In late September, I returned to my car after work and found the roof upholstery over the rear seat sagging across the entire rear passenger section. Whatever bound the upholstery to the interior roof simply gave out. I called Don Beyer Volvo where I purchased the vehicle to inquire about the problem and whether Volvo would repair this sub-standard workmanship. I explained this is a car that has been pampered throughout its six-year life—housed daily in an underground condo parking garage, driven sparingly to the extent that after six years it has less than 31,000 miles on the odometer. The service representative stated they would have to see the car, and then they would contact Volvo to determine whether the company would cover an out-of-warranty repair. We brought the car in for the evaluation and after some discussion among service representatives it was determined that time—six years—caused the issue and that neither Volvo nor the dealership would cover the repair. I’ve owned numerous vehicles, some for much longer than six years, and in none of them did the roof upholstery fail. I assume the service department did what they told me they would do and contacted Volvo. So whether Volvo corporate or the dealership made the decision, neither took responsibility for what is clearly and objectively poor workmanship. No vehicle roof upholstery should cave in after six years, especially for what is considered a luxury vehicle and carefully maintained one at that.

Regardless of Volvo’s failure to take responsibility for its sub-standard workmanship, I needed to get the problem repaired—my visibility out the rear window was reduced by over 50 percent. I was given a quote of $346 and agreed to get the work done. When I picked up the vehicle on 7 October, I was handed a bill for $339.62—obviously and reasonably close to the estimate.