- A Volvo dealer quoted $16K in repairs for a 2017 S90 worth $8K.
- Some items are listed as optional or structured as either/or fixes.
- The example shows how repair costs can crush aging luxury sedans.
It’s easy to see the allure of a used luxury car on the market for significantly less than it was when new. Time and time again, though, those same cars end up being giant money pits. Look no further than to one man’s experience with his 2017 Volvo S90 for a perfect example of that.
He took it in for some work, only to walk out with a jaw-dropping repair quote of $16,000, roughly twice the car’s current market value.
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The S90 had 110,900 miles (178,500 km) on the odometer, which puts it deep into the zone where aging components, overdue maintenance, and accumulated wear all begin to show. That mileage isn’t catastrophic by any means for a modern car, but it’s where trouble tends to stack up if upkeep hasn’t been religious.
Maintenance Avalanche Hits All at Once
The dealer quote reflects that and includes brakes, a starter, both batteries (yes, this car has more than one), control arms, tie rods, powertrain mounts, a 120,000-mile service (190,000 km), and most notably… timing belt services.
That last bit is key because the quote includes two options on that front. First, it means that the $16,000 quote is more like $14,000, depending on which one the owner might pick. . Second, even with that adjustment, plus a few other minor caveats worth a few hundred dollars, we’re still looking at an gargantuan bill that far exceeds the car’s value.
When the owner shared the quote on Reddit, some members of the community, some members of the community provided their insight as fellow owners or technicians. Many argued the quote is “normal” for a nearly decade-old luxury sedan with over 100,000 miles (160,000 km).
Stacked Estimates and Slim Options
Others felt it was odd to see all of this pop up at once, but the reality is that service is where dealers make the majority of their money. It’s no wonder that the technician would flag every single thing they found that might even come close to failure.
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What’s not up for debate is that car maintenance has, in many cases, gone well beyond brutally expensive and firmly into throw-it-away territory. Modern luxury cars like this Volvo pack complex electronics, multiple batteries, and unique powertrain parts into an incredibly tight package. Once they fall out of warranty and depreciation takes hold, it doesn’t take much for a repair estimate to exceed the vehicle’s actual value.
