Many Volvo's (including the XC60 - only found out last week) are Fords in disguise, the XC60 is a Mondeo.

About 6 years ago when I was planning a change of car I had the C30 on the short list. I was well aware it was a Focus in a fancy frock but the car suited my needs, drove well and good deals were available. Being a tight sod I always consider the full cost of ownership before buying and the wife having had a Focus for 3 years at the time we felt that servicing was good value, the first 3 had cost us approx £500 including the first MOT. When I asked about servicing on the C30 the cost for the first 3 services was quoted as £1200. The garage was very reluctant to disclose what extra works they carried out compared to Ford on the mechanically identical Focus, turned out they were reluctant for a good reason, there was no extra work.

After some negotiation they agreed to include the first 3 services in the deal, then they added £1200 to the cost to change. Bought a BMW.

The Volvo garage is not there anymore, wonder why.

Volvo parts have never been cheap, but in the pre-Ford days the vehicles were durable and the overall parts requirement fairly modest. The vehicles were also simple (crude?) by current standards.

A current Volvo is a sophisticated machine, so designed in order to compete with its rivals. The market penetration of the brand is fairly low and there is consequently little competition in the form of pattern parts or specialist independents (although there are some).

The possibility of using the brand as an after-sales cash cow by its current owners may, in my view, be too good for them to miss. My observations suggest that this practice is occuring and that if you choose this product, you need to examine carefully the source of parts and labour in order to keep costs in line. The process may be more trouble than the perceived advantages of the brand suggest.

As an owner of a "rubbish badge" VAG product, I find the worldwide market penetration of its running gear to be such that the choice of spares is astonishingly wide - from China upwards. Obviously, you buy with care, but competition has the magic effect of keeping the OE parts prices down. I have found that the cost of service spares and the very few replacement parts needed for this vehicle has been unexpectedly low.

I have made a further comment on the D5 engine in "Technical".

659.

Edited by 659FBE on 22/01/2014 at 15:04