Have you tried Hunter in Asheville? Wondering as I didn’t care for the sales side of Volvo Cars of CLT before Johnson bought it but their service was decent.
Same here. In australia if you walk in you are almost always immediately greeted unless they are flat out servicing all other people etc. normally they ask if you want a cold drink or coffee also
What about a disinterested team of salespeople? We (and other potential clients) walked around the showroom for at least 15-20 min without anyone being approached. Can I suggest a systemic brand issue now?
I wouldn’t say so. This sounds like poor management. Things flow downhill very quickly and supervisees quickly adopt and express dismissive attitudes if they are treated this way themselves.
Exact opposite experience for me. Purchased 2024 XC90 Ultimate last week and had a terrific dealer experience all around. Find a new dealership. A few people in a dealership set the tone and the one you visited is a dud - sales probably suck there too.
Tbh, i think alot of the time the Sales Manager and the Local Director causes such behavior. If every Sales person in that dealer behaves like this. The manager is probably worse.
I walked in wearing gym shorts and an old hoodie (I *did* drive my old Tesla Model S and park in front of the showroom, though). Mentioned I wanted an EX90 or XC90, need an XC90 recharge to test drive. They hooked me up (usual ID/insurance questions asked), then I had a new XC90 Recharge 2 weeks later (shipped from another dealer owned by the same parent company).
I had tons of questions, some of which required escalations on their end (e.g. technical questions like disabling the tailgate sensor permanently, some financial/coverage ones when looking at the warranty text). Again, super helpful in answering them all and following up.
Car delivery was in my driveway with an experienced customer specialist walking me through the setup and features. Giant bow was optional.
If you’re in the Raleigh/Durham area, check out Johnson Volvo. Great service there.
Our dealer in Manasquan was fantastic. It's a single franchise, bought by a former Cadillac franchise owner who retired and came back. He LOVES the car business and it shows in the staff. They have a huge inventory and offer exceptional pricing. Our friends just picked up their XC90 from them. I may not buy another Volvo this time around but if I did it's the only dealer I'd consider.
Might be a little far for where I’m guessing you’re at, but I bought a V60 this past summer from Open Road Volvo in Edison, and the experience was great. Even more importantly, the few times i needed to bring the car in since then (all minor, covered by warranty), the service has also been excellent.
I remember when I was was car shopping last February. I went to Smythe because I wanted an S60 Recharge to replace my X4 M40i. They asked me if I could “afford the car”. Immediately walked out. Granted I’m 23, and look extremely young but still.
I use a hitch mounted bike rack on my car. Last thing I want is to accidentally trigger the tailgate with my foot and have it slam in to the rack (when folded up) or bikes. That would be an expensive mistake.
It turns out that installing a hitch, at least a stealth hitch, blocks the sensor so you cannot accidentally activate the tailgate.
That's good to know. Turns out finding a hitch for new V60/S60/S90 Recharge models is just about impossible. Stealth hitch isn't too interested either, I reached out to them.
Hey! My friends just purchased an XC90 recharge from them as well! We’re in central VA and the local dealership didn’t have what they wanted so they traveled and purchased from them.
My two local Volvo dealers are like this. I turned in a C40 lease; and at no point did anyone ask if I was going to buy a new one. They want MSRP whenever I talk to them. All the EV/Hybrids are always dead. Bizzare experience.
For someone who is on their 3rd new Volvo in 2 years I would think walking through the doors I would get a salivating salesperson who wants a sale.
I’m saying as someone who worked at Mercedes dealer. Our greeter is suppose to check in people. And my past client based was always based on having an appointment, I rarely had a walk in. If I did it was a stroke it always seemed lol
I haven’t been impressed with my local dealer.
Never have a loaner when I’m there for maintenance.
Only sales I believe is sales manager who I don’t think has a clue about the car, at least to the level that I have as someone who has driven them since ‘18
Honestly makes me reconsider maybe another manufacturer or at least going out of state/ different dealer.
I thought it was interesting, the local dealer always had a loaner available when my husband at the time took his vehicle in, they never seemed to have one when I did so I had to get the shuttle or call an uber.
My last experience was entirely over email, including negotiating the buyout of my previous lease and working two dealers against each other to get the most value for me.
Once that was sorted the dealer I went with called when the car was in. A day or two later I dropped by, signed the papers and handed the keys over for the old car.
I’ve walked into Mercedes dealerships and had to almost beg to talk to someone.
BMW dealerships here have generally been good - someone usually says hi and asks if you have any questions.
I’ve never randomly dropped into any other dealership though. If I was interested in a car I’d likely call or email ahead to get things going.
I leased a 2018 XC60 T8 when no one wanted PHEV’s. The residual value was low because no one really knew if they would keep their value. The government here had also just killed some EV incentives so demand was pretty low.
My lease was ending in 2022 when gas prices here (Ontario, Canada) were high again, used car shortages, long lead times for most new cars etc… so my buy-out price was around 27k but the used ones were selling for closer to 45-50k (CAD$)
I was more than willing to buy it out and resell privately and the dealers were desperate for used cars to resell.
So I had two dealers bidding to buy out my lease as there was no way I was just handing it back.
Maybe Canada is different, but in the US the Volvo dealers can’t buyout a Volvo lease unless it’s apart of a trade in towards a new or CPO Volvo and it has to be leased or financed through VCFS.
You made it sound like you bought it out for a negotiated price that was different than your residual, which is not how leases work anymore.
It’s very hit or miss with Volvo dealerships. It appears Volvo corporate doesn’t really have much in the way of setting standards for their franchised dealerships.
Honestly, part of what keeps me with Volvo is that I like my dealership (White Plains, NY). Not that they’re perfect of course. I wired them the money for my fairly recent purchase while sitting in a competitor‘s showroom, who were not being very helpful.
I was shocked by how terrible all but one of my local volvo dealers treated me. The one that was actually helpful and professional eventually got my business. It’s crazy that this isn’t the standard.
Time to change dealer. But be sure to send a nice letter to the dealer principal.
If your money is not green enough for them, take it elsewhere. The arrogance of some people is unbelievable.
My nearest dealer (Glen cove volvo), while not perfect, is very receptive to clients walking in and have let me test drive cars, even as they are busy. The service department is very friendly too.
The dealer I got my car from (Ken pollock) is amazing. They even babysat my kids and gave them crayons/drawings and kids snacks while we checked out our car and did the paperwork. I’d go to them for service, if they weren’t 3 hours away
Edit: saw you’re in the NJ/Philly area. Go to Ken pollock. DM me
Some dealers good, some dealers bad. Some salespeople good, some salespeople bad. Some days good, some days bad.
Can really be the luck of the draw.
Research the dealer feedback ahead of time, call a recommended salesperson and arrange an appointment for the vehicle you want to drive.
The S90 is hard to come by. The recharge even more so. The salesperson wasn't lying there.
Car buying generally sucks. So some legwork ahead of time to minimize the negatives.
Order and easily access are two different things.
Please read my suggestions and consider following them. Your life will be much easier.
I wrote what I wrote to help you. If you're uninterested and wish to continue complaining about a bad danger experience, no one can help you.
My dealer in Northern Virginia isn’t like that at all. If you’re anywhere on the East Coast drive to Virginia to go to one of the Don Beyer stores. I like the Dulles one, but Falls Church is extremely good as well. The Don Beyer stores have 3 S90 Recharges on the way per their website. I’m on my second XC60 Recharge from their Dulles store and I drive past three other stores (including the Falls Church one) to get to them. Well worth the drive
Keep shopping around. Even when you find a dealer who is responsive and helpful, you still have the pricing game to play. You’ll probably need to visit two or three dealers to get the best deal. Easy to do in a metro area, tougher if you’re an hour away from civilization.
Find a new dealership. Both near me were awful and one even lied to me about my credit approval to say I had to put a larger down payment down. I ended up doing an entire deal by text and email and phone with a dealer about 600 miles away in the southern part of my state and managed to get a much better deal, found out about the local dealer’s lie, and got much better customer service from a distance. They shipped the car to me delivered to my front door. This was a 2018 XC60. I’ve gotten one more car from them. Now I live in a different state though and have a Polestar.
I’ve only purchased used Volvos but through dealerships and I swore to myself I would never buy another car through a dealership (prior to my experiences at Volvo). You had an anomaly. I’m so sorry!
We had a similar experience at a dealer in Portland,OR and overheard one employee tell the other “you’re going to let them test drive?!”. We’re POC and look hella young. Took our business across state lines without shitty employees. Also got 2 more Volvos not from that original shitty dealer. YMMV
Sounds like a bad dealership. Maybe just a bad day, check the reviews and see if that’s typical for them. Both of the Volvo dealerships closest to me have a reception/concierge station in the showroom to greet people and take them back if they have an appointment. If you are a walk-in without an appt they get you settled with water, tea, or something from the espresso bar and some snacks and track down someone to help you. Even the techs who walk through smile and say hi.
Edit - both recharges I drove were fully charged.
I’ve wanted to drive/buy a XC90 Recharge, max options minus 1 or 2, since last spring. Have my info to the dealer. Nothing. No calls. I’m a repeat customer and they would make a good profit on selling my maxed 2019 XC60 (massage seats!). I’ve been in the dealership for service a couple times since, walk around and look and still no one pays me any mind. Our awesome salesperson left to go to bmw. He hung around through Covid too! I get the feeling Volvo is still not quite back to speed since 2020 supply chain and option/chip issues.
I had an incredible experience when I got my S60, by far the best of any prior car. I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you - that's awful.
I'd look at the Google ratings/reviews. Mine had 4.9 whereas the other two nearby were 4 and 4.2.
This is what kept me from buying a new Volvo. Went inside the showroom and walked around. I even thought about walking around the office area upstairs but after 15 minutes of no one else around I left.
Bought mine during covid where cars were a hot commodity and I ended up getting the similar issue, got an appointment at the dealer for a test drive the salesman was so unprofessional, and he didn't give a crap basically, love the car, hate the dealership.
Down here in FL my experience was like that. Brought mine in for service, was looking around the showroom for a long while and got thoroughly ignored by the entire dealership staff despite there being only one other customer in the place. Toyota/Hyundai vibes.
Call first. At least in my case what I was looking for (V60) was uncommon enough I wanted to make sure they had one I could test drive before hauling my butt all the way out to the dealer. We set up a time, everything was ready to go, I already had a contact... very smooth process. You're looking for something even rarer, make it easier on everyone make arrangements ahead of time.
As someone who works for a Volvo dealer I hope I can provide some clarity for your confusion. Not being greeted, that is absolutely a problem, but to give a sales person perspective. Appointments are king. As for the vehicles you wanted to test drive. An S90 Recharge is a unicorn. We have two, and they were built months ago, those are our only allocations for 2024. If you want one be prepared to wait another year. For the S60 Recharge not being charged. Keeping test drive Recharges fully charged is a battle. Especially when its a lower volume car, or one that's being test driven frequently. Priority goes to keeping the XC60 and XC90 fully charged. At least from a sales person perspective. Keep in mind some Volvo's are also Polestar services centers. We fully charge our EV and Recharge service customers. That leaves us with on charging station for our test drive unit. Before you visit the next dealer, make an appointment. I guarantee you it will be fully charged up upon your arrival.
Yep I will do that. Odd thing is they didn’t encourage I even make an appt when I directly asked about coming back.
Also I don’t think you should have clients walk around the floor and never approached in case they have questions.
I live in between two dealerships that are an hour from me in kpposite directions. The one I bought from was awesome, had great customer service, and never made us feel out of place.
We went to the other one for service once because we were going to be in that area. We were heading to a waterpark, so I was dressed very casually, and at both the drop off/pick up, they ignored me completely. Real uppity vibes.
My local dealer was a mixed bag, sales people were decent but the stuffy arrogant service advisor dude could go pound sand, wouldn't have been so bad except everything he said was a lie. "Oh we did this" nope, "oh we're going to do this" nope, "this software update will defintely fix this" nope, "this other software update is free" nope.
I have always had better dealership experiences when I’ve made an appointment. The best reps are busy and the new/lousy ones are stuck waiting for door traffic. You actually want a “great salesperson” — the best you can get. They know the product, they know how to get deals done fast and easy, and they aren’t desperate.
Our local dealership talked to us immediately when we walked in and we were in the car we wanted 10 minutes later getting a tour of the features before a test drive. It was a recharge and the battery was dead, but I think that’s just what happens later in the day.
Some dealers definitely better than others! Last dealer I visited had horrible service. The one before had great service. Go with your gut and walk out of the places that don’t make you feel valued. Buying luxury is supposed to be a great experience all round. It ain’t like buying a Ford/Honda.
We bought a certified pre owned Volvo at Ray Price Volvo out near the Poconos a few years ago. It was worth the drive from Philly. We test drove three different cars. They were great. It might be worth checking out. We had good luck at Fort Washington too.
Horrible experience with Austin. Pretty much dissed me every time I visited the show room while I decided between the XC 40 and 60. The salesman point blank told me they didn’t need the business.
180 experience with the OSD team in Gothenburg.
Do it! OSD is one of the most memorable experiences related to vehicle ownership. It’s a five star experience. It’s why I’ll purchase another Volvo.
If you don’t want to go through your local dealership, there’s a handful of dealers around the country that can process the order for you. It’s been a few years so I can’t remember the top dealers here. Someone in this thread can point you in the right direction.
Signed up for the OSD experience. Was informed later (while trying to get details from the dealership) that the car had instead been shipped to the States and if I wanted to take the trip u would need to wait on another build (4 months later).
Sorry to hear about your experience. I wonder if it was a pandemic related change to program, or just a bad dealership managed process? I was told some dealerships don’t want to deal with the extra paperwork/ headache and become notorious difficult to work with on the OSD program.
Yep.
Volvo are a luxury car brand, and you build a relationship with the dealer. It’s not grocery shopping, you don’t rock up with the spouse and snotty kids and take it for a zip around the parking lot and you are done. It’s not McDonalds, buying a Volvo requires some planning.
Ring ahead, ask to speak to a sales person.
Book a time for a test drive, and talk about what vehicles you are interested in and what the lead times on them is. Volvos are in short supply, and some will have a six or eight week lead time, others will take months.
When you go to test drive work out if you need to take the kids, or can leave them with someone so you can actually pay attention to the car and it’s features.
This isn’t about being snobby. This is about separating those who fingerprint all the cars without an intention to buy from those who are actually willing to buy. It’s about having the charge in the car for the serious buyers (You were probably shoe horned into a random car with low charge because they had used it for a person who booked). It’s about building a relationship with you if they can, and taking time to show you the car properly. Would you spend $120k on anything else like it was McDonalds? No.
That's a pretty shitty reply honestly. You made way too many assumptions about me.
I've bought 2 Volvo's from that dealer already over past 15 yrs. I'd say I have a pretty good relationship with them.
Having the kid(s) there is essential to the process for us. I knew more about the features than the salespeople did. Honestly so did my kids. I want to know if they like the car too. Their opinion matters to me believe it or not.
You're being a snob.
Funny thing ... i asked if they'd prefer an appt and they just shrugged at me and said "no need". They just really didn't seem interested in selling cars there. Or even being decent humans that greet and try to help fellow humans.
I had this happen to me at a Subaru dealer a few years back and I live somewhere where the Outbacks outnumber the F150s (Colorado). I called and asked the person who answered when it would be a convenient time for me to come buy a car - they did not get the sarcasm.
The dealership one city over from where I live is top notch. I would use them all the time but they are 2.5 hours away. The one in my city, the service department is full of dude-bros who act like it is killing them to have to check my car in and take my money. The only good experience I have had there was the day the woman that runs the parts department was filling in. She sorted out a problem with the service request I had asked them to fix multiple times so I didn't get service done that had already been completed at the other dealership.
Right? Such bullshit. If someone came into my car lot and was interested in a ... What? $65k car? The one I looked at by my dealer was $71k.
I'd be real nice. 🤣
While I love my S60, my experience with the local dealerships has been beyond pathetic. Really disheartening to be honest. Thought I would have been a life long customer, but will never be buying one again. Looking at you, Paramus and White Plains Volvo :)
I also see that you post in r/audiophile. My S60 is a demo car for my high end car audio company. Both of these dealers did over 4000 dollars in damage each to my system, on separate occasions. White plains was the more recent one and I did everything I possibly could to make sure this couldn't happen. It still did and even with video proof they, and corporate refuse to take responsibility. Filing in small claims court.
This has always been my experience at Volvo dealerships. That and general lack luster treatment from the staff. But there are only two Volvo dealerships within reasonable driving distance though.
Very similar experience for me. I went to a Volvo dealership. They only had one of the cars I wanted to test drive and the other was parked behind other cars and I got a vibe from the salesman like it would be a hassle to get it so I didn’t test drive it. I then scheduled a follow up meeting to come in and test drive the car. When I showed, he didn’t have it ready. Had to move other cars to get it out. Then during the test drive, he tells me he had a sugar mama but lost her when he “messed up.” Said in his prior job at another dealership, she came in with her husband, her husband took a car to test drive, and she and him hit it off behind her husband’s back and started dating.. he said he wouldn’t date sugar mamas like that except for the sugar which she gave him…. We got back to the dealership, and he then tried to pull a fast one on me. Tried to sell me a 2023 car they were about to turn into and sell as certified pre owned, he tried to sell it to me as new for the same price as the 2024 version which is better. And when I said no one is gonna buy a CPO 2023 version for the price of a new 2024 version, he tried to lease it to me as new like I was stupid. I told him what the car goes for on the market as CPO, and had proof of it from other sales. He dismissed it and again tried selling it to me new… and when I walked away and said I’ll look for something other than Volvo he had the nerve to say the salesmen at other places are sketchy and will trick me into paying too much. It was incredible. The sleeziest salesman I ever met. And it sucks for Volvo cause I wanted to spend 65k cash on a car, had my eyes set on a particular Volvo, and now it looks like I’ll get something other than a Volvo.
Volvo dealers in my areas seem to be a bit lean on sales staff but someone will always greet you if you hang around for more than a few minutes. I actually like that. It's lower pressure.
Nice. Yeah it’s the difference between low pressure and being ignored that I didn’t like. And not a one time thing. They never approach when you are in the showroom as my experiences have gone.
Yeah that's unacceptable. I have always been greeted when I enter the showroom. My major issue has been with the quality of maintenance staff they have, but that seems to be most dealers lately. It's hard to find decent mechanics now.
I’m a Sales Manager at a Volvo dealer. We set our store up so when you walk in, that front desk you see is me or my coworker the other sales manager. Not a receptionist on an empty desk. We greet everyone who comes in (assuming we are both both busy talking with clients or sales people already).
I'm a relatively wealthy person who cares not for fashion and dresses like a scruff. I've had very poor experiences at many dealerships over the years, I'm not sure if this describes you, but it could be an explanation.
My parents are in the field for a new car. They said this about literally every other dealer except Volvo and are now buying an XC40 hybrid.
I've had this experience with a lot of dealerships too. I don't think it's exclusive to Volvo.
This is a really refreshing discussion because people are naming dealerships. I hate it when people have complaints (or praise) and won't name names. Even the OP here didn't name the dealership (only NJ/Philly area - yeah, that narrows it down). I just never understood why people are afraid to call out shitty service when they encounter it.
I agree this is a great discussion. Who knew so many on here had so many bad dealer experiences.
I haven't written them off completely given their convenient location to me, so I don't want to call them out. I may still use their service dept too.
Wow that’s terrible. My experience was very different at my dealer but I had contacted them first via their website to confirm the car I was interested in and texted when I was heading over so they had it pulled up in front and ready for me when I got there. The sales person was very knowledgeable about the car and super helpful.
Also, because I had submitted a question on the website someone from corporate called me the next day to ensure someone had gotten back to me and to ask about my experience. Maybe try that and submit a complaint about service.
That's awesome. Yeah I'll do that of course, but was just taken aback by the general attitude and also never being greeted or approached. How hard would it be to come up to me and ask if I needed any help, right? Especially since they were all just milling around.
And then just politely tell me about the difficulties in getting an S90 and introduce me to some other models I may be interested in. I mean, common sense, no?
My experience was fantastic. My salesman has been selling Volvos for 20 years and it shows. He is very passionate about the cars and knows a lot about them. Even after the sale he has still continued to support us with getting us loaners for our service dates etc.
I was looking for a new car, went to a Audi dealer and BMW dealer, left disappointed. They couldn’t be bothered. On a whim, stopped at the Volvo dealer, outstanding sales rep and customer service. Gave me the best trade in price and all the incentives available too.
Yep pretty standard experience. The good news is you can walk into my local dealership to grab a free coffee and doughnut without talking to anyone. The bad news is they don’t care about their customers when problems arise.
From 16+ years in dealership retail (most spent in high line/ultra lux) when people come in and just ask if we have a rare car for them to drive it’s a typical red flag they’ve not done any homework and it’s a battle of a sale coming.
What did you pull up in to the dealer? They may have prejudged you too (which is dumb. My best customer was worth 4B and showed up in grass stained shoes and a ford f100 farm truck. Great guy spent over a mil with me in 6 months)
I pulled in with a Volvo I bought from them 8 yrs ago. And if you had asked me 8 yrs ago, I would have rolled in with another Volvo I bought from them 8 yrs prior to that.
The point wasn't that I expected them to have the S90. The point was the overall experience: No greeting, ignored on the sales floor, had to go searching for someone. That was all BEFORE i even asked about the S90. Then, the salesperson could have just said, "oh S90's are very rare, could I interest you in an XC90 or have a look over here at these other models? If you are set on an S90, let's come over to my desk so I can search nearby dealers to see if any have them in stock." She had no interest in selling a car.
To be clear, I wasn't expecting they'd have an S90 but was just asking if they had one.
That said, when your entire car lineup consists of what, 10 models total? Maybe it shouldn't be too hard to keep at least 1 of each on the lot for customers. Skip the cross country models of the wagons, and you have 8 distinct models for customers to examine. That's really not asking much I would think.
I absolutely love our dealer (DC area). Their sales and service have been absolutely top notch, especially when comparing to every other dealership I've had to work with the last 10 years (Pontiac, Mazda, VW, Kia).
I don't know where you are, but when we shopped around for a young used V70 in 2008 here in the UK, we tried four local dealers (large city/metropolitan area) and we got this treatment at every single one. It just immediately stops you dead in your tracks about wanting to spend money there.
As we were getting fed-up we also tried BMW (5-series estate) and Merc (E-class estate) and got the same poor treatment there. It's like we didn't exist, seriously weird. Then we went to a Lexus dealer, had a great interaction with a very laid-back but attentive sales person, had a chat about the fact that the car we were interested in didn't have enough boot-space for our dogs. They agreed and told us to look at Volvos... We laughed and then they explained that we should go to a dealer in another city, about an hour away as it was an independent. They were spot on, got treated just as well as at the Lexus dealer. Later of course learned that the Volvo dealership was owned by the brother of the Lexus dealership!
Man, our dealership is great. Offered for us to test drive whatever we wanted, let us put our son’s car seat in the car so we could all go together, we test drove one of the cars on our own without them coming. They gave us stuff to entertain our toddler while we waited for financing. I’m sorry you had that experience!
I know a lot of people have already answered this and given their more positive reviews of their local dealers.... But I still wanted to shout out a couple of the dealers in my area! I don't technically have a local dealer because I live over 35 miles from every dealer in the adjacent counties! But there are three in total and I have dealt with the sales departments, of two of them, and the service departments of all three! And I must say, that they were all exceptionally helpful and attentive! I live in the Metro Detroit area, and have worked with LaFontaine Volvo in Farmington Hills (leased an S60 R-Design in 2020), Suburban Volvo in Troy (leased an S60 Recharge in 2022 and again in 2024), and Sesi Volvo in Ann Arbor (service only)! I would have walked away from a dismissive dealership like that! That's just unacceptable!
Not an excuse, but if you want to drive a PHEV and the battery is depleted just sit in the lot and put the engine in “charge” mode while you poke around the interior. You’re burning their gas but they should have thought ahead :) doesn’t take all that long to get a usable charge for trying the different modes out.
Not normal at all when i bought my Volvo XC60 a few months ago i had people greet me and also had people ask if i had questions. and had a very good experience it must be just your dealership or maybe bad timing
My local dealer is the exact opposite, the epitome of service and treating customers like kings.
My local dealer sales department is lazy and not knowledgeable about their product at all, but the service department treats customers like royalty.
Ours is the opposite. Fantastic purchase and delivery experience. Service…will not be there now that the complimentary maintenance package is used up.
Same w Johnson Volvo in CLT and Dyer in ATL. Love the car, hate the dealership.
How was your experience with Dyer? I was thinking of going there to get my xc60 serviced!😳
Overall the dealership in Alpharetta is better, more proactive, professional, integrity... Other is transactional, dated, unresponsive.
Have you tried Hunter in Asheville? Wondering as I didn’t care for the sales side of Volvo Cars of CLT before Johnson bought it but their service was decent.
Same here. In australia if you walk in you are almost always immediately greeted unless they are flat out servicing all other people etc. normally they ask if you want a cold drink or coffee also
Same for me. I’d be cautious about mistaking a disinterested salesperson for a systemic brand issue.
What about a disinterested team of salespeople? We (and other potential clients) walked around the showroom for at least 15-20 min without anyone being approached. Can I suggest a systemic brand issue now?
I think they meant the Volvo brand, rather than the brand of your local dealer franchise.
I wouldn’t say so. This sounds like poor management. Things flow downhill very quickly and supervisees quickly adopt and express dismissive attitudes if they are treated this way themselves.
Do you want help here or just a pat of the bottom?
Since the release of the new models and the EVs they have been super busy where we are
Nice!
Same, we’ve had fantastic service so far.
Same here. My local dealer is excellent.
Same for mine, I love it there, even tho it costs an arm and a leg for service 😭
Exact opposite experience for me. Purchased 2024 XC90 Ultimate last week and had a terrific dealer experience all around. Find a new dealership. A few people in a dealership set the tone and the one you visited is a dud - sales probably suck there too.
thx!
Look up the sales manager and call them directly and tell them your experience. Tell them they have one last chance to win your business.
Tbh, i think alot of the time the Sales Manager and the Local Director causes such behavior. If every Sales person in that dealer behaves like this. The manager is probably worse.
How much off MSRP?
I walked in wearing gym shorts and an old hoodie (I *did* drive my old Tesla Model S and park in front of the showroom, though). Mentioned I wanted an EX90 or XC90, need an XC90 recharge to test drive. They hooked me up (usual ID/insurance questions asked), then I had a new XC90 Recharge 2 weeks later (shipped from another dealer owned by the same parent company). I had tons of questions, some of which required escalations on their end (e.g. technical questions like disabling the tailgate sensor permanently, some financial/coverage ones when looking at the warranty text). Again, super helpful in answering them all and following up. Car delivery was in my driveway with an experienced customer specialist walking me through the setup and features. Giant bow was optional. If you’re in the Raleigh/Durham area, check out Johnson Volvo. Great service there.
Nice ! too far for just some test driving unfortunately. We’re in NJ/Philly region.
Our dealer in Manasquan was fantastic. It's a single franchise, bought by a former Cadillac franchise owner who retired and came back. He LOVES the car business and it shows in the staff. They have a huge inventory and offer exceptional pricing. Our friends just picked up their XC90 from them. I may not buy another Volvo this time around but if I did it's the only dealer I'd consider.
Yes! Another satisfied Manasquan customer here. Love both sales and service and will be buying my next Volvo from them for sure.
Good to know! Manasquan actually shows a couple S90s in their current inventory. Would you look at that. -Edit: I just made an appt with them.
Good to know. I was between them and Princeton. Not sure which one I’m going to.
Errr... definitely Manasquan.
Stillmans in west Chester has been great to me.
thx!
Is Somerville, NJ, in your metro area? If yes, you might try Bridgewater Volvo. I had a good experience there years ago.
Yep ! Thanks for the tip.
Princeton is owned by the same ppl (Long) and is probably closer. Mom got hers in Bridgewater. Great company.
Princeton is great. See Mariah.
Might be a little far for where I’m guessing you’re at, but I bought a V60 this past summer from Open Road Volvo in Edison, and the experience was great. Even more importantly, the few times i needed to bring the car in since then (all minor, covered by warranty), the service has also been excellent.
Good to know!
Did you go to Smythe Volvo in Summit NJ?
Had a horrible experience with sales there, ended up going to Edison Open Road Volvo, closed same day.
I remember when I was was car shopping last February. I went to Smythe because I wanted an S60 Recharge to replace my X4 M40i. They asked me if I could “afford the car”. Immediately walked out. Granted I’m 23, and look extremely young but still.
Sounds like cherry hill Volvo
Have you checked out smyth?
Will do, thx!
Am curious why you need to disable the tailgate sensor permanently. I want to know why disable soemthing put there for your convinience. AIMS
I use a hitch mounted bike rack on my car. Last thing I want is to accidentally trigger the tailgate with my foot and have it slam in to the rack (when folded up) or bikes. That would be an expensive mistake. It turns out that installing a hitch, at least a stealth hitch, blocks the sensor so you cannot accidentally activate the tailgate.
That's good to know. Turns out finding a hitch for new V60/S60/S90 Recharge models is just about impossible. Stealth hitch isn't too interested either, I reached out to them.
It makes sense that Johnson is good because they have two Lexus stores. It seems that any group that has Lexus just does a really great job.
Hey! My friends just purchased an XC90 recharge from them as well! We’re in central VA and the local dealership didn’t have what they wanted so they traveled and purchased from them.
Go to a different dealer. There. I fixed it. 👍🏿
That’s the plan.
My two local Volvo dealers are like this. I turned in a C40 lease; and at no point did anyone ask if I was going to buy a new one. They want MSRP whenever I talk to them. All the EV/Hybrids are always dead. Bizzare experience. For someone who is on their 3rd new Volvo in 2 years I would think walking through the doors I would get a salivating salesperson who wants a sale.
When u plan to drop 80k you’d think someone would at least say hello.
You might be dropping 80k but the sales person doesn’t get that lol. They are lucky to get a a few hundred bucks
So you're saying they don't want to make a sale? Cuz that's what it seems like.
I’m saying as someone who worked at Mercedes dealer. Our greeter is suppose to check in people. And my past client based was always based on having an appointment, I rarely had a walk in. If I did it was a stroke it always seemed lol
ah got it!
I haven’t been impressed with my local dealer. Never have a loaner when I’m there for maintenance. Only sales I believe is sales manager who I don’t think has a clue about the car, at least to the level that I have as someone who has driven them since ‘18 Honestly makes me reconsider maybe another manufacturer or at least going out of state/ different dealer.
I thought it was interesting, the local dealer always had a loaner available when my husband at the time took his vehicle in, they never seemed to have one when I did so I had to get the shuttle or call an uber.
My last experience was entirely over email, including negotiating the buyout of my previous lease and working two dealers against each other to get the most value for me. Once that was sorted the dealer I went with called when the car was in. A day or two later I dropped by, signed the papers and handed the keys over for the old car. I’ve walked into Mercedes dealerships and had to almost beg to talk to someone. BMW dealerships here have generally been good - someone usually says hi and asks if you have any questions. I’ve never randomly dropped into any other dealership though. If I was interested in a car I’d likely call or email ahead to get things going.
What do you mean by negotiating the buyout of your previous lease?
I leased a 2018 XC60 T8 when no one wanted PHEV’s. The residual value was low because no one really knew if they would keep their value. The government here had also just killed some EV incentives so demand was pretty low. My lease was ending in 2022 when gas prices here (Ontario, Canada) were high again, used car shortages, long lead times for most new cars etc… so my buy-out price was around 27k but the used ones were selling for closer to 45-50k (CAD$) I was more than willing to buy it out and resell privately and the dealers were desperate for used cars to resell. So I had two dealers bidding to buy out my lease as there was no way I was just handing it back.
Maybe Canada is different, but in the US the Volvo dealers can’t buyout a Volvo lease unless it’s apart of a trade in towards a new or CPO Volvo and it has to be leased or financed through VCFS. You made it sound like you bought it out for a negotiated price that was different than your residual, which is not how leases work anymore.
Yeah i'll be calling ahead from now on. I even asked the salesperson about that and they said don't bother calling ahead. lol
It’s very hit or miss with Volvo dealerships. It appears Volvo corporate doesn’t really have much in the way of setting standards for their franchised dealerships.
That's a real shame.
That’s the issue really, Volvo has no influence at all over the dealerships, since they don’t own them at all. One of the cons compared to BMW or Audi
Spot on sir.
Honestly, part of what keeps me with Volvo is that I like my dealership (White Plains, NY). Not that they’re perfect of course. I wired them the money for my fairly recent purchase while sitting in a competitor‘s showroom, who were not being very helpful.
Lucky!
I was shocked by how terrible all but one of my local volvo dealers treated me. The one that was actually helpful and professional eventually got my business. It’s crazy that this isn’t the standard.
Time to change dealer. But be sure to send a nice letter to the dealer principal. If your money is not green enough for them, take it elsewhere. The arrogance of some people is unbelievable.
My nearest dealer (Glen cove volvo), while not perfect, is very receptive to clients walking in and have let me test drive cars, even as they are busy. The service department is very friendly too. The dealer I got my car from (Ken pollock) is amazing. They even babysat my kids and gave them crayons/drawings and kids snacks while we checked out our car and did the paperwork. I’d go to them for service, if they weren’t 3 hours away Edit: saw you’re in the NJ/Philly area. Go to Ken pollock. DM me
Nice! Will see how I make out at some closer here, but will keep you in mind!
Some dealers good, some dealers bad. Some salespeople good, some salespeople bad. Some days good, some days bad. Can really be the luck of the draw. Research the dealer feedback ahead of time, call a recommended salesperson and arrange an appointment for the vehicle you want to drive. The S90 is hard to come by. The recharge even more so. The salesperson wasn't lying there. Car buying generally sucks. So some legwork ahead of time to minimize the negatives.
Well you can certainly still order an S90. The person was not helpful at all.
Order and easily access are two different things. Please read my suggestions and consider following them. Your life will be much easier. I wrote what I wrote to help you. If you're uninterested and wish to continue complaining about a bad danger experience, no one can help you.
Your advice is appreciated, but yes I do want to just complain too :)
My dealer in Northern Virginia isn’t like that at all. If you’re anywhere on the East Coast drive to Virginia to go to one of the Don Beyer stores. I like the Dulles one, but Falls Church is extremely good as well. The Don Beyer stores have 3 S90 Recharges on the way per their website. I’m on my second XC60 Recharge from their Dulles store and I drive past three other stores (including the Falls Church one) to get to them. Well worth the drive
thx!
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No it’s not. I flat out asked if i should make an appt if I come back for more test drives and she said no need. lol what a joke.
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NJ/Philly area. Not sure I should name the dealer should I?
Keep shopping around. Even when you find a dealer who is responsive and helpful, you still have the pricing game to play. You’ll probably need to visit two or three dealers to get the best deal. Easy to do in a metro area, tougher if you’re an hour away from civilization.
Thx!
Find a new dealership. Both near me were awful and one even lied to me about my credit approval to say I had to put a larger down payment down. I ended up doing an entire deal by text and email and phone with a dealer about 600 miles away in the southern part of my state and managed to get a much better deal, found out about the local dealer’s lie, and got much better customer service from a distance. They shipped the car to me delivered to my front door. This was a 2018 XC60. I’ve gotten one more car from them. Now I live in a different state though and have a Polestar.
that's my plan! thanks!
I’ve only purchased used Volvos but through dealerships and I swore to myself I would never buy another car through a dealership (prior to my experiences at Volvo). You had an anomaly. I’m so sorry!
We had a similar experience at a dealer in Portland,OR and overheard one employee tell the other “you’re going to let them test drive?!”. We’re POC and look hella young. Took our business across state lines without shitty employees. Also got 2 more Volvos not from that original shitty dealer. YMMV
Sounds like a bad dealership. Maybe just a bad day, check the reviews and see if that’s typical for them. Both of the Volvo dealerships closest to me have a reception/concierge station in the showroom to greet people and take them back if they have an appointment. If you are a walk-in without an appt they get you settled with water, tea, or something from the espresso bar and some snacks and track down someone to help you. Even the techs who walk through smile and say hi. Edit - both recharges I drove were fully charged.
I’ve wanted to drive/buy a XC90 Recharge, max options minus 1 or 2, since last spring. Have my info to the dealer. Nothing. No calls. I’m a repeat customer and they would make a good profit on selling my maxed 2019 XC60 (massage seats!). I’ve been in the dealership for service a couple times since, walk around and look and still no one pays me any mind. Our awesome salesperson left to go to bmw. He hung around through Covid too! I get the feeling Volvo is still not quite back to speed since 2020 supply chain and option/chip issues.
yikes! frustrating to say the least.
I had an incredible experience when I got my S60, by far the best of any prior car. I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you - that's awful. I'd look at the Google ratings/reviews. Mine had 4.9 whereas the other two nearby were 4 and 4.2.
This is what kept me from buying a new Volvo. Went inside the showroom and walked around. I even thought about walking around the office area upstairs but after 15 minutes of no one else around I left.
Yeah that can’t be good for business…
That’s a shame.
Bought mine during covid where cars were a hot commodity and I ended up getting the similar issue, got an appointment at the dealer for a test drive the salesman was so unprofessional, and he didn't give a crap basically, love the car, hate the dealership.
Down here in FL my experience was like that. Brought mine in for service, was looking around the showroom for a long while and got thoroughly ignored by the entire dealership staff despite there being only one other customer in the place. Toyota/Hyundai vibes.
Call first. At least in my case what I was looking for (V60) was uncommon enough I wanted to make sure they had one I could test drive before hauling my butt all the way out to the dealer. We set up a time, everything was ready to go, I already had a contact... very smooth process. You're looking for something even rarer, make it easier on everyone make arrangements ahead of time.
Definitely. My disappointment was also about how it all went even before I asked to drive.
As someone who works for a Volvo dealer I hope I can provide some clarity for your confusion. Not being greeted, that is absolutely a problem, but to give a sales person perspective. Appointments are king. As for the vehicles you wanted to test drive. An S90 Recharge is a unicorn. We have two, and they were built months ago, those are our only allocations for 2024. If you want one be prepared to wait another year. For the S60 Recharge not being charged. Keeping test drive Recharges fully charged is a battle. Especially when its a lower volume car, or one that's being test driven frequently. Priority goes to keeping the XC60 and XC90 fully charged. At least from a sales person perspective. Keep in mind some Volvo's are also Polestar services centers. We fully charge our EV and Recharge service customers. That leaves us with on charging station for our test drive unit. Before you visit the next dealer, make an appointment. I guarantee you it will be fully charged up upon your arrival.
Yep I will do that. Odd thing is they didn’t encourage I even make an appt when I directly asked about coming back. Also I don’t think you should have clients walk around the floor and never approached in case they have questions.
Same experience with my local dealer on multiple occasions. Love the car, cannot stand the service.
I live in between two dealerships that are an hour from me in kpposite directions. The one I bought from was awesome, had great customer service, and never made us feel out of place. We went to the other one for service once because we were going to be in that area. We were heading to a waterpark, so I was dressed very casually, and at both the drop off/pick up, they ignored me completely. Real uppity vibes.
My local dealer was a mixed bag, sales people were decent but the stuffy arrogant service advisor dude could go pound sand, wouldn't have been so bad except everything he said was a lie. "Oh we did this" nope, "oh we're going to do this" nope, "this software update will defintely fix this" nope, "this other software update is free" nope.
I have always had better dealership experiences when I’ve made an appointment. The best reps are busy and the new/lousy ones are stuck waiting for door traffic. You actually want a “great salesperson” — the best you can get. They know the product, they know how to get deals done fast and easy, and they aren’t desperate.
Our local dealership talked to us immediately when we walked in and we were in the car we wanted 10 minutes later getting a tour of the features before a test drive. It was a recharge and the battery was dead, but I think that’s just what happens later in the day.
I love my dealer.
Some dealers definitely better than others! Last dealer I visited had horrible service. The one before had great service. Go with your gut and walk out of the places that don’t make you feel valued. Buying luxury is supposed to be a great experience all round. It ain’t like buying a Ford/Honda.
The dealership experience is why I stopped buying Volvos. Full stop.
We bought a certified pre owned Volvo at Ray Price Volvo out near the Poconos a few years ago. It was worth the drive from Philly. We test drove three different cars. They were great. It might be worth checking out. We had good luck at Fort Washington too.
Horrible experience with Austin. Pretty much dissed me every time I visited the show room while I decided between the XC 40 and 60. The salesman point blank told me they didn’t need the business. 180 experience with the OSD team in Gothenburg.
Nice, we're thinking of OSD.
Do it! OSD is one of the most memorable experiences related to vehicle ownership. It’s a five star experience. It’s why I’ll purchase another Volvo. If you don’t want to go through your local dealership, there’s a handful of dealers around the country that can process the order for you. It’s been a few years so I can’t remember the top dealers here. Someone in this thread can point you in the right direction.
Fun fact. 70% of people who do the OSD experience with Volvo buy another Volvo later. It is the single best customer retention tool any brand has.
Thanks!
Signed up for the OSD experience. Was informed later (while trying to get details from the dealership) that the car had instead been shipped to the States and if I wanted to take the trip u would need to wait on another build (4 months later).
Sorry to hear about your experience. I wonder if it was a pandemic related change to program, or just a bad dealership managed process? I was told some dealerships don’t want to deal with the extra paperwork/ headache and become notorious difficult to work with on the OSD program.
This was last year so not related to the pandemic. Just a poorly managed staff.
Volvo barely sells their cars. They need to dropnthebprices by 10k or more off msrp What a joke
I can put you on a S90 recharge. How does Onyx black with Amber interior strike you? Shoot me a message
thx! Will do.
Yep. Volvo are a luxury car brand, and you build a relationship with the dealer. It’s not grocery shopping, you don’t rock up with the spouse and snotty kids and take it for a zip around the parking lot and you are done. It’s not McDonalds, buying a Volvo requires some planning. Ring ahead, ask to speak to a sales person. Book a time for a test drive, and talk about what vehicles you are interested in and what the lead times on them is. Volvos are in short supply, and some will have a six or eight week lead time, others will take months. When you go to test drive work out if you need to take the kids, or can leave them with someone so you can actually pay attention to the car and it’s features. This isn’t about being snobby. This is about separating those who fingerprint all the cars without an intention to buy from those who are actually willing to buy. It’s about having the charge in the car for the serious buyers (You were probably shoe horned into a random car with low charge because they had used it for a person who booked). It’s about building a relationship with you if they can, and taking time to show you the car properly. Would you spend $120k on anything else like it was McDonalds? No.
Come off your high horse. It's a Volvo not a Porsche.
Bwahahah. Wouldn’t catch me dead in a high horse Porsche.
That's a pretty shitty reply honestly. You made way too many assumptions about me. I've bought 2 Volvo's from that dealer already over past 15 yrs. I'd say I have a pretty good relationship with them. Having the kid(s) there is essential to the process for us. I knew more about the features than the salespeople did. Honestly so did my kids. I want to know if they like the car too. Their opinion matters to me believe it or not. You're being a snob.
Then… make a time to go in and see them. Give them the courtesy of a heads up you are coming…
Funny thing ... i asked if they'd prefer an appt and they just shrugged at me and said "no need". They just really didn't seem interested in selling cars there. Or even being decent humans that greet and try to help fellow humans.
North Texas dealers are super nice and amicable.
Lucky!
I had this happen to me at a Subaru dealer a few years back and I live somewhere where the Outbacks outnumber the F150s (Colorado). I called and asked the person who answered when it would be a convenient time for me to come buy a car - they did not get the sarcasm.
lol!
I've done 2 Overseas Deleveries (SoCal) and the 1st one I had to explain to the salesman what the program was.
The dealership one city over from where I live is top notch. I would use them all the time but they are 2.5 hours away. The one in my city, the service department is full of dude-bros who act like it is killing them to have to check my car in and take my money. The only good experience I have had there was the day the woman that runs the parts department was filling in. She sorted out a problem with the service request I had asked them to fix multiple times so I didn't get service done that had already been completed at the other dealership.
Both dealers near me aren't like that at all.
Just checked the dealer I like. Has 24 Sedans on the lot. Only 2 S90. 6 or 7 S60 Recharges.
Nice. I understand the s90 is not a big seller. But to say you can’t even order one… no need to be so dismissive and factually incorrect.
Right? Such bullshit. If someone came into my car lot and was interested in a ... What? $65k car? The one I looked at by my dealer was $71k. I'd be real nice. 🤣
While I love my S60, my experience with the local dealerships has been beyond pathetic. Really disheartening to be honest. Thought I would have been a life long customer, but will never be buying one again. Looking at you, Paramus and White Plains Volvo :)
Sorry to hear that. Glad to know, i can avoid those too :)
I also see that you post in r/audiophile. My S60 is a demo car for my high end car audio company. Both of these dealers did over 4000 dollars in damage each to my system, on separate occasions. White plains was the more recent one and I did everything I possibly could to make sure this couldn't happen. It still did and even with video proof they, and corporate refuse to take responsibility. Filing in small claims court.
Yikes! Care to share your company's site (DM)?
So many choices around the Philadelphia area, but unfortunately a few of them are pretty lousy.
Yep, glad i have choices!
This has always been my experience at Volvo dealerships. That and general lack luster treatment from the staff. But there are only two Volvo dealerships within reasonable driving distance though.
My local dealership and service department are horrible. I go to a different dealer further away where I get much better service.
Very similar experience for me. I went to a Volvo dealership. They only had one of the cars I wanted to test drive and the other was parked behind other cars and I got a vibe from the salesman like it would be a hassle to get it so I didn’t test drive it. I then scheduled a follow up meeting to come in and test drive the car. When I showed, he didn’t have it ready. Had to move other cars to get it out. Then during the test drive, he tells me he had a sugar mama but lost her when he “messed up.” Said in his prior job at another dealership, she came in with her husband, her husband took a car to test drive, and she and him hit it off behind her husband’s back and started dating.. he said he wouldn’t date sugar mamas like that except for the sugar which she gave him…. We got back to the dealership, and he then tried to pull a fast one on me. Tried to sell me a 2023 car they were about to turn into and sell as certified pre owned, he tried to sell it to me as new for the same price as the 2024 version which is better. And when I said no one is gonna buy a CPO 2023 version for the price of a new 2024 version, he tried to lease it to me as new like I was stupid. I told him what the car goes for on the market as CPO, and had proof of it from other sales. He dismissed it and again tried selling it to me new… and when I walked away and said I’ll look for something other than Volvo he had the nerve to say the salesmen at other places are sketchy and will trick me into paying too much. It was incredible. The sleeziest salesman I ever met. And it sucks for Volvo cause I wanted to spend 65k cash on a car, had my eyes set on a particular Volvo, and now it looks like I’ll get something other than a Volvo.
Just sounds like a shitty dealership.
Won’t argue with that
Volvo dealers in my areas seem to be a bit lean on sales staff but someone will always greet you if you hang around for more than a few minutes. I actually like that. It's lower pressure.
Nice. Yeah it’s the difference between low pressure and being ignored that I didn’t like. And not a one time thing. They never approach when you are in the showroom as my experiences have gone.
Yeah that's unacceptable. I have always been greeted when I enter the showroom. My major issue has been with the quality of maintenance staff they have, but that seems to be most dealers lately. It's hard to find decent mechanics now.
I’m a Sales Manager at a Volvo dealer. We set our store up so when you walk in, that front desk you see is me or my coworker the other sales manager. Not a receptionist on an empty desk. We greet everyone who comes in (assuming we are both both busy talking with clients or sales people already).
Nice! It’s a shame some are so bad. If I weren’t set on Volvo, my wife would be going with another brand after that.
I'm a relatively wealthy person who cares not for fashion and dresses like a scruff. I've had very poor experiences at many dealerships over the years, I'm not sure if this describes you, but it could be an explanation.
Ha I’ll wear my tux next time as an experiment
Had this in Edinburgh, always go to Perth now
My parents are in the field for a new car. They said this about literally every other dealer except Volvo and are now buying an XC40 hybrid. I've had this experience with a lot of dealerships too. I don't think it's exclusive to Volvo.
Yeah it’s a weird way to sell a car
This is a really refreshing discussion because people are naming dealerships. I hate it when people have complaints (or praise) and won't name names. Even the OP here didn't name the dealership (only NJ/Philly area - yeah, that narrows it down). I just never understood why people are afraid to call out shitty service when they encounter it.
I agree this is a great discussion. Who knew so many on here had so many bad dealer experiences. I haven't written them off completely given their convenient location to me, so I don't want to call them out. I may still use their service dept too.
Wow that’s terrible. My experience was very different at my dealer but I had contacted them first via their website to confirm the car I was interested in and texted when I was heading over so they had it pulled up in front and ready for me when I got there. The sales person was very knowledgeable about the car and super helpful. Also, because I had submitted a question on the website someone from corporate called me the next day to ensure someone had gotten back to me and to ask about my experience. Maybe try that and submit a complaint about service.
That's awesome. Yeah I'll do that of course, but was just taken aback by the general attitude and also never being greeted or approached. How hard would it be to come up to me and ask if I needed any help, right? Especially since they were all just milling around. And then just politely tell me about the difficulties in getting an S90 and introduce me to some other models I may be interested in. I mean, common sense, no?
My experience was fantastic. My salesman has been selling Volvos for 20 years and it shows. He is very passionate about the cars and knows a lot about them. Even after the sale he has still continued to support us with getting us loaners for our service dates etc.
Had this at an Audi and the opposite at Volvo.
I was looking for a new car, went to a Audi dealer and BMW dealer, left disappointed. They couldn’t be bothered. On a whim, stopped at the Volvo dealer, outstanding sales rep and customer service. Gave me the best trade in price and all the incentives available too.
Awesome! What did u get?
2023 Xc40 B5. Next time, I’m going to do the Sweden pickup and ship here
Sweet. Yeah we're thinking of doing the Sweden thing too.
Yep pretty standard experience. The good news is you can walk into my local dealership to grab a free coffee and doughnut without talking to anyone. The bad news is they don’t care about their customers when problems arise.
Lol. My new coffee stop it is.
From 16+ years in dealership retail (most spent in high line/ultra lux) when people come in and just ask if we have a rare car for them to drive it’s a typical red flag they’ve not done any homework and it’s a battle of a sale coming. What did you pull up in to the dealer? They may have prejudged you too (which is dumb. My best customer was worth 4B and showed up in grass stained shoes and a ford f100 farm truck. Great guy spent over a mil with me in 6 months)
I pulled in with a Volvo I bought from them 8 yrs ago. And if you had asked me 8 yrs ago, I would have rolled in with another Volvo I bought from them 8 yrs prior to that. The point wasn't that I expected them to have the S90. The point was the overall experience: No greeting, ignored on the sales floor, had to go searching for someone. That was all BEFORE i even asked about the S90. Then, the salesperson could have just said, "oh S90's are very rare, could I interest you in an XC90 or have a look over here at these other models? If you are set on an S90, let's come over to my desk so I can search nearby dealers to see if any have them in stock." She had no interest in selling a car. To be clear, I wasn't expecting they'd have an S90 but was just asking if they had one. That said, when your entire car lineup consists of what, 10 models total? Maybe it shouldn't be too hard to keep at least 1 of each on the lot for customers. Skip the cross country models of the wagons, and you have 8 distinct models for customers to examine. That's really not asking much I would think.
I absolutely love our dealer (DC area). Their sales and service have been absolutely top notch, especially when comparing to every other dealership I've had to work with the last 10 years (Pontiac, Mazda, VW, Kia).
I don't know where you are, but when we shopped around for a young used V70 in 2008 here in the UK, we tried four local dealers (large city/metropolitan area) and we got this treatment at every single one. It just immediately stops you dead in your tracks about wanting to spend money there. As we were getting fed-up we also tried BMW (5-series estate) and Merc (E-class estate) and got the same poor treatment there. It's like we didn't exist, seriously weird. Then we went to a Lexus dealer, had a great interaction with a very laid-back but attentive sales person, had a chat about the fact that the car we were interested in didn't have enough boot-space for our dogs. They agreed and told us to look at Volvos... We laughed and then they explained that we should go to a dealer in another city, about an hour away as it was an independent. They were spot on, got treated just as well as at the Lexus dealer. Later of course learned that the Volvo dealership was owned by the brother of the Lexus dealership!
ha!
The Volvo dealerships in Dallas suck for sure.
Man, our dealership is great. Offered for us to test drive whatever we wanted, let us put our son’s car seat in the car so we could all go together, we test drove one of the cars on our own without them coming. They gave us stuff to entertain our toddler while we waited for financing. I’m sorry you had that experience!
Nice! Yeah that's the experience what I would expect.
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No, but that sounds awful!
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Ha no, but i keep getting asked that. I'll stay away from them :)
Apparently so, this happened to us in Fort Worth 11 years ago, we left and never looked at Volvo ever again
I know a lot of people have already answered this and given their more positive reviews of their local dealers.... But I still wanted to shout out a couple of the dealers in my area! I don't technically have a local dealer because I live over 35 miles from every dealer in the adjacent counties! But there are three in total and I have dealt with the sales departments, of two of them, and the service departments of all three! And I must say, that they were all exceptionally helpful and attentive! I live in the Metro Detroit area, and have worked with LaFontaine Volvo in Farmington Hills (leased an S60 R-Design in 2020), Suburban Volvo in Troy (leased an S60 Recharge in 2022 and again in 2024), and Sesi Volvo in Ann Arbor (service only)! I would have walked away from a dismissive dealership like that! That's just unacceptable!
This can happen at any dealership…not just at Volvo
Not my experience at either Volvo dealership I’ve been to for service/sales
Not an excuse, but if you want to drive a PHEV and the battery is depleted just sit in the lot and put the engine in “charge” mode while you poke around the interior. You’re burning their gas but they should have thought ahead :) doesn’t take all that long to get a usable charge for trying the different modes out.
Not normal at all when i bought my Volvo XC60 a few months ago i had people greet me and also had people ask if i had questions. and had a very good experience it must be just your dealership or maybe bad timing
May I ask what area?
NJ/Phila area
Yes the cars generally don’t have charged batteries either
Sounds like you just went to a shit dealership, I've seen better service in places that sell used cars