400 hour, freshwater sterndrive destroyed by metal fatigue??

Brother-n-Law has a Fresh-water Cobalt, with Volvo Duoprop, ten years old, 400 hours, well serviced, that developed a "knock with warning lights going off. Shut it down. Towed to dealer. Dealer told him unit had a part that broken off and rattled around inside destroying the entire outdrive. No impact felt nor obvious from viewing external unit. Probably metal fatigue??? Really?? it destroyed the entire unit?? I think its just easier to bolt on a new sterndrive rather than tie up a mechanic and pulling and replacing items that were damaged. But, I'm not there. Words of wisdom I might pass on?
Thanks,
Bob

From what I’ve experienced, Volvo is perhaps the most controlling supplier I’ve ever dealt with, or at least when it comes to their diesels. If your BIL has had service done by Volvo certified techs, I’d suggest having him try and get an out of warranty contribution. No matter how you slice it 400 hours in ten years is peanuts.

H

Sounds like BS to me. Not that well versed on VP but "warning lights" ? VP is a rugged unit. Metal fatigue ?

He needs a 2nd opinion

scoflaw said:

Sounds like BS to me. Not that well versed on VP but "warning lights" ? VP is a rugged unit. Metal fatigue ?

He needs a 2nd opinion

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I second the call for another opinion.

VP is nuts about technology and telemetry. For example, our pods have sensors that report back through their version of “Smartcraft”, EVC. So it is possible their sterndrives also are wired in as well.

H

I sent him an eBay ad which he forwarded to dealer, for NEW Volvo Sterndrive costing $3000. LESS than he was getting quoted (Thanks Josh!) and dealer immediately dropped their price by like amount. Lesson(s) learned !

The dealership where I keep my boat sells Cobalt and exclusively orders them with Volvos - I rarely hear of problems with the VP duoprop - I would have a chat with Volvo and see if I could get some help. Sometimes I think dealerships go on fishing expeditions just to see if the customer will pay the higher price - then when they realize the customer is not a dummy they come around to reality. It's a shame, because while this might get the dealership a one time big paycheck, the customer's trust is lost, usually forever - many retail operations just don't get this.

Case in point, on my daughters Volvo S60, the Volvo sticker on the steering wheel came off - it was in for service so I asked the dealer about it. "Yeah common problem, Volvo doesn't sell the sticker, you have to replace the whole airbag". I didn't even ask the price - went home, 10min of Googling I ordered the emblem - it was an OEM Volvo part - for $8 on Ebay. When I asked the dealer, they said "Yeah, I have heard of others doing that". But for me his recommendation was to replace an airbag if I took the bait vs a $8 sticker. So was it just not worth their time to order me an $8 sticker or did he really think I would pony up for a new airbag? WTF!