Maintenance..

[TerryW]

This post goes out to the experts amongst you, I will admit I am a real novice when it comes to car maintenance and I have started to do odd bits and bobs myself, but it became apparent when I visited LeeT5 that there was some mistakes I had made when getting the car maintained, so can you help with your valued opinion where should I go to get what maintenance done, bearing in mind costs and budgets etc.
1) so I went to halfords back when I first got the car to get cambelt and water pump changed. I guess this is a no no, and specialist would be better Yes or No., although volvo service highlighted there was no issues thankfully.
2) servicing should be by volvo or specialist, which I am doing.
3) I went to Mr Clutch for disc and brake changes, or should I have paid the extra 2-300 quid and gone to Volvo?
I guess what I am really saying is, can you trust Quick Fit, Halfords, Mr Clutch and the like to do anything outside of changing tires on the R's, I think i know what the answer is so don't shoot me!

[LeeT5]

1) :mgshoot:
2):lovestory
3) :mgshoot::buttkick::nono:

There you go. That should cover it!

Didn't Halfords put the wrong coolant in your car, I seem to remember? If they did, I rest my case!

[stribo]

I'm with Lee, although brakes are a DIY job for me.

[silverhorse]

What he said^^^^^^^^!
Every car I have owned before my Volvos I have taken more or less anywhere for work to be done and used pattern parts with no problems.
I have learnt very quickly and expensively that i should stick to OE parts and get a specialist to do the more complicated bits on a Volvo. I have had to do quite a few jobs twice because of the wrong/inferior parts.

Halfords for a cambelt!!!!

[LeeT5]

I do my own brakes, maintenance, diagnostics and servicing but some stuff has to go to a garage.
Best advice I can offer if you don't have tools, knowledge or equipment and wear a suit all day, find a good Indy for regular maintenance and get aquanted with your local dealer, cos you will need them at some point.
Avoid all fast fit centres at all costs even and find a good specialist tyre and exhaust center to do your tyres.
I will never take my car to Halfords auto center, formulae one, STS tyres, kwikfit etc....ever!!!

[abdul]

Learn to do all the small jobs. Find a good local indie for other jobs

[stribo]

The R goes to our indie for servicing, mainly because we get a nice stamp in the service book.

[TerryW]

Thanks, folks think i have found a good Indie so next servicing is going into them to see how they go.

[Ettienne]

My local Indy is very good now indeed, I've pushed a lot of work there way now and some real tricky jobs, they are way better than the local main dealers now with s60r / v70rs, plus they are very into there xc90s which is basically the same awd system.

They only ever work on the v70r p2 of mine and only anything I can't be bothered to do, I did shim mine recently and got them to put head back on As I hadn't done the head timing before, plus they skimmed the head etc at the same time. They fitted a front main seal recently also as I couldn't be bothered.

I find the v70, more effort to do things on. Where as the 850s me and a mate go through them number plate to number plate and lots of engines out, 6 speeds boxes fitted, really large mechanical restorations.