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Re: Bad 2007 XC70 Purchase Experience in Maryland [crestonave]

by steelekai on Sat Feb 02 12:06:26 PST 2008

The car had 300 miles on it. I was told that was from test drives and the fact that it had been on the lot for a while (first red flag). I did drive it and it ran great. I assume the car would be fine, but I was trying to buy a new car and not a slightly used car that had mechanical problems from the beginning. A crock is a nice way to put it. I can't prove it, but I assume the original buyer brought back the car within a day or so of owning it with the electrical problem. Then, after the dealer fixed the car, another problem with the EBS warning light. After that the owner told them to take the car back. Instead of doing a "buy back," the dealer could say that the bank financing didn't go through for whatever reason (increase in interest rate or the buyer couldn't land the financing), so they could stick the car back in the new-car inventory. Interestingly, the dealer has five other '07 XC70s without navigation as loaner cars. This car that I almost bought was the only '07 they had with navigation. I'm assuming they didn't want to eat the cost of the car and was trying to pass it off as a new car. Another note, after writing this posting, my wife went back and forth with the GM of the dealership and she’s actually standing behind their position. However, in one conversation she told my wife that they pulled the car from the lot. In the next conversation a few hours later, she tried to sell my wife the car again as a "new" car, but with an extended three-year warranty. She also said she would give us a "deal" and sell us an equal '08 for invoice ($46k). That's very nice of her, but I think I would rather put my finger in an outlet. Please spread the word that Darcars Volvo in Rockville, Maryland has questionable ethics.

Re: 2008 XC90 Lease Buy-out [zamo]

by volvomax on Wed Jul 15 08:40:02 PDT 2009

Just like a stock, the cars value was oversold. It just got too cheap too fast. Market is correcting itself now. Generally speaking during recessionary times used car sales go up. People who need cars are less comfortable spending NC money. With Volvo's(and other lux brands) CPO program buying used can be very beneficial.

Re: Is a used XC70 a good bet or a "run away!" situation? [qbrozen]

by kmauss on Tue Jul 14 18:34:49 PDT 2009

You make a VERY good point! I have noticed that when looking at many different vehicles American, European, Japanese, etc. There are few reviews in the middle of the bell curve! I was given some very good advice by an experienced mechanic today. He said if it's a used Volvo and you know it's been regularly serviced by the dealership, it is probably a very good bet. But if you don't know where it's been, or who may have done what to it, run away, run away as they say in Monty Python! He said in his experience, local mechanics, good as they may be on 'normal' cars don't have the extremely pricey software needed to even do normal maintenance on Volvos and thus they get permanently screwed up. I never would have thought about that - as unmechanically inclined as I am, I thought an oil change is an oil change! Would you all tend to agree with him? Many thanks! :) Karen

Bad 2007 XC70 Purchase Experience in Maryland

by steelekai on Fri Feb 01 14:43:51 PST 2008

After a few days of haggling and going back-and-forth on details, my wife and I decided to pull the trigger and buy a "new" 2007 XC70 (blue with navigation, Premium package and Climate package) with 300 test-drive miles. This car was sitting on the Darcars Volvo lot in Rockville, Maryland and was among a lot of redesigned and significantly more expensive 2008s. I had visited the lot two times and talked with three different sales people and one general manager about the car and a potential purchase. In the end, I had a great price and was happy about the buying decision. On the big day, I took off an afternoon of work and made the journey from Virginia to Maryland to get the car. It was washed, gassed and ready for us when we arrived. A few handshakes with sales folks and we were in the finance office ready to sign papers on our "new" car. Well, so we thought. One of the first pieces of paper that was stuck in front of us was a disclaimer of sorts that said we understood and acknowledge that the car was originally purchased and taken back by the dealer. Umm, red flag! We were told by the FI guy that the original buyer (eight months earlier) couldn't get financing, so the dealer got the car back. He told us that this happens "all the time." I asked to talk to the sales manager and, again, he assured us that this car was new and had never been titled. We didn't feel comfortable, but a free luggage matt for the back of the car and we were still ready for the purchase. My wife then asked a simple question ... "how do we know that this original buyer didn't get in an accident or something." The FI guy said he had the car history right there on his computer. He proceeded to pull up a screen that showed five incidences on this car. Three of the line items indicated charging after receiving the car from the factory, prep for sale and something else that was related to preparing the car for sale. But two other entries showed an electronics issue that made the engine fail and another that had the airbags warning light going off. Both of these issues happened around 100 miles and were right around the same time the original buyer allegedly couldn't get loan approval and the car was taken back by the dealer. More digging, we found out that the buyer brought the car back right after the purchase (within a day or so) for these issues and receive a loaner car. My thinking is, why would someone that couldn't get approved for a loan bring the car back? And why on Earth would the dealership give this cash-strapped person a Volvo loaner car? Well, a little more digging and talking with my original salesman and I learned that the original owner brought the car back immediately after buying it because of the problems with the electronics, and then the car was fixed by the dealership. I'm assuming that the owner decided that this car was a lemon and wanted to get out of the deal. The sales folks and dealership didn't call it a buy back, but I believe that's exactly what happened. So, after some calls to friends in the car business and some intense marital discussions, we walked out of the finance office and out of the dealership. Bottom line: Darcars Volvo in Rockville, Maryland attempted to sell us a car that was supposed to be new, but had actually been bought and returned by another person. They NEVER told me that the car was bought and returned with electrical problems when I was first looking at the car. They NEVER told me that the car was bought and returned with electrical problems when I was haggling over the price. They never told me anything, except that this was a NEW car. They never said a word, until I was in the finance office and ready to make the purchase. Not cool, people! After a few hours of fuming, we called the dealership and talked with the sales manager (the GM was out sick). They still stand behind their position that this is a new car since it had never been titled. So, buyer beware at Darcars Volvo in Rockville, Maryland.

Re: Is a used XC70 a good bet or a "run away!" situation? [kmauss]

by qbrozen on Tue Jul 14 14:17:49 PDT 2009

I have heard some real horror stories about Volvo lemons that would put you in the poorhouse and on the opposite end of the spectrum, have heard from many near religous devotees who swear they are the best car ever made and run them to 250K miles with no problems. I've heard little in between. It leaves me to wonder what the deal is. When researching cars, this is pretty much the norm you will find on the internet. Keep in mind, folks seek out a forum on which to spew the extreme examples (for the most part). Those thousands and thousands of owners who have no issues have no reason to go looking for a forum on which they can vent.

Re: Thanks Car-man! [zamo]

by volvomax on Tue Jul 14 14:04:29 PDT 2009

Actually, the XC90 went a couple of years without any real incentives. Car came out in 03,and it wasn't until 06 that Volvo had to get creative.

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