Volvo's new Safe + Sound Coverage Plan covers everything but the kitchen sink
Lost in the bevy of numbers that is the Autoblog monthly sales report is the fact that Volvo just isn't selling very many cars in the U.S. any more. The Swedish automaker only sold 5577 units in May, and the downward trend started way before the automotive market hit the crapper. Given the sad state of Volvo of late, it's little wonder that Ford is desperately trying to sell the once profitable automaker.
Just because times are tough at Volvo doesn't mean it's time to give up. Volvo's new marketing initiative for the month of June addresses cost of ownership head-on. The Safe + Sound coverage plan is one of the most comprehensive warranty programs ever offered by any automaker. It includes 5 year/60,000 mile warranty coverage plus 5/60,000 free scheduled maintenance, 24/7 roadside assistance, and – get this – wear and tear coverage that includes everything from wipers to brakes and rotors. Hit the jump to view the details on Volvo's Safe + Sound plan.
[Source: Volvo]
PRESS RELEASE:
Volvo Announces An Unprecedented, Best-In-Class Coverage Program
The Volvo Safe + Sound Coverage Plan
ROCKLEIGH, N.J. (June 2, 2009) - Volvo Cars of North America, LLC (VCNA) today announced it will offer a unique Safe + Sound Coverage Plan on all 2009 models. This complimentary coverage program offers tremendous value to buyers by wrapping a comprehensive list of benefits into one package. Volvo has combined additional time and mileage limits on: Warranty repairs and roadside assistance coverage along with enhancing wear item coverage and extending factory scheduled maintenance coverage.
"This is best-in-class coverage," said Tassos Panas, Executive Vice President, Sales Operations. "Today, consumers are looking for value and Volvo has built an overall coverage program that adds value and peace of mind to their ownership experience."
The Volvo Safe + Sound Coverage Plan gives owners peace of mind for five years or 60,000 miles, which ever comes first, and is transferrable to the next owner. It includes:
* 5 years/60,000 miles of New Car Warranty
* 5 years/60,000 miles of Complimentary Factory Scheduled Maintenance
* 5 years/60,000 miles of Wear and Tear Coverage
* 5 years/Unlimited miles of Volvo On Call Roadside Assistance.
This complimentary program is designed to offer a premium ownership experience by expanding and enhancing services to Volvo owners. Volvo's Safe + Sound Coverage Plan is for all 2009 cars sold by VCNA retailers from June 2 through June 30, 2009.
Late last year, VCNA surveyed luxury buyers to ascertain how the economy was impacting their lives. It is not surprising that 53 percent were concerned about how the declining economy was going to affect them. VCNA found that two major points were likely to influence future purchase decisions: The need for durable, high quality products and concern about maintenance expenditures. This study also drew out their concern for strong warranty support and their belief that scheduled maintenance coverage would be an important part of their decision criteria.
"Buyers are looking for security - peace of mind, stability, honesty and straight talk about how a purchase would effect their financial environment," Panas said. "They are looking for practical solutions that give them better value for the money they are spending."
Volvo retailers were part of this development process. They are confident that the Safe + Sound Coverage Plan will bring new customers to their retail facilities as well as exceed the needs of repeat Volvo buyers during this difficult economic time. "Combining Volvo quality and reliability with real customer economic needs, we have a program that no other luxury manufacturer is offering," Panas added.
"Volvo has always been about personal safety and security. Our Safe + Sound Coverage Plan offers exceptional value and financial security that goes beyond crumple zones and airbags," Panas said. "This is a security of ownership program that is very Volvo."
Highlights:
The Safe + Sound Coverage Program includes:
* 5 years/60,000 miles Scheduled Maintenance
* 5 years/60,000 Coverage on Wear Items
* 5 years/60,000 Manufacturers Warranty
* 5 years/Unlimited Roadside Assistance (On Call program)
Safe + Sound Elements:
5 Years of Warranty Coverage/60,000 Miles under the Volvo Safe + Sound Coverage Plan
The Volvo Safe + Sound Coverage Plan provides an additional year and 10,000 miles of Volvo New Car Limited Warranty coverage for a total of five years or 60,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Additional warranties cover corrosion, seat belts, the supplemental restraint system, emission systems, genuine Volvo replacement parts and genuine Volvo accessories.
5 Years/60,000 Miles of Maintenance Coverage under the Volvo Safe + Sound Coverage Plan
The Maintenance program covers the first eight scheduled services at no charge. This includes: oil and filter changes, cabin filter replacement, complete fluid level top-offs, and a check of the vehicle's on-board diagnostic system. Volvo service technicians will cover all items outlined in the Volvo maintenance schedule, including inspection of the tires, brakes, coolant and battery.
5 Years/60,000 Miles of Wear & Tear Item Coverage under the Volvo Safe + Sound Coverage Plan
Wear items include:
Brake pads (front/rear)
Brake rotors (front/rear - only in conjunction with a covered brake pad replacement)
Windshield wiper inserts
5 Years of Roadside Assistance under the Volvo Safe + Sound Coverage Plan
Among the many useful standard features that come with your Volvo, the handiest may be Volvo On Call. Volvo developed the industry first coast to coast 24/7 roadside assistance program in 1985. As was then the goal, On Call was developed because Volvo cares and believes Volvo owners deserve the highest form of motoring protection available today.
Key Features
Volvo On Call includes such services as:
24/7 roadside assistance
Towing to your nearest Volvo retailer
Computerized trip routing/map service
Lockout assistance
Trip interruption expense benefits
Car rental discounts
Jump-starting, winching, battery failure, changing a flat or emergency gasoline delivery
Volvo retailer locator
VCNA is part of Volvo Car Corporation of Gothenburg, Sweden, provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to Volvo automobile retailers in the United States, and oversees Volvo operations in Canada. Volvo has been building cars with safety in mind for more than 80 years.
The 2009 Volvo Cars model lineup includes the award-winning S40 and its wagon counterpart the V50; the award-winning XC90; the sporty S60 sedan; the flagship S80 luxury sedan; versatile V70 wagon and rugged XC70 (Cross Country); the stunning C70 retractable hardtop convertible and the dynamic C30.
VCNA reserves the right to make changes to Safe + Sound coverage plan at any time, without notice.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Alex 10:05AM (6/03/2009)
Crap, might be time for me to take a second look at the C30.
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Jim 10:16AM (6/03/2009)
why would You do that ? :)
nardvark 10:26AM (6/03/2009)
I had the exact same thought. There's a white one in my parking lot at work, and it catches my eye every morning as I walk past it.
Mine would be dark blue.
Rboyett 10:16AM (6/03/2009)
Now THAT is really adding VALUE to a product line.
Bravo to Volvo. I hope it works out for them.
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zamafir 10:50AM (6/03/2009)
Agreed, very nice move. I'll take a TDi Plugin Hybrid with everything covered please.
Wait....
wait is this like chrsyler's warranties? Offering everything but the kitchen sink because volvo's in dire straights? I sure hope not.
Throwback 10:22AM (6/03/2009)
This is a a great warranty. If the advertise it I don't see how this can't help drive up sales.
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Smegley 10:24AM (6/03/2009)
The wear&tear thing is worth maybe a grand in 60k miles. I certainly hope that any halfway decently built vehicle these days (which is all I would ever consider) will go 60k miles with no issue, and pretty much this is maybe only 12k miles more competitors so no big deal.
So in the end a grand won't swing me to buying an already significantly overpriced car.
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Level 11:44AM (6/03/2009)
I change brakes every March cause I drive hard and that's a $585 service every time...wiper blades every 6 months thats $360 for the 60K in the northeast due to snow, all the oil changes. plus all the other features this warranty includes, dude its more then a grand stop hating...
British_Rover 1:54PM (6/03/2009)
A four wheel brake job on the bigger Volvos like the S80 or XC90 will probably cost around a grand and there is no way you are going to go 60,000 miles without needing brakes all the way around in a heavy car like that. In some conditions you might go through a set of front pads and rotors twice and rears once.
Then you have eight oil changes at 7,500 mile intervals that depending on the dealer would normally cost you 50-80 bucks a pop.
There is a couple thousand dollars of value in this program.
chuck 3:13PM (6/03/2009)
Wow, this really makes me wish there were a Volvo I'd want to take on a track day
Hike15 10:30AM (6/03/2009)
i didnt find anywhere that tires were covered by the wear and tear plan....which is the one thing that makes it really seem worth it.
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k.w.a 10:40AM (6/03/2009)
I guess I only go to Volvo-owner populated areas, because I see Volvos all the time! especially the XC90 and S60. Iin my neighborhood I have a Volvo, as well as my next door neighbors, my neighbors across the street, my neighbors two doors down on the other side, and 2 other families on the other end of the block. it's almost hard to believe they're selling so poorly.
The only thing I see that hurts Volvo is that it appeals to a very small niche. (ie. suburbanites aged 30 and above) It's different from its competitors because anybody from princes to rappers can be seen driving a MB or BMW. At 22 I'm definitely the youngest person I know with a Volvo that wasn't handed down from his mom.
Hopefully Volvo can make itself "cool" without making its drivers look like drug dealers. (ahem, Cadillac) Most cars these days are becoming very safe so Volvo needs a new pitch!!
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Alex Hobbs 11:07AM (6/03/2009)
Very true, Volvo, Saab & Subaru all seem to be in this situation, certain areas of the country, urban areas and some suburbs all seem to have a higher concentration of these brands, in some cases so high that they seem to be the most prevelant vehicle but if you leave those areas you won't see a single one, probably because they all have a reputation for being practical yet somewhat expensive and not very flashy.
Alex Hobbs 10:56AM (6/03/2009)
I read that number of vehicles sold and thought "crap that's low" and then looked at the sales data chart for the past month a few posts back and saw Audi which has been getting tons of attention for selling well lately only sold 1,926 more vehicles and infiniti only sold 919 more and is down much more than volvo from the year before. So I guess my point is things don't seem too terribly bad over there but I do think even more than this warranty program lower prices would help Volvo out, they belong in the entry level luxury market not the BMW market that Ford has been pushing them into.
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zamafir 12:07PM (6/03/2009)
You need to look at sales critically, what GM taught most people who simply were oblivious to the reality of reatil before, is that it's not the volume sold, it's the margin. Audi is VW's most profitable brand. Just as porsche can make tons of money selling on lower volume, so too does Audi.
Volvo posted a larger-than-expected operating loss of 4.53 billion Swedish crowns (US$549.1 million) for the period (most recent earns), also cutting its market outlook.
"We knew that (Volvo's) figures would be bad. The question was only if they would be really, really bad, and they were,"
Audi's revenue fell 19 percent to 6.70 billion euros ($8.81 billion) while operating profit dropped 29 percent to 363 million, the Ingolstadt-based carmaker said in its quarterly report.
Would u rather sell more cars and loose $549,100,000 or sell less cars and mae $363,000,000.
Avinash machado 11:47AM (6/03/2009)
Volvo sort of seems to be in no-mans land. It's cars cost more than those of mainstream brands like Honda or Ford, but are not considered to be flashy enough to compete with Mercedes or BMW.
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SpdFreek007 1:13PM (6/03/2009)
Big deal. Subaru has had a 3 year/36k wear and tear warranty for years.
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British_Rover 1:50PM (6/03/2009)
It is a big deal the only other brand that offers a full wear and tear program on their cars like this is BMW and their plan is only for 4 years and 50,000 miles.
I am calling all of the people I had looking at new Volvos for the past few months and pitching them this new warranty program. I guarantee they will see a sales bump out of it because every other Volvo dealer in the country will be doing the same thing.
Rick 4:08PM (6/03/2009)
Sounds like an excellent worry free warranty to me. At least by the time your car is paid off, you would have only paid for tires.
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TigerMil 7:21PM (6/03/2009)
BFD. Audi does the same for 4/50K miles. Volvo is a little better deal, but if Audi follows suit, go with Audi
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