TOPIC:

Our XC90's steering rack was replaced under the original vehicle warranty, but failed again less than two years afterwards, although this time beyond the original factory warranty.

Volvo must have recognized the premature failure, since they paid for the part, but we were still left paying almost $1000 for the labor... The reason given being that the 2-year parts warranty does not apply to parts replaced under the original vehicle warranty...

And this just doesn't make sense to me: A part fails prematurely, and the customer is left paying a large sum for an issue s/he was in no way responsible for, just because s/he didn't pay for what already was a premature failure the first time...

Thoughts?

Luckily, I've never had anything that drastic occur with my Volvo, but I learned long ago the value of an extended warranty. I had an 1994 American station wagon that my wife insisted had a strange noise under the hood. The mechanics refused to believe her. Short version is I got real insistent and it ended up being a frozen A/C compressor that lead to some major engine damage. Cost me $100 and it cost the dealer something like $3,500. Lesson learned. If you get a $100 deductible 100,000 extended warranty, the price is reasonable and will pay for itself the first time you actually need it.