There’s as strong a chance as not that your car insurance policy will cover windscreen chip repairs free of charge. Fixing a tyre that has a screw in it costs a few quid and takes only a little time at a tyre fitter, of which there will be one quite close to home. Both events are a pain; neither is a disaster.
Nevertheless, I find Volvo’s new policy on this quite compelling. If you turn up at a Volvo dealership in a Volvo of any age with either of those problems, they will fix them for free. “Come in. Welcome. You’re one of us. Let us sort it.” Makes you feel good, right?
Which is daft, I know. If I were in the market for one of two barges, one of which was a Volvo and one of which wasn’t, it might – might – just swing the decision in the Volvo’s favour.
It’s silly, really, because of the relatively slim chance of those things happening and the ease with which you can sort them off your own bat anyway. It might even be less convenient to travel to a dealership than sort it yourself.
Besides, deep down, I know that corporations don’t do these things from the goodness of their hearts. Once you’re in the dealership, you’re a captive audience for a while and already feeling good about the place.
“Has madam or sir considered upgrading to a more recent Volvo XC40, perchance? And we couldn’t help but notice that you’re due a service in just a few months’ time. We could book you in. I mean, nobody knows their way around a Volvo better than Volvo…”
There’s not much risk for Volvo in this endeavour yet plenty of potential reward. But it plays well.
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