Volvo products are positioned inside the premium market of their respective segments. As such one would assume that any servicing, maintenance and repair works that need doing, is going to be expensive. However, in order to find out if it is indeed the case, one needs to be able to compare the Volvo vehicles with competitors in the same segment and that is also marketed as premium vehicles to better understand where the Scandinavian brand fits in.
For this article, we have managed to ascertain accurate spare parts pricing for three Volvo products, each in a different segment. We also have pricing of the closest competitors for each vehicle and will be comparing them side by side to find out, if Volvo cars are expensive to repair, or well within reason.
Volvo XC40
The Volvo XC40 competes in the very saturated crossover segment. In 2019, the AA completed a Spare Parts Pricing guide where the Scandinavian model was compared against twelve other crossover models. For this article, we will be listing only the repairs costs of the most relevant competitors in the report.
| Volvo XC40 | Nissan Qashqai 1.2T Acenta | KIA Sportage 2.0CRD Ignite Plus | |
| Bonnet | R13 915 | R12 438,23 | R13 634,26 |
| Front bumper skin | R11 212 | R8 164,79 | R9 291,69 |
| Grille | R4 324 | R3 801,19 | R1 480,89 |
| Front fender | R5 336 | R2 720,52 | R4 698,44 |
| Wheel rim | R9 430 | R1 151,15 | R14 606,01 |
| Headlight assembly | R14 605 | R6 443,08 | R18 445,30 |
| Front windscreen | R12 305 | R12 243,41 | R15 849,12 |
| Aircon condenser | R7 590 | R4 464,67 | R9 532,64 |
| Radiator | R5 865 | R4 073,12 | R12 223,81 |
| Front door | R12 765 | R11 819,98 | R18 205,74 |
| Rear door | R10 695 | R13 387,96 | R17 295,25 |
| Front window glass | R2 415 | R2 078,41 | R3 315,78 |
| Rear bumper skin | R8 165 | R23 372,90 | R6 575,26 |
| Rear fender | R7 820 | R23 372,90 | R18 401,27 |
| Bootlid | R11 500 | R7 168,89 | R16 197,09 |
| Taillight assembly | R6 037,50 | R13 334,68 | R5 872,12 |
| Rear windscreen | R6 842,50 | R4 234,82 | R7 071,75 |
| TOTAL | R150 822 | R154 270,70 | R192 696,42 |
*This table was compiled with the 2019 AA Spare Parts Pricing Guide and pricing could have changed at any moment, without notice.
Volvo XC60 T5 Momentum
The Volvo XC60 is slightly larger than the XC40 and competes more in the compact SUV segment. In 2021, the AA completed a Spare Parts Pricing guide where the Scandinavian model was compared against five other compact SUV models. For this article, we will only be listing the repairs costs of the most relevant competitors in the report.
| Volvo XC60 T5 Momentum | BMW X3 xDrive 2.0i | Jaguar E-Pace D200 R-Dynamic S | |
| Bonnet | R19 435 | R23 201.87 | R19 926.72 |
| Front bumper skin | R14 720 | R22 632.05 with grille | R11 850.75 |
| Grille | R5 635 | N/A | R6 026.25 |
| Front fender | R9 085 | R10 938.25 | R7 512.11 |
| Wheel rim | R14 145 | R11 094.30 | R15 708.36 |
| Headlight assembly | R29 210 | R40 282.29 | R35 234.38 |
| Front windscreen | R13 496.11 | R9 303.95 | R14 852.25 |
| Aircon condenser | R9 775 | R9 999.35 | R11 189.44 |
| Radiator | R9 027.50 | R8 760.61 | R8 677.01 |
| Front door | R18 745 | R21 368.17 | R14 168 |
| Rear door | R18 630 | R21 368.17 | R17 014.33 |
| Front window glass | R4 972.60 | R3 810 | R2 424.20 |
| Rear bumper skin | R10 695 | R22 632.05 | R11 850.75 |
| Rear fender | R11 730 | R10 937.91 | R22 047.90 |
| Bootlid | R20 815 | R30 022.39 | R19 123.89 |
| Taillight assembly | R7 567.92 | R10 155.08 | R6 886.86 |
| Rear windscreen | R11 615 | R14 958.52 | R7 439.45 |
| TOTAL | R229 229.13 | R271 464.96 | R231 932.66 |
*This table was compiled with the 2021 AA Spare Parts Pricing Guide and pricing could have changed at any moment, without notice.
Volvo XC90 T5 Momentum
The Volvo XC90 is the flagship offering in Volvo's product range. The large SUV competes alongside some of the best from Germany, Britain and Italy. In 2019, the AA completed a Spare Parts Pricing guide where the Scandinavian model was compared against eight other premium SUV models. For this article, we will only be listing the repairs costs of the most relevant competitors in the report.
| Volvo XC90 D Momentum | BMW X5 xDrive 3.0d | Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI Luxury | |
| Bonnet | R23 782 | R25 522,28 | R21 447,50 |
| Front bumper skin | R15 053,80 | R19 509,07 | R13 455 |
| Grille | R7 653,25 | R1 529,03 | R11 557,50 |
| Front fender | R11 448,25 | R12 260,90 | R10 246,50 |
| Wheel rim | R13 282,50 | R11 700,56 | R31 165 |
| Headlight assembly | R28 209,50 | R49 362,39 | R37 944,25 |
| Front windscreen | R17 204 | R10 357,66 | R14 950 |
| Aircon condenser | R9 004,75 | R9 447,62 | R9 395,50 |
| Radiator | R8 981,50 | R12 875,34 | R6 463 |
| Front door | R21 631,50 | R29 844,55 | R15 007,50 |
| Rear door | R19 987 | R29 703,55 | R15 007,50 |
| Front window glass | R10 056,75 | R8 397,37 | R2 397,75 |
| Rear bumper skin | R19 734 | R23 085,27 | R13 972,50 |
| Rear fender | R13 662 | R46 391,93 | R30 130 |
| Bootlid | R20 872,50 | R24 961,59 | R21 045 |
| Taillight assembly | R6 894,25 | R6 448,94 | R7 440,50 |
| Rear windscreen | R10 246,50 | R12 056,46 | R15 122,50 |
| TOTAL | R257 704,05 | R333 454,51 | R276 747,50 |
*This table was compiled with the 2019 AA Spare Parts Pricing Guide and pricing could have changed at any moment, without notice.
Verdict
As can be seen through the three examples listed above, Volvo's repair costs are in some cases cheaper than its competitors and in other areas on par with the industry standard. While certainly, there are more affordable vehicle options in the respective segments, those options do not offer the same level of luxury, style and performance as the vehicles listed in our examples above.
Also note that over the last year or two, the pricing could have significantly changed due to parts availability and import costs and could differ from the prices listed above.
