Hello, all! VolvoXC.com newbie here! I was referred here by reddit, as I used to go there with all my Volvo questions. The people there have honestly been great, but it's nice to find a forum just for the XC Volvos. Very cool!

My question that's arisen is this. My son's car, an awesome 2001 XC70 with about 150,000 miles, had a message come on in March that said, "Transmission Service Required." The car is driving fine, with a few "bumps" and such here and there, consistent with age and mileage. Otherwise, the car is in fantastic shape. We had it completely checked out when we bought it two years ago, and had a bit of work done on it at the dealer. All has seemed well until this.

Because service turned over at our old dealership, we went to another one that came recommended. However, they had the car for a LONG time - about two weeks. I found this excessive, and considering there was no communication other than when I called, pretty bad service. When they finally told me they knew what was up, their one respnose was, "New transmission. Nothing you can do about it. We can do it for about $4000. A used transmission will run you about $2500, but we can't guarantee it." You know how you get a vibe about something? Yeah, I'm getting that vibe.

Any advice? I'm thinking of trying a third person who is really local and once again highly recommended - independent auto place that deals only in European cars. Three friends with Volvos swear by him and his honesty (I feel like an idiot for not going there first). But one of my questions is this - what should I ask him? Anything in particular about looking for? I want to go in there with information.

Thanks for reading this far! Long live our Volvos!