Volvo Car Group Reviews 957

Paid a deposit of £500 for a new Volvo XC40, gave a bad review of the Sales process and then was informed by the dealer that I should pick the car up from somewhere else because their rating had gone from 1 to 96.
Absolutely unbelievable way to treat customers on the part of Volvo and the dealer who I will not shame here.
On reflection and having read reviews here perhaps I should be grateful to the dealer from saving me from buying a Volvo if this is the way they treat people.

Now bought my wife an Audi Q3 instead.

Volvo is strong and robust car outside but its internal mechanics are so weak. When I go mechanics it is full of Volvo cars evertyime. Do not waste your money and check other cars. Your expenses will rise after Volvo.

Visited Volvo Newcastle for the second time within a couple of months, issues with windscreen wipers then both keys. Both problems were promptly rectified on each occasion by Callum who was a well informed, polite, professional young man. I would not hesitate to recommend Volvo Newcastle.

Our small business leased a new Volvo C40 our first company car from Volvo Car Financial Services UK Limited (VCFS) ( a joint venture between Volvo Cars and Santander we understand) in February 2022.

The car had an airbag fault which went unresolved for 18 months, despite the car being at the Volvo garage, for a cumulative total of 3 weeks, in that time on that issue.

In late November 2023, we were told that, all along, it appears that the problem was, a rare, manufacturing defect; in that the wiring to an important side impact airbag was too short and the connections would come apart.

It appeared that we had been driving around, for some 18 months, in a Volvo with an Airbag that may not operate, as intended, in a life threatening serious side impact collision.

Since Sept 2023, such a significant fault and warning indication would be a major automatic MOT failure, had the car needed one.

We were told that the new wiring, would take some 10 weeks to arrive and even the Director of the Volvo garage thought it best not to drive it.

We had no car, from end of November 2023 and asked for a like for like replacement which was not provided and we stopped paying the lease in February 2024; due to not having the car and even having paid, for two months, without it. [ December 2023 and January 2024]

In June 2024, in long delayed response to our November 2023 complaint, VCFS offered £289 compensation and VCFS required payment, for all the time, we had no car whilst it was undriveable in the garage !! [ We were told early April 2024 that the car was now repaired].

We rejected the response and planned to issue County Court proceedings against VCFS for breach of Contract [ For failing to provide Safe & drive able car, from the outset, that we had been paying for]

Just ahead of our small business issuing proceedings VCFS proposed to cancel the lease and pay £3,015.88.( Sept 2024)

We accepted the offer and sought assurances that we would not be subject of prejudice going forward.

On the basis of the settlement offer we went out and leased another Volvo all Electric car [ which we are very happy with I should fairly say ] though not leased from VCFS ( who we would not now, after what has occurred, deal with ever again]

November 2024, VCFS paid only £1474.58 of the agreed £3,015.88 ( and ignored further correspondence)

Update: 11th February 2025, after further complaint and a Ombudsman referral; VCFS finally paid the outstanding balance, plus a £100 extra payment.

We are still very happy with our new electric Volvo, but, as a small company, our Volvo's in future will never be sourced using Volvo Car Financial Services.

VCFS Agreement JC001525

Never, never, never have a Volvo. Volvo and Volvo Finance will not support you if you have a problem. Their service is disgusting, their attitude is dreadful, they are no longer a luxury brand. They simply don't care. I have had four Volvos in the past and have been delighted with them. Needless to say this is my last.

Ordered a new XC60 and paid the required 50% deposit. Within 24hours of delivery the dealer said they would not hand over the keys unless they could scan and upload my driving licence. As I wasn't happy for them to do this (data can get misdirected and misused) Volvo UK just cancelled my order. For some reason, Volvo UK are holding onto my deposit, stating that it takes 15 days for a refund. This is unacceptable as I paid within 10 mins of receipt of the invoice, and any bank transfer can be made within 2 hours. I wish I had read the previous reviews on this site before going near Volvo!! My emails to Volvo get bounced back as undeliverable, and the contact centre is useless as they just run through a list of excuses. Perhaps its fortunate that the order didn't go through as I believe there may be issues with the XC60!!

Had a (relatively minor but annoying) intermittent fault on a brand new Volvo EX30.
Dealership attempted one fault finding and failed. Said they'd refer it to Volvo tech support. Volvo contacted dealership and came back to say their FINAL decision was nothing more could be done.
So got a £37k Volvo EX30 car that is faulty.
No support. Nothing.
Won't ever be buying Volvo again.

My 2022 XC90 has developed an issue after going through a puddle (just to be clear a puddle a ford focus and a mini both in front of me drove through) - I have now been three days trying to get Volvo assistance to help me get the car to a dealer to no avail.

Volvo assist is just useless, no call backs, no one turns up, staff just put you on hold - utterly disgusting way to treat people.

Until Volvo Assit ruined my relationship with Volvo I loved the car but now would never have another as the treatment from Volvo Assist is disgraceful.

I have decided to write, after having had a claim determined in my favour by The Financial Ombudsman, to express my frustration and disappointment at the appalling customer service offered to me as one of Volvo's personal leasing customers.

I have been a Volvo customer for most of my adult life, owning and leasing cars; and, until the last couple of years, would have been very positive about the product and customer service. However, it has become clear to me that the focus at Volvo Head Office (the dealerships are franchised and my experience at that level has always been positive) has moved away from providing any meaningful customer service and those who have the misfortune to have leasing contracts with them have been left completely neglected.

When I started with "Care by Volvo" (the name for their personal car leasing arm), in December 2021, the product offered was sold as the ultimate in flexible and hassle-free driving, with everything being managed as part of the monthly rental. Even competitive car insurance was arranged if required. However, this all changed (along with the name!) in the last couple of years and, with it, any pretence at providing proper customer service. No longer do you get a dedicated phone line to support you with leasing issues and individuals taking personal pride in answering any queries - you now have to phone on a general Volvo customer care "triage" helpline and they cannot put you through to anyone who knows anything about your contract or anything much about their vehicles at all for that matter! You are encouraged to email (to a general Volvo email address) and then, regardless of your query, they seem to default into treating it as a complaint.

My particular issue on this occasion (there have been other queries equally badly handled!) concerned a couple of alloys developing corrosion on my recently leased vehicle. I had them inspected by my local Volvo dealership and they confirmed that there was no damage to the wheels which could have possibly led to the corrosion. They took photos and sent them to the warranty team at Volvo. The Volvo warranty team rejected the claim, saying that the wheels were damaged - amazing that, overruling the dealership on inspection of a photo(!), when the dealership had confirmed there was no damage! I tried to discuss it with the leasing team but they refused to engage with me and instead treated it as a complaint when I refused to accept this unexplained diagnosis. Their "investigation", if you could call it that, appeared to go no further than seeing that the warranty team had rejected the claim and just confirming that. They did offer (as they are obliged to do) that I go to the Financial Ombudsman, which I duly did, the service finding in my favour. It took 6 months but I did get my replacement wheels but no apology or other communication from Volvo.

I wanted to see if this was the intended image Volvo wished to present, so I wrote to Jim Rowan (CEO of Volvo Cars UK). I didn't get so much as an acknowledgement from him or indeed anyone at Volvo. My conclusion is that he is fully aware of the downgrade in customer service (he may well have been behind it?) and doesn't care about his customers. Well, customers can vote with their feet Mr Rowan, as I will be doing - never again will I lease or buy a Volvo vehicle! A small symbolic protest in itself but, hopefully, enough people will take a similar stand so that the Company wakes up from its arrogant slumber and resources and trains its customer support staff appropriately to provide a service which befits the brand name. It is a competitive market and there is plenty of choice out there. It will be no sacrifice for me to take my custom elsewhere. In the meantime, as I run down my lease, I shall not hesitate to hold Volvo to account and use the Ombudsman service as required, if that what it takes to get any issues resolved. Disgraceful!

I use to adore this brand, they were reliable and you could drive over 300000km and it would be tough as nails
Now that they are made in China they are crap cars, my XC90 which I took very good care of (reg oil changes etc ) just died on me and the dealer was most likely also to blame here but no way for me verify anything they did or did not do to my car that day....
Following this awful experience many volvo current and ex mecanics have told me XC90's engines aren't reliable after 175000km they have a big issue and many are simply dying.. it seems Volvo is aware (how could they not be..) and keeping it under wraps
On top of it all they were arrogant as hell..
I am looking at initiating a class action suit as I have a few current and ex volvo employees on file stating this hidden reality
I was hoping on driving a Volvo and nothing else as I loved my car... now I turned to BMW, have a top waranty and will never nor will anyone I know even consider buying a Volvo

XC40 Claim of 24 mile Battery Range and Combined MPG of 134.5 are miles off!!

I am lucky to get 12 miles range! Best has been 15.

I love Volvo, having had the XC60 and S60 in the past. Would not have got this car had I known the reality of battery miles and combined MPG.

While I love the build quality and general driving of my 3year old
Volvo XC60, every day, my car’s rear brake sensors abruptly engage while reversing out of my flat driveway, on occasion leaving seat belt marks on me and startling passengers who think we’ve been hit by another vehicle. My car occasionally overcorrects itself for no reason while driving, which can be quite startling when driving at high speed. And the electronics fail without warning, sometimes for days at a time before working again. After sales service is very ordinary and expensive. All my Volvo maintenance is done by the Volvo dealer, but I’ve discovered my tyres were never rotated in three years of ownership. This has severely worn the front tyres with severe inner and outer tread scrubbing, reducing their lifespan by more than 2/3, while the rear tyres still have 70% tread. At over $400 each, it’s been an expensive mistake.

I just rented an XC 70. I am a little disappointed. It tried to have stiff suspension like a German car, but unlike a German car little bumps bounced you around the road. The acceleration was good, but just little things irritated me. It’s almost like everything in the car was designed to take the driver’s eyes off the road rather than just be ergonomic and easy to find. I have rented plenty of cars in my lifetime and this is the one time I really felt like that. Also, stupid stuff like it was almost impossible to find how to turn off the rear wiper when I accidentally bumped it and turning off the heat completely it still blew mildly through the vents. I’ve never been in a car where you turn off the heat completely and it still blows a little bit of heat through the vents. What’s the point of turning it off if it doesn’t turn off. And it always kept changing how many miles left I had to empty and depending on if I was going uphill or downhill there could be as much as a 70 mile difference. That is just plain stupid. Most cars just tell you how many exact miles you have left before you have to fill up. I can see why they don’t have good market share in the states. They need to work on making the car more user-friendly and better suspension.

I bought a car, Volvo XC60 and collected it on the 4th sept, 2024, I am yet to receive my V5 vehicle log book. It is now 23rd Dec 2024. Apparently it was sent to the wrong address. How, who knows. After several phone calls to the branch and Volvo UK and given the promise that this would be sorted. To date after more phone calls, to find out today, 23rd December 2024 that absolutely nothing has been done about this issue from anyone. I am now looking at the prospect of have to pay and sort this out myself. Eventually the branch sales manager stepped in and the matter was sorted within a week. On a positive, the car is amazing and will definitely buy again.

An appalling company. I used Volvo insurance when buying a new vehicle, only to find that Volvo denied my previous no claims bonus because the previous policy was for a different vehicle ..... well that's hardly surprising. I wish now that I had never heard of Volvo.

Recently I wanted to change my Audi A5 S Line and switch to a full electric car. I whittles me choices down to 4 cars. An Audi, Tesla, Ford and a Volvo. Leg room, being 6'6" is a major factor and the first test for a car to be in the running was for me to put the drivers seat into position for me - then I'd need to be able to rest behind myself in the rear seat. If the passed the test, the next test was a test drive and to compare battery range etc.

So, I when to the showroom to loom at models I wanted having g been impressed by the Volvo brand.

I went into the Wyvern Retail Park, Derby branch on the Tuesday, with view the buying a car that week. My aim, was simple. Visit all 3 dealers. Sit in the cars. If they pass. Test drive. Buy. No messing.

Unfortunately my experience was not good.

On entering the branch. No greeting. I was seen. Other people entered, ans were greeted. I sat in a few cars. I was seen. I had questions and saw a few I liked. Having been standing waiting for a good 10 minutes like I was invisible and other people who came in after me were spoken to and treated like a paying customer were helped. I left without a word still from anyone. Honestly disgusted by the visit!

Why I I treated in this way? Who knows. Take you pick from being 6'6", male, brown skin, no hair, smartly dressed, or maybe they knew I was an arsenal fan? I'm going though with an appearance option given others were pleasantly dealt with.

Sour taste and view of Volvo I know have unfortunately, whatever the reason. So a premium car brand. This is not good enough!

I actually started at Volvo this day as I was leaning more towards one. I ended after this experience up buying the Tesla Model Y Long Range Dual motor by the way!! Unreal car!

Bought a new XC40, mostly under duress from my wife and daughter, who looked upon my choice of a Skoda Octavia Estate as though I'd offered to introduce herpes to our respective households (we have three Labradors, so need the boot space). OK. First, the claim of 42.8 mpg is laughable: I'm an ex-accountant - I get abuse from actuaries about my driving: I never speed, I don't over-rev the engine, I use every fuel saving device, and I can't get usage above low to mid 30's. Second, the user manual is only available online: so, if you look it up in the car, the only way to execute the instructions is...
to remove them from the screen as you do so. If you've a photographic memory, great. If you're like the rest of the population, tough. Third, the user manual reads like a hippy version of, well, anything. It's touchy, feels, based upon enhancing your driving experience, rather than actually explaining how anything works. The salesman, nice guy, gave up after 5 attempts to get my phone connected. I still can't get the satnav to recognise "home" (vaguely useful). I have NO idea when the hybrid electric motor is meant to cut in (seemingly at about 27 mph when feet are off the pedals.....nah, doesn't happen).
On the plus side. My wife and daughter are assuaged (always a good thing). The badge on the drive allows us to smirk patronisingly. The seats are comfortable. The boot is big enough for three Labradors. Sorry, that's it.....I paid roughly £10k more for this than the Skoda Octavia, and am not sure I got the better car.

In 2021, I entered into a lease agreement with Care By Volvo, drawn in by their promise of an all-inclusive product designed for simplicity and convenience. Unfortunately, my experience was far from that. The maintenance and servicing agreements with their suppliers came with numerous petty restrictions, making it extremely difficult to have any work done. Local dealers in my area often hesitated to assist me due to the convoluted approval processes they faced.

It seems that Volvo has since discontinued this leasing model, likely due to the reputational damage it caused, as echoed by others who shared similar frustrations. The return conditions were particularly troubling, with the company enforcing minor charges for nearly invisible damages. I returned the vehicle with nearly 4,000 miles of unused allowance, enough to cover these so-called damages, yet they still pursued these unnecessary claims.

While I found the customer service staff to be friendly and helpful, they appeared powerless to address the shortcomings of the Care By Volvo program. I did enjoy driving the XC40 PHEV; it performed well and met my needs. However, the lack of effective customer service and the rigid application of terms and conditions have left me unwilling to consider another Volvo in the future.

It’s disheartening to see a once-admired brand fall to this level of service, especially when customer goodwill should be a priority for any reputable company.

Be careful 100% horrible scamming off the customer not amazing problemas lateraler avoid like plague

Worst customer support ever
Brought new Volvo car - paid in full and they still sent direct debit.
Complaint and customer service representative Hafiza and Natasha - both provider just lip service no action!!!
Stay million miles away….