foggyjames wrote:Yes, MANN are the OEM for oil filters.

It does suck. Perhaps we should poke Farrell with a stick a few times to make him furious, then send him around?

cheers

James

LMAO! Are you by anyway implying that I may have have some dealings with idiots and made them retract their threats of fines.... court etc after getting wound up and issuing some strongly worded letters? LOL. It has crossed my mind to have a go at Volvo, now that Ford have messed it up since taking over. Parts support for an early 850 is becoming a problem now, as they are over 10 years old. Ridiculous.

I seem to think the 'lifetime care' crap was a non transferable gimmick. So....... if you've owned your 300 from new you may have some sort of case, but as has been mentioned, in the small print it's probably been cleverly worded to cover their backsides. 'The term lifetime given by Volvo to mean 10 years from the purchase date, non transferable to a new owner of the vehicle,' or something along those lines.

It's right what Nick says, we are stuck in the middle of not being a classic, and not being a common recently made car that's still around in massive numbers. The 300 is a future classic judging by the love of the cars here and by many enthusiasts. If the work of people like Dai, Mac and others continues and others can take on other aspects, as the cars do become more commonly accepted as a classic or something to cherish, then more parts might become available in some way or another.

There is a lot of cheap inferior crap out there on the market with regards to parts, which it may well fit a 300, but even as a last resort if Volvo don't supply some of the items anymore, I'd not be keen, especially after seeing how poor a Fram oil filter is on a 360, as it doesn't have the anti return valve in it. I've seen other items too that are shockingly poor, and it's also a false economy in many ways, as it may be cheaper to buy, but it either won't last, so you've got to buy another sooner than you would if it was a genuine part, or it will damage something else!

Mild rant officially over!

Pete

See, guys? If that turned up at my office, I'd make parts for it

cheers

James

As to the oil filters both Man and Bosch ones are OEM quality but Volvo ones are cheaper (I have loads for the 360)

Most mechanical parts are available it body pannels and trims I'm worried about TBH.

classicswede wrote:Most mechanical parts are available it body pannels and trims I'm worried about TBH.

That's the problem we have with the Dolomites, its not economical for the aftermarket suppliers to make new panels in the fairly low quantities required, especially those for which the tooling has been damaged/lost.

Pete, Volvo Lifetime care IS transferable, as long as the car has a Full Volvo Service history. All we need is to find the one car that exists, and we can push it

Mac, as ever, you are a legend. Ta muchly, I'll get my backside in gear and get a packet of those seals on order. Ta very muchly indeed

Ah interesting, I had something in the back of my mind telling me it was from seeing the cards in the wallets of the cervice books of the cars I have. Shame my Vario was taken to the muppets in the last few years before I got it, after the dealership in Aylesbury changed from being Volvo. That trip for a service was probably the longest journey it did each year!

Pete

Oh dear... I feel another rant coming on....

Rear engine mounts (1.4/1.7) NLA, well, ok, thats not that surprising to be honest, just a shame Fake really really needs some. Not that bothered tbh, I'd imagine Superflex will make some up if I send them an original.

The vaguely amusing bit is 1.7 dizzy caps are now gone. Anyone whose run a 1.7 will testify the only useful one is an OEM (you can get others, but they really really don't last as opposed to just don't last...) Hellfrauds still have them on the shelves for £18(?!!?!) or ECP have them for ~£14. I just got 2 from ECP, and got 2 different makes, one with white plastic triangle, and one without, so seems it may be pot luck as to which make you get.

For the record, Volvo still can supply a carbon middle brush for their cap, at £9, but no idea how you'd go about changing this, I'm going to have a nose later.

Superflex list the 300 as supported in their magazine ads, but check out this page of their site:
Click here for disappointment

Might still be worth contacting, as I know a guy who knows a guy who can get cheaper copies, identical to superflex in every way but much cheaper.

I'm having big problems with getting parts for my PAS rack at the moment. All I need is the inner tie rods, (see "demand" section) but if I don't get lucky I'll need a whole new recon rack to pass the next MOT.

If I can get that at all. Volvo have been no help, Mac suggested I ring ECP to see if they can come up with a recon LHD PAS rack. They're still waiting to hear back from their supplier, fingers crossed ...

All this can seriously spoil your fun with your car Certainly running a 300 as a DD is getting more and more difficult.

Tom

John, I've heard that superflex will just make anything up to size, and not tooo bad on the expensiveness. Given the amount of poly's that seem to fail after 18months anyway, almost tempted to pay the premium.

I'm feeling better on the other hand... I have just finished mucking about with Fake, she feels better, sounds better, and goes better again

i was told by my breaker( ex volvo mechanic)

That the lifetime guarentee was for what volvo deemed the life of the car this was 19 years from birthdate.( so 19 years from an 89 = this year roughly.) he did state a mileage aswell i think it was round 100K. it wasnt a lifetime as in if the cars still going a billion years time we'll still fix it. it was just what they thought the car was going to stay together for in this case 19 years


Dont take that as gosphel but this is what i was told as i say by an ex volvo mechanic.



but i know how people feel about not having the parts avalible.

kaos, I can see what you're saying. But for me, "Lifetime Care" should mean exactly that - and I feel Volvo should stand by what they claimed at the time, regardless of small print, legal loopholes, full-service-history requirements etc.

"Lifetime Care" is what I get from Mercedes, where I can still order bits of chrome trim and boot seals even after 33 years (I'm sorry for repeating myself here). No-one is asking Volvo to keep seat cushions or rear spoilers in stock, just a few things to keep them running would be nice. A tie rod doesn't take up much space on a shelf.

But that's the whole point of course, "sorry love, the part's NLA, you'll just have to buy a new car from us".

Tom

Merc is perhaps only one which you can get such range of parts for older models.

Have you heard news where Volvo is giving up competition against premium german makes?

I would not trust that we will get parts from Volvo in future, it is crucial to find backup plan, but even 3rd party parts are dropped almost in pace of originals.

I would need strut top mounts for example but there are none selling them now. It is part that wears out from every 300 series car, many essential parts seem to be facing same situation soon

http://www.compbrake.co.uk/index.htm


black top mounts, 240 4 pot kits, etc etc i was looking at these guys ealyer in the week. might be very usefull very soon

No more 1.7 distributors! Surly that's a fairly basic service part... I can understand cancelling parts that no one orders, but surly all 1.7 owners get new dizzys pretty regularly (albeit many people don't go OEM).

Whatever next...

Are distributors available from Renault, or are the parts different... BTW do Renault call the engine a B172, or do they have a different code to Volvo?