Will China’s cars take pole position?

The dealer might offer a generous discount on a new car but if not, there are cheaper ways of getting your car back on the road, Bruce. An independent garage might be able to fit a reconditioned engine or ‘short engine’ (if the cylinder head is undamaged) or a secondhand engine.

Do you know why the engine seized?

I’d find a Which? recommended garage in your area and talk to them about sorting the engine out. It might be possible to rebuild it or, as wavechange suggests, buy a secondhand unit from a breakers yard or, better, a reconditioned bottom half (assuming the pistons are the problem). It should be worth repairing, but I’d avoid main dealer labour rates.

I feel that in a case like this where Bruce has diligently maintained the car and had it serviced at the right intervals by the same dealership there should be some liability on the dealership to repair the car economically. I appreciate that a seizure can occur for numerous reasons not always detectable in advance, but a premium motor like a Volvo XC60 should not seize up after nine years [subject to mileage and driving style]. It is very disappointing that Volvo appear to offer very little support in such a case. Another example of where longer warranties might be beneficial but it would be in the price.

Manufacturers offer annual warranty extensions at different levels of cover and price. With cars so complex these days they can offer peace of mind, and deal with a seized engine (providing the car has been properly maintained).

They may or may not be seen as offering good value for money; I suppose they only do for the owner if they have a failure. It would be useful if Which? explored these manufacturer-promoted warranties to see what they cost, what they cover and, through Connect and Convo for example, get user experience.

I would be surprised if Volvo or any other manufacturer would offer goodwill after nine years. I no of no cases and cannot remember any examples given here on Convo. If the dealer wants to retain a loyal customer then it might make sense to offer Bruce a generous trade-in and that is certainly worth exploring.

It is clear that the manufacturers will not offer goodwill – as Malcolm says, they sell warranty extensions – but after nine years’ loyalty and considerable expenditure on servicing and modifications, one might think the dealership owed Bruce some goodwill.

I know people who have car manufacturers to thank for goodwill, John. I am one of them. Back in 1989 I had a visit from a VW regional service manager when my car developed an engine problem when it was over three years old. A gudgeon pin had scored the wall of a cylinder due to a manufacturing defect. In these days the car was guaranteed for only one year. He authorised the main dealer to provide a new short engine and I agreed to pay for the fitting cost.

Although I have heard of manufacturers/dealers offering goodwill, are there any examples of this where a car has been owned for more than five years? I do not know of any, though it is worth pushing for a discount on a new or secondhand car.

Extended warranties are sold to make a profit, so as with extended warranties on white goods you would have to be lucky for one to be worthwhile. Peace of mind comes at a price and those who pay for them may not have read the terms and conditions to see what is excluded from cover.

Irrespective of whether nine-year old luxury cars are worthy of continued manufacturer or dealer support, Bruce has been having his car serviced and repaired for nine years exclusively by the same dealership. I just happen to think that counts for something that in a fair world would be worthy of some recognition.

I hope Bruce will be able to pursue one of the alternative, more economical, options you and Malcolm have suggested.

As I have said in the past, loyalty in commerce is a one-way street: once given you cannot take it away and reciprocation is never guaranteed.

When my old Toyota Yaris was about 10 years and 180000 miles old, it needed a new catalytic converter. To reduce the costs to a regular service customer, the dealer sold me that part at cost, which gave me a substantial saving.

That is impressive, though the dealer would still make a profit from the scrap catalytic converter.

At around 8 or 9 years old the gearbox failed on one of my cars. The car had been regularly serviced. However, I see no way the garage could have foreseen the problem arising without opening it up to check condition, and that is not a realistic service requirement. No more than stripping an engine.
I could argue that the gearbox was not sufficiently durable, just like Bruce’s engine, but it was outside the scope of the Sale of Goods Act (then) and, unfortunately, failures happen in mechanical devices. An independent garage replaced it with a reconditioned unit and, 7 years on, it still works.