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I work at a Volvo dealership. I graduated from the University of Nebraska with a broadcasting degree.
I worked in broadcasting for a few years. I hated it.
I sat in my garage staring at my cars talking to my wife on the telephone.
"Honey, I think I want to sell cars."
"What?"
"I think I want to sell cars for a living."
"You're going through some, quarter life crisis, Ian. What are you talking about?"
"I want to sell...*staring at my '82 240 *...I want to sell Volvos."
*silence*
So the next day down I went.
That was last year, July. It was hot. I rolled up in the old 240 that doesn't have properly functioning air conditioning. The two salesmen who work there (only two at that time) walk out to my car.
We begin talking about the Volvos. Old Volvos.
Oh my God. They're car guys.
I started working there a few days later.
It's odd, many people come in here and complain about the "New Volvo". They complain about the way the New Volvo looks. They say they hear they're unreliable. They say they're too fast/too slow.
The funny thing is though, those people owned 240s and 740s and 850s when the internet wasn't readily available. You can't investigate problems of cars you're looking at as easily when only 1% of every car on the road is what you drive.
Understand, those cars were built extremely well.
But Volvo people are weird.
A few weeks ago I sold a car to a woman who traded in her manual '86 240 that had rattly shock mounts, a leaky sunroof, randomly inoperable windows, and a christmas tree of lights illuminating on the dashboard - those are the problems that I can remember. It had many more. The randomly functional windows have been that way since new.
She was able to see through all of those problems and believed the car to be immaculate.
She purchased a new S80.
Drawing from past experience - if that car has any perceived problems (through operator error or otherwise) - she will come in and ask me why Volvo has gone downhill. What's wrong with Volvo?
Volvo carries a special place in many car enthusiasts hearts. But along with the advent of the internet car purchaser, Volvo has seemingly lost its way.
Were Volvos ever safer than other cars? Maybe. Where they ever more reliable than other makes? Possibly. Are they now? Well, the internet will tell you "NO". So why purchase one?
Most Volvo owners that I work with have told me that they wouldn't mind selling Volvo. Non-Volvo owners just don't get it. I have been told that I'm a horrible car salesman. I'm just a very passionate and typical Volvo owner.
What non-Volvo people don't understand is that Volvo, more so than just making safe, reliable, and attractive automobiles, is a way of thought.
See a friendly man step out of a Volvo? Say hi. See an attractive woman pull up into a parking spot? You instantly can trade Volvo stories.
I now own three Volvos. Two pre-Ford ('91 780 Bertone Coupe, '95 940 Wagon) and one Ford era (2003 V70 2.5t). The connection with other Volvo folk is still there.
The big thing I hope doesn't change if we do get bought by Geely is the stories, feelings, and friends you make by owning one.
Here's to hoping. Reply
I worked in broadcasting for a few years. I hated it.
I sat in my garage staring at my cars talking to my wife on the telephone.
"Honey, I think I want to sell cars."
"What?"
"I think I want to sell cars for a living."
"You're going through some, quarter life crisis, Ian. What are you talking about?"
"I want to sell...*staring at my '82 240 *...I want to sell Volvos."
*silence*
So the next day down I went.
That was last year, July. It was hot. I rolled up in the old 240 that doesn't have properly functioning air conditioning. The two salesmen who work there (only two at that time) walk out to my car.
We begin talking about the Volvos. Old Volvos.
Oh my God. They're car guys.
I started working there a few days later.
It's odd, many people come in here and complain about the "New Volvo". They complain about the way the New Volvo looks. They say they hear they're unreliable. They say they're too fast/too slow.
The funny thing is though, those people owned 240s and 740s and 850s when the internet wasn't readily available. You can't investigate problems of cars you're looking at as easily when only 1% of every car on the road is what you drive.
Understand, those cars were built extremely well.
But Volvo people are weird.
A few weeks ago I sold a car to a woman who traded in her manual '86 240 that had rattly shock mounts, a leaky sunroof, randomly inoperable windows, and a christmas tree of lights illuminating on the dashboard - those are the problems that I can remember. It had many more. The randomly functional windows have been that way since new.
She was able to see through all of those problems and believed the car to be immaculate.
She purchased a new S80.
Drawing from past experience - if that car has any perceived problems (through operator error or otherwise) - she will come in and ask me why Volvo has gone downhill. What's wrong with Volvo?
Volvo carries a special place in many car enthusiasts hearts. But along with the advent of the internet car purchaser, Volvo has seemingly lost its way.
Were Volvos ever safer than other cars? Maybe. Where they ever more reliable than other makes? Possibly. Are they now? Well, the internet will tell you "NO". So why purchase one?
Most Volvo owners that I work with have told me that they wouldn't mind selling Volvo. Non-Volvo owners just don't get it. I have been told that I'm a horrible car salesman. I'm just a very passionate and typical Volvo owner.
What non-Volvo people don't understand is that Volvo, more so than just making safe, reliable, and attractive automobiles, is a way of thought.
See a friendly man step out of a Volvo? Say hi. See an attractive woman pull up into a parking spot? You instantly can trade Volvo stories.
I now own three Volvos. Two pre-Ford ('91 780 Bertone Coupe, '95 940 Wagon) and one Ford era (2003 V70 2.5t). The connection with other Volvo folk is still there.
The big thing I hope doesn't change if we do get bought by Geely is the stories, feelings, and friends you make by owning one.
Here's to hoping. Reply
@alfasud: You're getting me all misty-eyed here. I have missed my '84 740 GLE since the day it went to the grave. That was about five years ago and now I'm getting the itch to find another 740 just for kicks and giggles. I have never had more fun with a car than my Volvo.
Shredding the alternator belt halfway to Maine and then using a bootlace to make a repair effective enough to get me to the nearest parts store.
Replacing the rear brake pads in a motel parking lot and having the job done in 20 minutes.
Breaking the upper hose inlet on the radiator and then doing my best repair job to date by putting another radiator from my parts car in it. Total time elapsed: 15 minutes.
Easiest car ever to change the oil, thankfully it wasn't a turbo.
This car was the epitome of easy to work on vehicles. Not always reliable but damn if she wasn't easy to fix.
So here I've been for the past couple of the weeks looking around for a suitable replacement for my old friend. I think I've found one too. Times are good if I can bring it home. Reply
Shredding the alternator belt halfway to Maine and then using a bootlace to make a repair effective enough to get me to the nearest parts store.
Replacing the rear brake pads in a motel parking lot and having the job done in 20 minutes.
Breaking the upper hose inlet on the radiator and then doing my best repair job to date by putting another radiator from my parts car in it. Total time elapsed: 15 minutes.
Easiest car ever to change the oil, thankfully it wasn't a turbo.
This car was the epitome of easy to work on vehicles. Not always reliable but damn if she wasn't easy to fix.
So here I've been for the past couple of the weeks looking around for a suitable replacement for my old friend. I think I've found one too. Times are good if I can bring it home. Reply
@alfasud: That. Was. Beautiful. No seriously. Wonderful story, very true and deep, passionate. I've always wanted a 240. Now thanks to you I think I want one even more.
Reply
@alfasud: Cheers. Thanks for writing that. It's nice to be reminded that not everyone involved thinks Volvo lost its way under Ford.
I bought my first, and currently only, Volvo over the summer-- a C30 T5. I've never driven any of the pre-ford Volvos, but I may accumulate one or more down the line.
Shortly after getting my C30, a friend and I went to dinner with her family and another family they're close to. They had an old Volvo wagon they'd bought at a yard sale-- "How else am I getting this stuff home?" They loved that car. But, they did offer to trade me for the C30. Reply
I bought my first, and currently only, Volvo over the summer-- a C30 T5. I've never driven any of the pre-ford Volvos, but I may accumulate one or more down the line.
Shortly after getting my C30, a friend and I went to dinner with her family and another family they're close to. They had an old Volvo wagon they'd bought at a yard sale-- "How else am I getting this stuff home?" They loved that car. But, they did offer to trade me for the C30. Reply
@alfasud: "A few weeks ago I sold a car to a woman who traded in her manual '86 240 that had rattly shock mounts, a leaky sunroof, randomly inoperable windows, and a christmas tree of lights illuminating on the dashboard ..."
New upper strut mounts, clean the drain tubes, clean the window switches, and check the wiring harness, especially by the alternator. It'll be good for another 200k miles.
Now if the blower was out ... then perhaps it's time to go. ^_^ Reply
New upper strut mounts, clean the drain tubes, clean the window switches, and check the wiring harness, especially by the alternator. It'll be good for another 200k miles.
Now if the blower was out ... then perhaps it's time to go. ^_^ Reply
@alfasud: Nicely said. We've had Volvos in the family since before i was born (if you count a little DAF) and i'll miss it if they become just another car. My favourite is still our 1990 245 which my parent's have had since new and is still going strong. I like the fact because the original vertical rear aerial hit the garage door each time Volvo replaced it with a sprung angled one they installed at the front of the roof and which now sings when the car hits 77mph exactly!...
I also liked the story heard from the head of one of the factories in canada that he didn't like the fact the propeller wheels o his 850 went 'forward' on one side and 'backward' on the other, so they actually had a set of 'forward' wheels made for him for the other side.
My dad's got to the point now where he wants to trade in the 460 (in the UK cash for clunkers equivalent) but the facts that he doesn't want them to scrap a decent working car and he can't find anything in the new line up with the same character (he basically wants a brand new 240) i think it's going to be in the driveway with the 2nd-gen V70 and 240 for a while longer! Reply
I also liked the story heard from the head of one of the factories in canada that he didn't like the fact the propeller wheels o his 850 went 'forward' on one side and 'backward' on the other, so they actually had a set of 'forward' wheels made for him for the other side.
My dad's got to the point now where he wants to trade in the 460 (in the UK cash for clunkers equivalent) but the facts that he doesn't want them to scrap a decent working car and he can't find anything in the new line up with the same character (he basically wants a brand new 240) i think it's going to be in the driveway with the 2nd-gen V70 and 240 for a while longer! Reply