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Comments
If you're concerned about Volvo servicing cost take a look at Edmunds' number for True Cost to Own. The GX470 looks like it will have significantly higher maintenance and repair costs over 5 years in comparison to the XC90 ($5,605 for the GX470 vs. $2,609 for the XC90.)
Of course these are projections only. There's not guarantees on models this new...
Good luck.
-rollie
Semantics semantics.
On another note, how do any of you feel about traveling to Sweden in June if the US invades Iraq soon? I'm not sure I am that comfortable with it.
What's wrong with traveling to Sweden during a war? You won't be connecting in Iraq! You'll most likely be flying a European carrier (SAS) and your connection will probably be someplace like Amsterdam (Schipol) which had insane security way before 9/11. Personally I would feel less threatened being in Europe (as long as I don't drive around with an American flag) than in the U.S. during a war where radicals might be roaming American streets with bombs (or worse) strapped to their backs.
Thanks.
-rollie
Aside from the wonderful perks offered by the TDS program, I have a college buddy living in Stockholm that we've visited before, so we were quite ready to sign up. Here are two things to consider if you do go that route:
- Sweden is neutral, yet aggressively involved in world politics. My friend's native Swedish wife made this fact clear to me. Also, you can infer this from the appointment of a Swedish chief inspector in Iraq. They are much more politically aware than the average US citizen and don't typically side with Bush's policies. I wouldn't be surprised by a little disdain toward Amercans over there right now.
- If you do fly over there, I'd try to get a direct flight rather than connecting through Europe. I highly doubt terrorists would target any fights in or out of Sweden right now. Swedish officials seems to be among those thwarting Bush's power play in the UN lately.
Good luck. I'm personally jealous of those that get to take advantage of the TDS adventure and I don't think one should put life on hold for this sort of thing. While researching the TDS program, I found them to be quite flexible. You might consider asking them if you can cancel your trip in the event of a war, yet still have your car sent over to you. You might be surprised.
Also, do you have any guidance re (1) offroad ability and (2) snow ability. I am not planning on significant off-roading, but would like to derive off road, to get to favorite fishing holes. Also, if the "chains required" sign is up as I drive to Tahoe on 80, will I be able to get by with my All Wheel Drive, or will they only let 4wd vehicles go through without chains?
Thanks.
But how many people willingly traveled to Sweden on the eve of WW II? I know that's not really a fair comparison. Sorry to get political here.
tidester, host
Only 300 cars will be available,allocation will be based on a dealers previous TDS sales.
Most dealers will only get 1 car for TDS, some won't get any.
Orders will be accepted starting in March for delivery May/June or later.
Price will be MSRP, but you will recieve the 2 free roundtrip tickets.
Offroad,
XC90 has anywhere from 8.5 to 9" of ground clearance.
More than enough to go off road as long as your not trying to climb boulders.
As for snow, you shouldn't need chains.
The Cross Country has been making the trip up I17 to Flagstaff in the winter without difficulty for years.
With today's better quality paint, regular washing is all you really need. Keep the paint clean, and it will shine for many years.
These so-called permanent coatings perform no better than ordinary wax (which, once again, is usually unnecessary). If you often park under a tree, or are too lazy to wash the car regularly (or take it to a car wash), you would benefit from occasional waxing. It takes about an hour. If you want to avoid some elbow grease, you can buy an electric buffer for about $30. A bottle of high-end wax (Gliptone, Zaino, etc.) costs about $10. Turtle Wax and other major brands are even less. While not as long-lasting or durable as a good liquid or paste, even the quick-shine waxes (spray on, wipe off) will do the job for a short while.
Bottles of leather treatment and Scotchgard fabric sprays are available at every auto parts store, for just a few dollars.
Keep your $695. Use it for your first car payment. Or have the car professionally detailed and waxed every year (for 7 years).
One poster recommended that I call up all Volvo dealers within 2 hour driving distance... I took the delivery of the vehicle this morning (Sat - Feb 1)...
Congratulations! That poster was myself and I know that a bit of persistence always pays off in the end. What color T6 did you get and what options/accessories?
I can tell you that I went through a similar analysis for my S80T6 about a year ago and ended up selecting Warranty Gold's top plan in the end. I've used it a few times with no problems and not a cent out of my pocket.
Regarding the Networkcar, I'm not familiar with this specific solution. I do have LoJack in both of my Volvos and have had them since I bought them. At a minimal, I recommend these devices for the insurance discount alone. $1,295 is a lot for a locator but I haven't priced LoJack recently (I'd be surprised if it is over $650 though). Check around for price options and then find out how much of a discount your insurance company provides. In my case, my LoJack's paid for themselves in about 3 years so it was a no brainer for me.
Good luck.
-rollie
At least 4 times a year.
The perma-plate is a rip, no wax lasts longer than a few months, just get some good wax and do it yourself.
Second, IF you are planning on keeping your car past the warranty it is an excellent idea to get an extended warranty. No matter who makes the car.
The longer you wait however, the higher the price.
Best to do it inside of the first 3 yrs of ownership.
BTW, I haven't had the time to go through the owner's manual or watch the instructional video, but I can't seem to locate a dedicated space for my coins. It looks like there is a cup holder at every imaginable place, but I haven't found a convenient place to store some of my loose change. I guess I have to always wear a pair of pants with pockets.
with so few available int he overseas delivery program, I guess delivery at the dealer is more likely
as to chains and snow, I don't know how the road to Flagstaff compares to I-80- To Tahoe. I se Spiders on my Grand Caravan, which is fine, but would hate to buy Spiders for my xc90.
We should find out next week what changes are planned, if any.
I'm sure if you have an order placed and it can't be filled w/ an '03 than you will be moved to an '04.
Since I hope to keep the car for a good long while, I also opted for the 84 month/100k extended warranty (priced at around $2k w/ $100 per incident deductible -- I was told this was the 2002 rate and that the price would be going up though they couldn't say when).
Though I will have more feedback after more time driving the T6, here are some first impressions based on today's test drive.
I was able to elicit the turbo whine that has been commented upon here and elsewhere (http://www.geocities.com/xc901212/xc90.html) on the T6 with ease but not the 2.5T. The sound, however, was subtle, and by my taste, quite bearable.
The acceleration and maneuverability of the T6 at lower speeds seemed less than the 2.5T. I had not noticed a difference during the "driving experience" event held here at El Toro air base, but I'm guessing having three weeks with a 2.5T rather than a few minutes may explain my greater sensitivity this time.
Also notable with my T6 was the lack of a constant high-pitched whine emanating from the sunroof when closed and traveling above 50 mph. This sound had cropped up within the first week of driving the 2.5T, and became very consistent and rather unnerving. I read on one of these forum messages of a similar example fixed by replacing a fitting around the sunroof.
More feedback once my baby has arrived.
OT
If burnt CDs, did they have labels?
Or is it a mix of commercial or burnt CDs?
There is a post on volvospy that mentions a jammed CD player. It's a page or two back in that forum.
Did the problem happen while loading a disk, or during playback? Bummer. Let us know what happens.
Sharon
I guess that the multi-CD changers don't have an emergency reject pinhole for the paperclip trick....
Steve, Host
We'll find out later this month.
The dealer installed DVD system won't be available till June.
We have our own system that we are installing in our XC90's.
We have our own system that we are installing in our XC90's.
If you are installing your own third-party DVD systems, then presumably there is a way to connect auxiliary devices (sound) into the MOST (Alpine) modular digital sound system. Are you guys hardwiring into the sound system? Or do you have a special OEM connector to get it integrated?
The reason why I ask, of course, is because of the previous posts about getting auxiliary connections for an iPod MP3 player to hook up to this Alpine sound system. It seems such a shame that Volvo overlooked this technology trend. (New car stereos are now fancying hard drives, MP3 capabilities and connectivity to satellite radio, not just digital radio.)
Am I being hopeful that there is a way???
I believe we have to use an fm transmitter to get the sound from the dvd to the cars system.
You can't hook anything non-volvo to the factory system.
Nothing will work directly with the factory system without the software from Volvo to integrate it.
I'm a little vague on the details, but I do know that we are having to pipe the sound for the dvd through the radio. I believe we have to use an fm transmitter to get the sound from the dvd to the cars system.
Thanks for the reply Max. Forgive me for calling it "kludgey and makeshift" but his FM transmitter doesn't sound too promising. If you get any more details, let us know. Thanks again.
We've done half a dozen and everyone loves it.
The surround sound on the PL2 system is as good as my home system.
To me, the whole thing smelled rotten. I think that the dealer had neglected to order the headlights and was making up a bunch of crap. I called two other dealers who said that they never heard of this bulletin.
I have waited over six months for this vehicle and don't want to wait six more. Thoughts?
2) It won't take another six months. If you can wait, when your dealer gets its next allocation, (I think every 3 weeks to a month), you should be given first choice to reorder and config a new XC90. Depending on timing, it could be an '04 and there could be a price increase. From that point on, it should not take more than 8-12 weeks. And they can show you the status on their regular status reports which list the options on the car, which bring me to point 3
3) While it's possible the factory deleted the options, your dealer still should have know because the xenons would have been missing on that report. So they could have told you as soon as they realized it instead of what they did (This is assuming that they didn't forget to order it, which would be even more unacceptable.)
4) You should not have to deal with dealers like this. But if you don't take your car, I think there are probably others in line for it. So you can ask for concessions, but I am not sure that they will give anything meaningful...
5) To start over at another dealership will take much longer. You might be able to get a cancelled XC90 from another dealer, but it's not likely to have xenons or be close to what you ordered. (Which is what I ended up doing with mine.)
As it stands, the original order sheet had the correct information but the invoice/vehicle doesn't. Yesterday, the salesman produced a "corrected" order sheet with a single line drawn through the xenon lights (more fabrication). He was certain that he spoke to us weeks ago to tell us that the lights were not available (another lie).
From my standpoint I really have two options: 1) Take the car and call them the appropriate names they deserve, 2) Order from another dealer (no one's taking orders until mid-March), waiting until May/June for delivery, filing a grievance with the attorney general's office, publish a more detailed account (this was the significantly abbreviated version) along with the dealer's name on the internet, and suing them as well for breach.
What are chances for european delivery of xc 90 in Paris in may/
bixenon lights definitely available in 2004?