Parts - I suppose we should have expected this.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 11 Oct 2012, 11:36

It appears that our new owners are monetizing their investment by liquidating the existing parts inventory. The latest is a speaker grill for the XC. No longer available and there are no plans to ever produce it again. That speaker grille might be one of the most fragile parts there is on 98-00 S or V series car.

Fortunately I was able to come up with the grille I needed at a junk yard and they just threw the door panel in on another larger purchase that included the rear seats, a C pillar trim piece and a bad prop shaft.

...Lee

Post by **matthew1** » 11 Oct 2012, 12:06

Whoa. Thanks for this heads-up.

(Time to corner the junkyard Volvo parts market?)

Post by **jblackburn** » 11 Oct 2012, 15:23

Jerks.

I wonder what will happen for parts availability for the old RWD bricks. Tons still on the road.

Saab parts were always really, really difficult to get - even when they weren't out of business. Bmws on the other hand, even from the 70s, aren't hard to get parts for. BMW still makes them.

Post by **850 LPT** » 24 Oct 2012, 12:27

There seems to be something else going on with OEM parts supplies since the new ownership. I went to my favorite inependent Volvo repair shop the other day and they told me that they now see more and more blue box parts coming from --- you guessed it, China.
It will be interesting to see what the quality of these OEM parts is. They told me it was mostly brake parts that were coming in. This stuff was usually manufactured in England or elsewhere in Europe.
It's just sad.

Post by **osman** » 24 Oct 2012, 16:02

Volvo was bought by the Chinese (some, not all of them) from Ford for 4 Billion US$, who bought it in 98 (as we all unfortunately are acutely aware) for 8 Billion US$. So Ford sold Volvo to the Chinese at a 4 Billion dollar loss.

Post by **cmblackburn** » 24 Oct 2012, 21:44

Strange enough, the OEM brake pads I recently got from iPd are from India.... I ordered a new style Volvo badge and it came from Germany. My local Volvo dealer (Volvo of Cary) recently told me that OEM rubber brake hoses are NLA for my S70; as are the turbo rubber ductwork. Pretty sure they're both still made... Confused? Very.
Meanwhile I can still get OEM BMW parts for our 74 2002 no problem, still as German as the Spaten girls...

Post by **osman** » 26 Oct 2012, 12:07

Apparently Geely only paid 1.5 Billion to Ford for Volvo. I stand self-corrected.

Post by **JimBee** » 26 Oct 2012, 19:35

Maybe it's no coincidence that Consumer Reports' most recent automotive issue ranked Volvo among the lowest on a number of criteria.

Post by **EstVolvo** » 27 Oct 2012, 13:16

I just replaced rear shoes, pads and rotors with original parts from a stealership.
I was very surprised that the rotors had some rusty spots.
They were nicely packaged in a sealed plastic bag and were covered with a layer of oil.
Rotors and shoes were from China and pads from India.
Now I'm wondering if I made a smart choice.

Post by **sanfelice** » 31 Oct 2012, 20:46

My disks have been coming from China for at least 1.5 years now. Instead of ordering the factory disks, I opted for Brembo (Italy) and Akebono (USA) this most recent time around. For some parts, of course, as the OP says, it's going to be impossible. I guess that I need a parts car!