Lawrence Volvo

Paolo is a great service manager. Funny, friendly, knowledgeable, efficient. Never a problem with him. Victor in Sales is also tops on my list. HOWEVER-​be aware that Volvo repairs can be VERY expensive.

Just had a great experience with Lawrence Volvo. I brought my car in for the 20K check up. It was easy to schedule and to reschedule. They sent several emails reminding me of my appointment. I was connected with a courtesy car all day (nicer than my own). Paulo is a great communicator. He’s efficient, friendly and professional. It was done within 4 hours and got 2 phone calls to let me know. All was good with the car. Great, great service.

This review is written for my mother’s XC90 and her experience with Lawrence Volvo.
Several months ago, my mother’s 2006 Volvo XC90 began having turbo issues after being serviced from several different independent garages and Volvo dealerships. I recommended Lawrence Volvo to my mother because one of my best friend’s father worked there. In addition, I had just purchased a Volvo as well and was looking for a main garage to get all of my repairs and maintenance done for it’s remaining life.
Upon arrival, everyone we spoke to was extremely nice and welcoming and even loaned us a new 2013 Volvo s60 while repairs were being made. Both my mother and I felt confident in choosing Lawrence Volvo for repairs after being ripped off several times from McKevitt Volvo in San Leandro. My mother explained to the mechanic that the engine was having trouble accelerating up to 60 mph, and once met usually wouldn’t go beyond 60 mph unless the car was rolling downhill or had some sort for initial momentum. The mechanic reciprocated and told us it would be $ 2,000+ to fix. My mom handed over the keys with sense of relief because it seemed as if someone had finally found a fix for this apparently «unsolvable» problem.
After a while, we returned to pick up the car and shelled out $ 2,000+. After less than half of hour of driving, I noticed that although the problem was a bit better at the time, it was not fixed. Highly frustrated, I called Lawrence Volvo once we arrived home. I told the mechanic that the vehicle was not fixed and he agreed, saying he made note of the turbo issues on the receipt and didn’t know if that was normal or not for our car (what???). He told me to bring the car back in to be fixed for another $ 2,000+ (huh!!!). Lawrence Volvo took $ 2,000 to «fix» what was not asked to be fixed on our car! I don’t know if there was miscommunication between who we talked to in-​person and who actually «fixed» the car.
Now we’re stuck with unnecessary repairs that were made for over $ 2,000 and still a weak turbo. As of now, Lawrence Volvo will receive a 1-​star rating until this issue is resolved by them. If it is, I will update this review and rating based on what happens.
Conclusively, I’d avoid this dealership for any repairs/​maintenance for your Volvo cars.

This was the least painful car buying experience and arguably actually an enjoyable car buying experience (it’s my 4^th new car buying experience for reference). This dealership is top notch.
We specifically worked with Mary who is the best. Mary was super patient, honest, not pushy at all and so incredibly sweet and helpful. Lynn in Finance is wonderful as well, and the GM also is very friendly.
The whole place seems like a happy family where the employees get along and aren’t just out there for a sale but to help you become part of their Volvo family. I look forward to visiting this dealership for service for years to come.

Just picked up my X 60 T6 after some unexpected service. Paolo us usually my service advisor and once again he was at the top of his game. The entire staff rakes good care of me, our family, and our family of Volvo’s. Alway impressed and very happy.

I have been going to Lawrence Volvo for 21 years now and they are simply hands down the best dealership you will ever come across. I started going to them when I bought a 240DL used from Concord Toyota back in 1993. Toyota put the wrong break pads on it. Lawrence fixed the problem for us, and ever since then I have been going to them. They never over charge you, and being a woman, they don’t talk down to you like you don’t know anything about cars. Here is an example of how nice and honest they are. When we had to buy another 240DL after an accident with the other one, we had to buy one in Sacramento because none were for sale in that model in the bay area at the time. We bought it from Winter Volvo in Sac., which is a terrible dealership, and when we drove it around for a week or so, it started to over heat. I took it to my friends at Lawrence, and after looking it over, I got a very excited call from my advisor saying that they solved the problem. Chicken feathers were all over the radiator! He was laughing on the phone and said this was just too funny, and they didn’t charge me anything!!! My sister lives in Sacramento and owns a Volvo, and said Winter Volvo was so mean to her, that she decided to call Lawrence up and get some advice. She was so impressed with how nice and knowledgeable they were and willing to help someone from out of the area.
Many times they given me this kind of service. Sadly I had to sell that 240 wagon because I moved to Europe for a couple of years. When we moved back, we bought our first brand new Volvo wagon from them back in 2004. If you want quality, and honest service, go here. You will not be disappointed! We would love to buy another car from them, and take part in the trip to Sweden program next time!

This is a belated review since I bought my car here 1.5 years ago. I absolutely dread going car shopping because my general experience has been pushy sales people that tend to act misleading about what cars/​trims they actually have on the lot. Our experience with Lawrence Volvo was quite the opposite! We worked with Mary, who was very professional and not at all pushy. She listened to us and worked with us to find the car we wanted at a price with which we were comfortable, including an additional rebate of which we hadn’t even been aware. It was a great experience overall, I love my Volvo, and I would definitely buy a car here again.

I went today, Saturday, June 14, 2014 around 12:30pm to look at pre-​owned vehicles and no one came out to help. So I left. Probably because I SAW NO ONE THERE. Not much of selection either. Onto the next dealership!

Person we spoke to over the phone made horribly sexist comments about women not being able to take care of cars. That sealed the deal against working with this dealer.

My spouse and I had a very positive experience purchasing a pre-​owned vehicle at this dealership. Shout out to the Saleswoman Mary and Lynn in Finance. They both helped us get into a car we loved at a competitive rate.

We actually bought our Volvo here 3 years ago and have been servicing it here too. The staff are always polite and the place is clean. They have a decent snack selection and provide free coffee while you wait.
On a few occasions they did the repairs quicker than they quoted so that was nice but one time the repair was not don’t properly and we have to take out car back in. But they gave us a premium loaner so it was perfectly acceptable.

My fiancé lost the key to his vehicle and had to get one replaced. We had a tow truck drop off the vehicle to Volvo. The service people came over to our home the next morning to pick up his key to make a duplicate. The service people were fast and efficient. I was tasked to pick up the replacement when I got off work, so around 7pm I went to Volvo to pick up the key.
I’d have given this place maybe 4 stars if it hadn’t been for the customer service I received from the front desk lady. I walked in, she was the ONLY person in the whole place that I could see. No greeting, so i proceeded to walk towards Part/​services to pay and pick up the key. The lady behind the front desk asked very rudely «where are you going?», i told her to pay for a key. She again VERY rudely said «no, it’s already paid for». Ok, fine by me. I walked over to her to pick up the key and asked her where the vehicle was parked because we had to come back later that evening to pick it up. Before i even got my sentence out she said «It was already arranged to have the vehicle parked out front». I just don’t understand why she was so rude, I’ve never met her in my life and the day was almost over, why not be happy about that at the very least?

I had a very disappointing experience with Lawrence Volvo but I want to write a fair review so I’ll just say what happened and you decide.
Last time I came in for service, they said it was a «special service period» and charged me $ 400 instead of $ 200. Not sure why. Then they called to say that I needed new brake disks and rotors. That brought the tab up to $ 1200 after labor.
The next day I got an air-​pressure warning signal, which quickly became critical. One of my tires was losing air. I pulled over in a gas station to fill the tire and the air-​intake valve broke off in my hand. It had obviously been damaged. I was about to get on the freeway – luckily I caught the problem just in time. After waiting for a tow service I got the car to the Berkeley Volvo dealership and the next morning, after some initial push back, Dennis, the Service Manager, decided to handle the ticket, which was about $ 100. He said that there was some «grey area» around how this may have been caused, and they wanted to «give me the benefit of the doubt.»
I have been driving the car for a year and a half without any problems of this nature. Given that they just did work on the wheels, it seemed very likely that Lawrence Volvo had something to do with the broken valve. I requested compensation for the hours I spent dealing with the repair, not to mention the risk to my personal safety – I asked for them to credit me the labor charge from the previous day’s brake replacement. Dennis, the service manager, rudely denied my request and told me that he now sees he made a mistake to cover the air-​valve repair.
My conclusion, after a consultation with a mechanic friend, is that they very likely broke the valve while working on the wheels the day before and that they should have compensated me. I will not be returning to Lawrence Volvo. They make big mistakes and then deny responsibility. I already find their service to be disproportionately expensive and they do not compensate for their high prices with good customer care.
I state the case just as it happened. You make the decision.

Malo in parts is awesome!
I was trying to find my mom a new hubcap for her 1990 Volvo 240 wagon. She was so upset when it rolled off as she pulled out of her neighborhood. And as I’m trying to inherit this car when I have kids in the next five years or so, I am trying to help maintain it. It only has 100k on it and it’s 23 years old! Malo helped me find a hubcap and was one of the nicer people I’ve encountered in a customer service position in a while.
Thanks Malo!

I absolutely love my Volvo, so as soon as a service light came on I freaked out something was wrong with my beloved ride. I called and they had me come in right away, they hooked me up with a loaner. Long story short, Alan in service took great car of me and my car. I appreciate his thorough action and his proactive nature. Thank you Alan for helping me out and my sweet ride!!! It means a lot… I love Volvo and will be driving one for MANY years!

Car buying is not a fun experience, at least not for me. I am skeptical of everyone and as I am in sales I don’t believe in paying list price for anything.
We started and ended our car search with Lawrence. Yes, we visited three other dealers to flush out our needs, but returned because Bruce was able to give us the right car at the right price. It wasn’t just about the numbers, although that came first. Bruce found common bond with us and we felt like we bought a car from some we trust.
We love our new XC90 and if our needs don’t change we will be back.
Thanks Bruce. Go Ducks!

Recently had Scheduled maintenance done. When I was given back my Volvo I was appalled to find Service Techs failed to put the car back together properly. Tubing and bolts were loose or left hanging, and now the brakes shaky and the coolant reservoir has a huge crack on the top where it’s leaking antifreeze. It looks like someone dropped something heavy on it. and that plastic is pretty strong to deal with extreme engine heat and weather conditions… I doubt very seriously that it’s «wear and tear»
Now the Service manager did call me and say they will recheck their work free of charge and Quote me a price for the crack reservoir, however, I can’t in good conscious give a high rating or review for the shotty workmanship that I received. I’m sure the sales side is GLOWING however Service, they need to up the standard a bit more.
Granted there are other work shops such as German Auto Sport and Service which is across the street but they are also a bit shady, as I was told by two of their mechanics I needed replacement on Control arm bushings and then when I had Volvo look at it, it turned out to be a warped rotor… Goes to show you you should really keep your research up on your auto mechanics.

5 stars for Dennis in Sales! He’s a to the point no bull shit kind of guy.
4 stars for the service department. It would be 5 stars for the service department, because they really are great BUT because they are the only Volvo dealership in the area it takes FOREVER to get an appointment. Definitely don’t expect to call and get in that week. This was highly annoying BUT…
Once I did get in I was 100% happy. Chip was my service advisor and he was very polite and attentive. He called me to let me know about progress in a timely manner. I also appreciate that they provide you with a rental car while your car is being serviced (you have to ask while making the appointment and they have limited appointments that have rental cars, so you have to wait even longer for service). It made my life so much easier since my car was there for 2 full days.
Overall, I’m really happy with Lawrence Volvo and will most likely buy my next Volvo from them as well.

I test drove a near-​endless series of cars with a friend who is buying one. We stopped at Lawrence Volvo to drive the S40. I’m not going to rate the car — fortunately for the dealership — just our experience with the salesman.
I’ll note that the facility is clean, easy to get in and out of, and easy to find (being just south of Geary on Main.) They had free coffee and were the only one of the SEVEN dealerships we visited with free coffee. Sure others had bottled water free, but coffee makes me make better decisions and judgments.
The salesman was the standard car salesman. He said he would not call to follow-​up, but did. He knew his product, had lots of good metrics, and made a convincing case for a car that drove like a cast iron bathtub on roller skates and had an interior designed by the criminally insane, but I digress.
One great sales point Lawrence Volvo offered us that no other manufacturer could come close to was 8% off the car sales price plus a free round-​trip ticket to Europe to pick up the car, a night in a hotel by the factory, and car shipping back to the U.S. Not all Volvo dealerships can offer that, apparently. If you like Volvo, this may be a nice treat for yourself. The downside is that in exchange for a vacation you’re stuck with a Volvo for 20 years, but I digress.
I liked this facility a lot — good presentation, good stock for the size, and friendly staff. They seemed to have a decent on-​site repair capability and, of course, there’s a Volvo-​only repair shop across the street. If you’re in East Bay and want to buy a Volvo, give me your money and I’ll slap you upside the head. If that doesn’t fix you, check this dealership out as they’re pretty good.

The difference between dealing with Stevens Creek Volvo Service and Lawrence Volvo Service has been like night and day. Lawrence Volvo has been terrible. You know taking your car into the dealer to be serviced is going to be expensive, but I felt much better about taking it in to Stevens Creek Volvo. At Lawrence, I always feel like they are ripping me off or not telling me the truth. I just don’t have the confidence in their ability that I did at Stevens Creek.
I have had to take my car in with issues other mechanics could not take care of because they were computer related. Once, after leaving the shop right after a car repair, my car stalled in the middle of the intersection and the mechanic had to come down the street. They forgot to connect an air hose in the engine. They repaired one of the ignition coils and when I left, the others «went bad» they said and that was another $ 600 and more wasted time. I had the brakes replaced here. Twice I thought my engine had caught fire, but the smoke was coming from my new brakes. They did replace them at no cost, but the new ones have squeaked ever since and they have told me there is nothing they can do about that. The most recent experience has me upset yet again.
Dealing with them is infuriating and I plan to take it to another dealer if I have to bring it in for more repairs.