An Introduction of Sorts

[MySwedishParts]

Hello.

My name is Jay, and I'm addicted to Volvos.

While I don't currently own a Volvo, I am definately going to buy one soon. My uncle owned nothing but Volvos, and he swears by them. I've been selling Volvo parts for a couple of months now, and I'm getting more aquainted with the brand, styling, and unique market that Volvo occupies. I'm suitably impressed.

I'm a long time Parts guy, and an even longer time internet guy. When I was offered the job of playing on the internet all day, selling parts, and dealing with cars that I'm passionate about, I absolutely couldn't resist. So here I am.

Most of you are probably famaliar with our site, but if you aren't, go check it out. I'm not here to cram advertising down your throat, but if you are in need of parts or accessories, check us out. We generally have the lowest prices around on Genuine Volvo Parts, and we'll go the extra mile to help you get what you need.

I plan on being a regular here, learning more about the cars and answering questions if and when I can. I have several Volvo technicians and a couple of parts guys that have been in the business for 30+ years at my disposal, so I can generally get questions answered (although sometimes they're a bit snappy).

As of right now, I'm looking at a 2000 S80 that I can get a pretty good deal on. The guy says the only thing wrong with it is the Turbo, but I plan on having it checked out before buying it. I can get a new Turbo, and still stay within my car budget, but if that's not all that's wrong with it, then I'll be having to look for something else.

This got long winded really fast. Anyways, Hi. Feel free to shoot me a PM, or message me on our site if you need anything. I love the site. Thank you for doing what you do.


-Jay

[MadeInJapan]

Jay, let me be the first to welcome you to MVS!
It is truly a pleasure that you're here.
Your name is synonymous on the different Volvo boards with being an upstanding and reasonable place to buy Volvo parts, and it's nice to have you as a corporate sponsor here as well!
Hope to see you here often!
-MIJ

Btw, the early ('99-'01 or so) of the S80's tended to be the least reliable of the Volvo brand. I would tread carefully on your purchase. If you really have to have the S80 and like what you see, make sure to get things checked out thoroughly by your guys. The main issue seemed to be electronics and of course the transmissions on these.

[billofdurham]

I shall also welcome you Jay, but probably won't personally be putting business your way because of the big stretch of very deep water between us.

I agree with MIJ about the S80. '99 -'01 - get them checked out thoroughly by someone who knows these cars intimately.

Bill.

[MySwedishParts]

I really appreciate the advice. This is the type of stuff I wish was available prior to every potential car purchase. I'd have saved a boatload of money knowing about Interference engines on chryslers, and what happens when a timing belt breaks on one BEFORE I bought my wife's last car.

I'm still going to go look at it, but I'll pay special attention to how it shifts, and that everything seems to work on it. I really like the way it looks, and it's pretty immaculate inside and out, so hopefully any and major issues with it have been resolved already.

Again, thank you both for the advice.


-Jay

P.S. We ship worldwide

[matthew1]

Welcome, Jay. Great to have you here. Let us know how the car search goes, and remember if you end up with a 2000-ish S80 you'll probably want to know a good parts guy .

[billofdurham]

P.S. We ship worldwide

Jay,

Once a salesman always a salesman and I would really like to be ordering from you as your prices are generally lower than we have over here, notwithstanding the poor exchange rate.

However, for the UK members, I shall point out that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will not allow us to buy overseas without considering their cut.

At present we can buy goods to the value of £18.00 ($32.00) before the shipping costs are added and the package will sail past HMRC. Once it goes over that value HMRC get out their calculators and will add on between 5 & 9% import duty. This figure can be as high as 85% on certain items. The import duty is based on the value of the goods, the cost of shipping and any insurance. There is no allowance for the £18.00 that would normally be free. Then to add insult to injury they add Value Added Tax at the (current) rate of 15%.

It is adding up but is not a final total yet. Whoever has the job of bringing the package into the UK, eg. Royal Mail, ParcelForce, UPS etc has been acting as an agent of HMRC and can now add their fees to the pot. At present Royal Mail charges £8.00 per package, ParcelForce £8.00 to £13.50 and the couriers can charge what they like.

This is an example of how it mounts up:
Value of goods: £100.00
Shipping and insurance costs to the UK: £ 15.00
Total value for Import Duty: £115.00
Import Duty payable at 5% on £115.00: £ 5.75
Base value for Value Added Tax (VAT): £ 120.75
VAT on £120.75 @ 15%: £ 18.11
Total: £ 138.86
That works out at a tax rate of 23.86%.
Then add in the agent's handling fee.

As I said at the beginning this is for the information of UK members and has to be considered when comparing UK and US prices.

Similar arrangements apply to EU citizens and I believe the US Customs Service have their own guidelines.

One final point concerns the cheaper repairs to ABS modules in the US. I asked HMRC how to avoid paying taxes on a module sent to the US for repair as I owned the thing, it was broken and needed repair. I was told that I would have to fill in a lengthy form, register it with HMRC and I "should avoid import duty", their words not mine but I would still be liable for VAT and customs agent handling fees. It was cheaper to have it done over here.

Honestly Jay, I am not trying to take the bread out of your mouth but some people will see a cheaper price and grab it without thought of the consequences.

Bill.

[Steven242]

Could you point me in the right direction for 75-79 volvo 240 sedan tail lights? They are the four panel ones.

[MySwedishParts]

Hi Steven,

Unfortunately, we do not deal with parts for the older volvos. We do have a website that we normally refer people to, and they tend to have quite a few hard to find parts for the earlier models. Unfortunately, I don't know the website off the top of my head, and the computer I keep such things on is 30 miles away and locked with a password that I don't know. In other words, I'll get you that link monday. I'm sorry I took so long to get back to you. Things have been pretty hectic lately, with the flu epidemic hitting us pretty hard.

Bill,

I understand where you're coming from there. I didn't realize that the fees and tarrifs were so expensive, and I apologize for being flippant about it. Ultimately, I feel our prices speak for themselves. I am a salesman, but my objective is to give people what they need/want at a good deal. I'm not a ripoff artist, and I've always felt that being honest about both the good and bad aspects of our business is the best way to do things. We do have quite a few people buy from us from overseas (although now that you mention it, UK orders are very rare. We ship more to Japan and Africa).

In conclusion, I'm sorry if it seemed I was making light of the situation. It was not my intention.

Jay

[billofdurham]

Jay,

I certainly did not think you were being flippant and my remark about being a salesman was intended as a, rather lame, joke.

I posted the tariffs as a guide to UK owners who may not have known about them. I only found out when my son ordered some model cars from the US. The total value was £2.29 over the allowance and he was hammered by HMRC.

I wish you well in your sales career and if I can find a part from you that will work out cheaper then you will get my order.

Bill.