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Summary of the court case
Volvo cars are supposed to be "a cut above the rest". Prestige, luxury, sophistication - these are some of the words which come to mind when one thinks of Volvos and cars of its genre.
But, there is another side to the story, of course.
An unlucky purchaser was saddled with a 1984 Volvo 760 which was riddled with defects, the most glaring of which were defective brakes.
The problem with the brake persisted despite his sending the car to the dealer's workshops on no less than 13 occasions.
He returned the car and instituted a court case against the dealer and the finance company which dragged on for almost 12 years. On 27 Feb 1997, the Sessions Court passed judgement in his favour, awarding him a full refund. The appeal by the defendants was dismissed with costs recently.
It became apparent during the trial that Volvo Sweden had issued a bulletin back in November 1985 about the necessity to have the rear brake calipers, which were 34 mm in diameter, replaced by those measuring 38 mm in diameter. The brake backing plates, modified to accept the new calipers, would also have to be replaced.
The dealer, Federal Auto Holdings, did not ~~ change the calipers on the car in question because they claimed they were never in possession of this bulletin, implying that the parent company had hidden important information from their local agent.
The company had also extolled the virtues of Volvo 760's "superior brake system" when, in actual fact, there had been a 1984 recall of an estimated 5,800 units of this model in the lJS for~defective brakes.
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Article Source: Consumers'
Association of Penang, Malaysia
April 1998 Vol 28 No.6
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