Karp Volvo

There is no short way to write this poor review so I will just write the facts. My poor review starts from the moment roadside assistance was called and to be fair, that portion of the service was contracted out, but Volvo itself needs to be accountable for their subcontractors. The towing company was over an hour late to get to the car that was broken down in a Target lot.

After having been towed to Karp, it took them 2 hours to locate the car and another hour to find the key in the car. I was told the car was being diagnosed and they would get right back to me. A few hours later I call back and I am told they are still diagnosing the car and they will call me around 3 O’clock. After no call at 3, I call at 3:30 and they tell me it is still being diagnosed and I can have a loaner if I want. When I get there, I am told that the loaner is 18 dollars+ per day. I was always provided with a loaner from Enterprise, but I guess that is no longer policy.

The next morning, I have to call again to find out that there is a steering column problem and they can repair it today and it will be $875. I ask if there is anything he can do with the price for a loyal customer and the fact that it is an older model car (2004). He says he will work with me. I approve the repair. I guess 10% is technically working with me, but with Nassau sales tax I saved about 12 dollars.

Just over 1 day later, the check engine light comes on. It is riding fine, but I am concerned that since it just broke down, maybe there was an additional issue related to the service a day earlier, so I call the service department up and make an appointment to bring it in the next Saturday as neither my wife nor I can take more time off for the car. I arrived right after they opened and after no call for most of the morning again, I called to find out that again, it was being diagnosed and might not be until Monday so I needed to get a loaner again and pay for it. They lost the cover sheet that had my cell number on it so they were calling the wrong number all day trying to get in touch with me. I call first thing Tuesday morning to find out that my coils are misfiring and that I need new spark plugs. Total cost around 700-800 dollars to replace the coils and plugs. I asked how were these issues not diagnosed with last week’s day plus diagnosis did not pick up these problems? He said the check engine light was not on so they didn’t know to check that. I said I would talk to my wife and get right back to them. At this point I am skeptical so I call back to tell him not to do anything with the car. On that call he proceeds to tell me that the car will also need “front end work” and a major service within the next five thousand miles. It will cost around three thousand dollars. Now I am no longer skeptical, I am downright suspicious. I tell him not to do anything with the car. My wife is coming to pick it up. When she gets there, he tells her he is surprised. Nobody has ever denied the service. They charged us the diagnosis fee and she left with the car. The next morning on her way to work, a screw falls out of the steering column and the body of the steering column comes apart.

I take it to a Volvo specialist on the North Shore. He finds nothing wrong with the coils, and says even of there is a problem, chances are it is not with ALL of the coils. He replaces the spark plugs and fixes a few other small things for me for just over 100 dollars. I can only imagine how much I was taken for on the other repairs that were done at Karp over the last few years. This has been price gouging at its very worst.