Virginia Volvo girl - Catalytic chaos

[LynnV70]

You are correct, most small garages Are afraid to work on Volvo's.... However I'm not sure why..
They are no harder to work on in my opinion, they Are a hell of A lot easier to work on then a Volkswagen or an Audi.
Most small garages don't have diagnostic abilities, but simple suspension, steering, exhaust work is pretty straightforward on any car.
I do my own work, except exhaust.. I would have to bring my car to a garage if I needed a catalytic converter as well.
Really sorry to hear your story... I hope you get it figured out!

Thank you for your reply. You're very lucky that you can do your own work on most of your car. My father was a mechanic all his life and passed away some years ago. He always was an honest man and used to get fed up with some of the other businesses that he knew were taking advantage of people. He always said that "word of mouth" was the best advertizement and he was always busy. I know he did many people favors. Makes me miss having just someone to talk about the issues with the car. People give little tidbits of knowledge and it helps. I appreciate it.

[LynnV70]

Lynn - stick it out, find that good mechanic (have you looked up at the Forum for "Good Mechanics" above?) and you will get this car back in shape and enjoy it.

I believe you are right. I really miss that super quiet ride I had before they did the job though. No question a Volvo is a fine ride. It doesn't seem to lose it's class even if it's used. So I think my choice of picking that car was a good one, since I had a neighbor years ago who used to sell them and swore they were the best cars. He was a proud Volvo owner. I never forgot that. I haven't looked up the list of good mechanics and will check it out.

The people who charged me all that money and kept finding so many things wrong also said I need engine mounts. I have taken it to a Volvo dealer and also a local mechanic who both checked the engine mounts and said there was nothing wrong with them. The people who changed my cat were talking as if I better hurry up and get the mounts fixed saying they were all bad. When I kept asking why there is a vibration since they installed the cat they kept changing the subject and just said it was the mounts. Two shops say they are wrong.

The last mechanic shop I took it to to talk about the mounts as a second opinion said that by the time people get ripped off it is often too late by the time they figure something is not right if they keep finding things. He said it works by them scaring people half to death as if they better get it fixed right away. He is right. It's too bad, because that is a good way to lose a good customer.

[LynnV70]

Sorry you've been having the usual poor Volvo service
If you were closer we could have helped you but you're 5 hours away.
You have 2 strikes going against you by having an 01. These are not very good cars, (1st model year with a ton of issues).
Anyhow, you did not mention your mileage which you should always do when asking for help.
Mileage will go to 99 if you're off the gas for several seconds
I'm sure someone will chime in about a GOOD shop in the Richmond area

I found a very helpful dealership in Richmond and will be going up there after I pay the last remaining payment for the cat. One person said a diagnostic is a good idea. At least it will be a good start. And mileage was 105,000 and had two owners and a good carfax. The interior is amazingly clean and the exterior looks very nice too. Now I have to take it one part at a time to make sure I get the car running smooth when I bought it.

[LynnV70]

The used car salesman won't answer my calls ...

Oh and I like Autozone for my Ford and Chevy. I don't think I'll ever buy anything for my Volvo there. Blue box (Volvo OEM) only for mine. Well worth the extra $ in my opinion.

Of course I have a dealer I can trust. These are the two biggest things you need. A OEM source like a local dealer or FCP and find a shop that is not afraid of your Volvo. Oh yeah, NEVER EVER let a shop work on your transmission unless they have seen many of these same models before. Especially anything that involves adding more fluid like a simple trans fluid flush. NEVER let a local shop that works on everything do this unless they KNOW this exact transmission. Many horror stories here too. You'll drive off, but not very far, They'll say it was on its last leg and now you'll need a trans too.

Thanks for tipping me off about steps to take if trans issues come up. The people who had installed the cat didn't even remember to put the new airfilter in and said I needed all new coils (when I took it in for a tune up) which I thought may have been a good idea when the service light was on. Someone said it's always a good idea to let the mechanics figure out what is wrong first before requesting anything and I wish I wouldn't have let them do my tune up. The cat failed just a few days after that and who knows. I had also had an oil change done by them previous to the tune up. I was thinking about preventative maintenance since the car was purchased used. The stuff under the old air filter when I noticed they didn't change it was a ball of leaves and some kind of mesh that looked like it came from the firewall. I'll never know what happened or how it got that way, but a simple air filter shouldn't be something people should forget, especially when I had bought the parts at Auto Zone.

You are right about getting parts. I bought spark plugs from Auto Zone and they were just standard plugs. Didn't matter because after they changed my cat a short while after the tune up they charged me for 4 more new plugs. They had just put in new plugs! So I asked for all the old parts back. Another mechanic told me they didn't have to change the plugs as the parts they gave back looked new - and they were. So they got me there it seems. When I asked the lady at the counter what they did with my plugs I bought and why they charged me with 4 new ones within a month she just kept avoiding and diverting my question and finally said she didn't know.

I found out from another mechanic I need a new fuel filter and there is a place in , Richmond that sells parts for foreign cars, I was told by a person who used to work on BMW's. That was a good tip.

[LynnV70]

The used car salesman won't answer my calls who sold me the car 6 months back

Well, I think most wouldn't. I would. and in fact just did.
A person called me telling me about his issues and what was a nice 2000 XC I sold to him over a year ago.
Long story short, after I had told him I would be happy to do work on it he goes ahead decides to bring it to the dealer who so far has cost him over $3500! All this work that was needed (none of this was present when it was sold) I could have done for him for about $1200, not making anything but good will and good word of mouth (which I think I have).
Now, somehow he broke the bevel gear and they qouted him about 3K to install a new one!
He was ready to almost junk a VERY nice 2000 XC.
I got him a low mileage bevel gear and we installed that, a new collar gear and seals and a new front propshaft bearing for a little under $1000, more than fair.
Now it's better than when I sold it!
I made about 50 bucks, I just was fed up how badly he was getting screwed.


Sad to say it, but I think I was just taken advantage of and not much I can do about it.

Yes you can. There's the BBB and your biggest weapon, the WEB.
Google the shop. You should find a place for comments and complaints, start there
See if they have a Facebook page, go there and tell your story.
They may or may not respond but at least you will have the satisfaction of telling everyone who's thinking about using them to now think about it!

*****

Ashamed to say that when I first brought the car in to that shop that put the cat in - I asked them to check it out and check out the tires, because a guy at Auto Zone told me my tires were rotten. They changed my tires and told me I needed new tie rods. That job cost me almost $1000.00 dollars but I figured that would be it. They made me feel as if they were doing me a big favor and I thought they were so friendly. I put a nice comment on fb for them back then. I disabled my fb account shortly after that because it was boring to me and probably won't be going back on to fb. I have thought about the BBB, but to be honest I was disappointed by the way eventually they would keep telling me I needed more things done and then rushing me out as if they were too busy when I would ask questions. My main concern is getting my last payment made so I can move on. I am frankly fed up with the whole situation.

After I went back to them for an oil change they mentioned I needed new brakes. Brakes don't seem to be a problem yet but the cat problem began after the tune up. I have spent more with them where I have to wait and save some money up now. They have sucked me dry in 6 months. I'm spent in more ways than one. If it means anything..thanks for replying. At least some people do care to discuss these kinds of issues. I appreciate reading whatever input anyone has here. It means a lot to me.

I started talking with neighbors asking if they knew about them. Strange but in talking with others I am finding out that they have done this to other people too. I have had 3 people tell me they do this stuff to people.

[LynnV70]

Seems to me that the shop that incorrectly installed the converter should make it right, either by fixing it themselves, or paying to have someone who knows what they're doing fix it. You payed them a lot of money and they didn't do it right. That's a problem. It should be their problem.

I asked them to check the car...yes I did. I told them that there was a louder sound and also the gas pedal vibrates now and that it was very annoying. She brought it in real quick and soon after they just said I needed new engine mounts and without saying anything to me wrote on the paper of what they had done that there was "back pressure." That statement of what they had checked mentioned nothing useful as to what they were going to fix to corrrect the problem, but just said I must get new engine mounts. Certainly the "back pressure" sounds like something connected with the cat install. For heaven sakes they put in two new 02 sensors and a new cat and charged me for 4 spark plugs I didn't need. They charged me for an entire set of new coils as well. All of that and now the car rides rougher, which started all this vibration on the gas pedal and high idling. Not a good job, I would say.

After the cat install I had asked for all the parts back and she gave me a bag and the plugs hardly have a mark on them. I asked for my converter back and she said she couldn't give it back to me because of the laws. I know that the old cats are worth money, but who gets that money? Isn't me.

I can't get any answers from her as she keeps answering the phone and acting like she is too busy. Told me my engine mounts are all bad and I better get the car back in as fast as I can.

Well since then, two shops tell me the mounts are fine...wow it's just crazy.

I told her she should fix the loud noise and vibration without me giving her a penny, since it started after they changed the cat and she said they wouldn't do that. So smooth talkers and smooth operators over there. I am outa there forever.

[PDLarson]

I am outa there forever.

That sounds like the best idea yet. Shops like this are not going to make it right and continuing to deal with them is just going to be a frustrating waste of time. I'd love to see the look on their faces when they are treating a woman dishonestly and present you with four spark plugs and if you told them my car is a five cylinder, you didn't change my plugs did you!? That would have been a treat. It is so sad how some shops treat people but especially women. Oh well, moving on sounds best.

I wish you well and appreciate the updates.

[abscate]

Lynn..pdlarson just beat me to it..

Didn't matter because after they changed my cat a short while after the tune up they charged me for 4 more new plugs

Your car has 5 cylinders and 5 spark plugs. This is a bit of an oddity. Look back and see if they sold you 4 or 5 coils. This would be pretty good evidence to walk into Small Claims court in NY at least.

The only time you should set foot in that shop again is to serve them legal notice.

A 2001 with 100k miles on it has another 5-10 years of life in it, easy. That's a lot of car payments.

We could easily walk you through taking off your valve cover (8 screws) and looking at the date code on your coils to see when they were manufactured. I'll bet it was 2001!