The Allure of Used Premium Cars and Their Hidden Threat
Buying a used premium-class car at a price significantly lower than its original cost may seem like a very attractive idea. However, in practice, such cars often turn into a real financial trap. A vivid example of this is the story of the owner of a 2017 Volvo S90, who received a repair estimate amounting to approximately twice the market value of the car itself.
Shocking Bill from the Dealer
After visiting an official dealer for diagnostics, the owner received a repair invoice with a total amount of about 16 thousand dollars. At that time, the market value of the car with a mileage of 110,900 miles (approximately 178,500 km) was estimated at only 8 thousand. This mileage is not critical for a modern car, but it is at this stage of operation that the consequences of wear and tear on many components begin to manifest simultaneously, especially if regular maintenance was not performed on time.
What Exactly Required Repair?
The list of works provided by the dealer included:
The last item is key, as it gave the owner a certain choice and slightly reduced the total amount, but even considering this, the bill remained astronomical.
Community Reaction and Service Reality
When the owner shared this bill on Reddit, user reactions were mixed. Some commenters, including technicians, considered such an amount quite reasonable for a nearly ten-year-old premium sedan with high mileage. Others, however, noted the strange coincidence of all problems arising simultaneously. It should be understood that service maintenance is a primary source of income for dealerships, so technicians often recommend replacing all components approaching the end of their service life.
General Trend of Expensive Maintenance
This story clearly illustrates a general trend: the cost of maintaining modern cars, especially in the premium segment, can become disproportionately high. Complex electronic systems, the presence of multiple batteries, unique powertrain components packed into a tight engine bay — all this leads to high costs for parts and labor. After the warranty expires and the car’s value depreciates sharply, even a moderately complex repair can easily exceed the market price of the entire car, forcing the owner to make a difficult choice between investing significant funds and abandoning the vehicle.
Similar cases are not unique to Volvo. Owners of other premium car brands also face analogous situations where repair costs turn the vehicle from a means of transportation into a financial burden. This forces potential buyers of used cars to approach their choice more carefully, always ordering an independent technical inspection before purchase and considering the cost of future maintenance as an integral part of the total cost of ownership. The used premium car market remains an area where an attractive price can hide significant future investments, making every deal a potential risk.