run of the mill mechanically.

bazz26

€740 for a service! :eek: OMG! A bit excessive, this is daylight robbery. Was a new timing belt included in that? Another case of Rip Off Ireland I think.

I have my Avensis serviced by my local Toyota dealer for €150 including labour and VAT. Even if I needed new brake pads it would not come close to €740. The S40 is basically a Mitsubishi Carisma underneath so the mechanics should be simple enough.

Did you get an itemised bill to see how they arrived at that figure?

Sesshoumaru

No there was no timing belt included in that price. The timing belt had been changed previously and it doesn't need a new one for about another 40,000 miles. But if I wanted the timing belt changed that would have been 350 extra!

They provided an itemised bill as well. It seems most of the cost was labour at €75 per hour. They seemed to charge that individually. So I got charged for labour on each brake pad they fitted etc

All I can say is that if you have a volvo don't bring it to Koping Motors!!! I'll look for some competent local mechanic to do it next time.

ds20prefecture

bazz26 wrote:

€740 for a service! :eek: OMG! A bit excessive, this is daylight robbery. Was a new timing belt included in that? Another case of Rip Off Ireland I think.

I have my Avensis serviced by my local Toyota dealer for €150 including labour and VAT. Even if I needed new brake pads it would not come close to €740. The S40 is basically a Mitsubishi Carisma underneath so the mechanics should be simple enough.

Did you get an itemised bill to see how they arrived at that figure?

This is what any Dublin main dealer will charge. The labour rates in Dublin are between €75 and €80 per hour, compared with, say, €45 outside of Dublin. I agree that it is daylight robbery.

Your best bet will be to use an independant, but make sure your warranty is still valid if you do.

lomb

well actually volvo main dealer servicing is dear.
it depends really, id say u had the break fluid done within that, oil/filter/ front pads, mayb the coolant was changed as well. also it is possible the timing belt was changed although unlikely.

if u cant afford it or u think its dear, then either do it urself or get an independant to service it.my advice is do it urself and have any pads etc hanged by kwikfit. to put ur service in perspective mercedes annesely charge about 250 euro for the 10000 mile service on the new e240 which is an 80grand car.

how many miles on ur car, and who did it?

lomb

ds20prefecture wrote:

This is what any Dublin main dealer will charge. The labour rates in Dublin are between €75 and €80 per hour, compared with, say, €45 outside of Dublin. I agree that it is daylight robbery.

Your best bet will be to use an independant, but make sure your warranty is still valid if you do.

i dont think 80 euro an hour is excessive, most businesses run on that that are overhead intensive. what i will say is changing pads only takes an hour with half hour for break fluid say and an hour for the service so 2.5 hours+parts+50euro valet= id say 350+vat=420ish although i believe vat on services is 12.5%. so its def 300 too much anyway.

Sesshoumaru

lomb wrote:

well actually volvo main dealer servicing is dear.
it depends really, id say u had the break fluid done within that, oil/filter/ front pads, mayb the coolant was changed as well. also it is possible the timing belt was changed although unlikely.

if u cant afford it or u think its dear, then either do it urself or get an independant to service it.my advice is do it urself and have any pads etc hanged by kwikfit. to put ur service in perspective mercedes annesely charge about 250 euro for the 10000 mile service on the new e240 which is an 80grand car.

how many miles on ur car, and who did it?

79,000 miles on the clock and it was Koping Motors. Its not a matter of whether I can afford it or not. If I won the lottery today i'd still prefer not to pay those rip off artists this amount of money for a normal servicing. Its the principle I tells you

BrianD3

720 is excessive, even if the coolant and brake fluid were changed which they probably weren't (it would say it on the bill if they were)

When you bring your car in for a service *always* get the garage to quote you a price before you leave the car with them. If any extra work such as brakes or wipers needs to be done on top of usual service items tell them that they must contact you with a quote for the extra work before they do anything.

This is how it works with Dublin Renault dealers, they are very dear but at least they are transparent. Some have prices for services and common jobs posted up on the wall which saves you the trouble of asking for a quote. Eg Liffey Valley Renault has prices posted for major and minor services on all types of renaults as well as prices for common jobs such as brake pad replacement.

BrianD3