Autobarn Volvo Cars Oak Park — Local services in Oak Park

My Dad purchased a used Audi from Autobarn Volvo Oak Park. He resides nearby, mid-70's, veteran with a visible physical mobile condition. He was beyond excited about his cash purchase.

Unfortunately, the used Audi did not start about three weeks after purchase. Autobarn Volvo Oak Park dealership could not assist with repairs and redirected him because of the make/model of the vehicle.  The Audi dealership kept the vehicle for a couple weeks and made some repairs. My Dad was back on the road until another issue occurred which appeared to be regular maintenance. Note: Autobarn Volvo Oak Park did not conduct regular maintenance before selling this used vehicle, so another out of pocket expense.

After conveniently re-directing my dad to Audi dealer, nobody from Autobarn Volvo Oak Park followed up.

Less than two months later, the Audi stalled on the expressway around 6:00am as he was headed to work. He's an hourly associate and never missed a day in almost two decades. My mother received a no-show call from his employer which had everyone worried. He sat on the side of the expressway for a couple hours and "prayed", a passerby checked on him and called roadside assistance on his behalf. When he arrived to the Audi dealership, he called his wife and employer. The vehicle my dad was excited about, is already a problem and a costly one.

The Audi dealership diagnostic indicated a problem with the engine. The repair cost was estimated up to $17,000 for this visit. My Dad purchased a vehicle warranty but every warranty has a limit. These major issues can be expected when someone purchase from an independent owner, street mechanic or auction. He purchased from AVOP dealer and encountered MAJOR issues during a short period of ownership. The major repairs were not reflected in the sales price. He trusted his salesman and AVOP dealership. The salesman could have directed him to other reliable vehicle options and maybe certified vehicles. This is considered excellent service! Audi was never on his radar.

Based on this matter, Autobarn Volvo Oak Park in my opinion sold a lemon. Volvo doesn't educate consumers. Volvo has little compassion for seniors. Volvo doesn't service used vehicles before they hit the road (unless certified). Volvo doesn't disclose known mechanical defects. Volvo selling price doesn't take immediate major repairs into consideration.

Car salesmen in most cases get a larger bonus by selling used vehicles, especially when the vehicle isn't discounted. Consumer safety was not number one priority in this case. This was a tasteless transaction, the salesman actions indicates he had no interest in building a business relationship with my dad. So, before purchasing a used vehicle from any dealership do extensive research, purchase warranty, request a vehicle diagnostic, request regular maintenance performance before sale and always take a family member, friend or mechanic with you. Car salesmen normally work six days a week with one goal, sell cars to meet monthly goals! Don't get sold!!

Every consumer needs a platform and voice to speak out on bad business practices. My Dad is trusting and weighs heavily on his faith. Today, I am his voice.

As of date, the vehicle was towed to his house from the Audi repair shop and sitting on the parking pad. Autobarn has not offered a resolution.

If you encountered a similar experience at Autobarn Volvo Oak Park and the dealer doesn't attempt to rectify the matter, please post here, social media or contact local news investigation to...

I had unintentionally left my 2005 Volvo in storage in Oak Park for almost a year because I had to leave the country in an emergency and had no chance to properly prepare the car for long term storage. I thought I was going to be back to collect it much sooner than things turned out.

Well the battery was completely dead and no amount of jump starting, revving the engine or idling would keep the engine running. Not only that, but the automatic transmission gear was stuck on park and would not budge.

Luckily we were only three blocks away from Autobarn Volvo and I got AAA to tow my vehicle there. I was in quite a crunch because I urgently needed to get on a trip out of town that would involve long distances, and I was super nervous about having a breakdown somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

I explained my predicament to the super friendly people at the service department of the dealership. They said they would run a one hour diagnostic on everything on the car and then come up with what needed to be fixed. I was super worried about getting gouged, which dealerships are often so famous for. In the mean time I settled down in their modern waiting room complete with drinks, reading materials and free Wi-Fi.

An hour later Mario called me in with what looked like a long expensive list of fixes. I saw big numbers all up and down that page and was starting to get antsy. I had heard that some dealerships dealing with Volvos would sometimes insist that older models need a completely new (expensive! $! $) transmission whether it was necessary or not. This was not the case with me. Mario showed me the most important things that would get me on the road, and a whole bunch of other things that were a little worn but he insisted that it wouldn't be necessary to install right now, but to keep an eye on down the road. I was really happy that I wasn't forced into an unnecessary and expensive repair.

He gave me a an estimate of two hours for getting the work done, so I went and got some more coffee from their Starbucks Coffee/espresso machine and explored more of the dealership admiring some of their vehicles. Especially some restored to mint condition old vintage Volvos. They had computers set up for guests to go online while they wait etc.

Right on time I got called down to the service department, to find my car had been given a rinse, the tires and oil had been checked and I felt really confident in getting on the long road.

I would highly recommend this dealership to anyone fed up with sketchy people in the...

Do NOT have your timing service completed here, they will not even do the bare minimum.

I bought a 2005 V50 T5 with my wife last year from a small independent dealership, and took it to Volvo Oak Park for engine timing service, thinking that the dealership will do it by-the-book. I brought the car home and when I changed the oil again (about 2 weeks later), I noticed oil running down the timing cover, I traced it from the cam seal closest to firewall all the way down to the crank seal. Their service department ONLY replaced the timing belt. This means that they opened the timing cover, saw leaking oil from either the cam seal or crank seal, and did NOTHING about it, and did not inform me that these seals needed to be done. I asked for "a complete timing service", that would include water pump, seals and gaskets.

Basically what this means is that the belt is now compromised because it is covered in oil, so I will have to have timing don AGAIN. When I called the service department to ask if they could help me resolve this, they were rude and impatient, and told me that they would be doing timing again, and I would be charged as such. So they charged me once for a botched job, and want to charge me again for a job I now don't trust they will do by-the-book.

I was always under the impression that dealerships charge what they do because they follow Volvo's maintenance instructions. Clearly that is not the case. If they can't service a 2005 V50 by the book, I can't imagine what they're doing with anything newer as they become more complicated to maintain as they get newer.

Was really hoping to have a reliable place to have my vehicle serviced when I don't have time to do it myself. I will have to find that service elsewhere, and I encourage you to do the same.

P.S. they also misdiagnosed a failed wheel bearing. I took it in and said "my rear passenger wheel bearing is failing, could you verify and replace?" They said "no its fine your wheel is out of balance". When I received the car, the wheel was still vibrating heavily, so they obviously didn't test drive it. I called and let them know, and the service advisor said "you must not be used to thin low profile tires". The arrogance and rudeness of this service advisor is wild. I ended up replacing the wheel bearing myself, problem solved and no more vibration.

I would love if Volvo Oak Park reached out to me to resolve some of these issues, as I've paid for 2 services that weren't...