A Good Volvo Specialist is Worth the Drive (to Ballard!)

A good Volvo specialist is worth the drive. We’ve been saying it for decades, and yes, it’s a statement that happens to serve our interests. But if you own a Volvo, you’ve probably faced the question: does it really need a specialist, or will the shop down the street do?

Here’s how we’d think about your options.

The dealership

The dealer’s service department knows Volvos, especially the newer ones. The trade-off is the price, which can be hard to swallow, and a dealer may be less interested in a Volvo that’s 20 or 40 years old.

The general repair shop

A good general shop can handle a lot. The challenge is that they see every make, so they may only see a Volvo now and then. The quirks we know by heart are things they’d have to look up or learn on your car.

The European specialist

A shop that focuses on five or six European brands is a step closer. You have a much better chance of finding someone there with real Volvo experience.

The independent Volvo specialist

This is the best fit, and we’re not the only one around. A Volvo-only shop sees the same engines, the same electrical systems and the same wear points every day. We’re more likely to know what to look for on your car and what to do about it.

There’s also how we work. We don’t just fix what’s broken. We look the whole car over, tell you what we found, and work with you on what to do now and what can wait. We want our customers to get to know their own cars and be part of keeping them running well.

That’s why people bring their Volvos to us from Bellevue, Edmonds and farther.

One more tip: read your owner’s manual

Before something goes wrong, spend half an hour with your owner’s manual. It’s full of things worth knowing:

• when each service is due
• what every warning light means
• which fluids your car takes
• simple checks you can do yourself

The maintenance schedule alone will save you money. And knowing what a warning light means, before it comes on at 60 miles an hour, is worth even more.

The bottom line

Stay educated on your Volvo, open the manual long before there’s a problem, and have the car looked at by someone who works on Volvos every day.

If you live around Seattle, Bellevue or Shoreline, give All Vovo a try for servicing or fixing your Volvo. We’re worth the drive.