The Cosmetic Revival and Glass Fiasco of May 2023

I wish I could say May was a great month for the Volvo, but unfortunately, May provided a bit of a speedbump in terms of getting things done on my car. Nonetheless, the issue was resolved and the Volvo is back and better than ever. Let's have a bit of a recap of May to see what went wrong, and the process that drew out the issue for even longer than it needed to be. Then, we'll see what will be happening in the months to follow. 

My dad was on the phone with the insurance company about the issue, and fortunately, the glass replacement would be covered. However, because it was an old part from a vehicle that was 33 years old, getting it replaced quickly would be difficult. The insurance company told us they would go through Safelight, and immediately contacted them about the issue. Safelight responded, saying they were on the case, and searching for a replacement part. Being a Saturday, not many glass repair shops were open, so I knew I would have to wait for a response. 

We called Safelight the following Monday, and they told us a piece had been located, but there was no ETA on the delivery date yet. I assumed it was because the order was still being processed, but I remained skeptical. My parents told I shouldn't worry because Safelight wouldn't lie to us about something like that, and that the piece would be here soon. 

I waited patiently, and called again Wednesday to see if there was an update. To my surprise, there was, as the operator working the case told me the glass would be in by Monday the 15th, of next week. I was excited, as I wouldn't be waiting as long as I thought I would to have my car back. The next week, Monday came and went, and Safelight never called about the glass, nor gave us an update on the status of the installation appointment. The next day, I once again called back, and the operator told me that the new installation date was this coming Friday the 18th. 

I went to work that day, and came back home. My parents greeted me with solemn expressions. Apparently, the Safelight corporate office called the house, saying no glass was ever actually located, and that we would need to source the glass ourselves and have it installed by an auto glass shop. 

I was pissed off. All along, I knew there was something fishy going on about this whole Safelight situation. The no ETA from the supposed ordered glass, the continuous postponement of the installation appointment, all coupled with Safelight's lack of communication and vagueness of the whole situation all added up. Now it was in my hands to take care of the glass. 

The next day, I located a piece of glass from a replacement Volvo parts shop, VP Autoparts USA. In less than an hour, and $711.00 later, I had my new piece of glass on the way. I also had to order the window seal replacement, as the original seal couldn't be salvaged. That cost about $138.00. I called a few local glass shops, but eventually, I landed an appointment with Absolute Auto Glass, a glass shop a few towns over that said they had previously done a similar repair on another 240. The appointment was set for Tuesday the 23rd, and I was well on my way to a new piece of glass. 

On Tuesday, I brought the Volvo in for its appointment, and three hours later, I was driving away with a new windshield. The moral of the story here is to never trust Safelight, and if you have the opportunity and resources, make sure you can take matters into your own hands. If I had avoided the whole Safelight fiasco, I probably would've had my car back much sooner, but as they old saying goes, you live and you learn. 

A special thanks to VP Autoparts USA, Volvo of Dallas, and Absolute Auto Glass. Your help, timeliness, and quality assurance is very much appreciated. Thank you for your help!

Now its no surprise that any car that's been on the road for 33 years and has over 270,000 miles on it would need some odds and ends cleaned up, and my car is no exception. When I purchased it back in April, the car needed some mechanical work done, which got sorted out, but once that was completed, it was now time to work on the cosmetics. Overtime, trim had fallen off, and at some point, an aftermarket stereo system was installed in place of the original radio and cassette deck. Wanting to restore my car back to original condition as best as possible, I knew I had some work to do. 

One May weekend, I made it my goal to get the air dam and radio for my car. I was tired of waiting around for my car to get repaired, as this took place during the whole Safelight fiasco, so I decided to use my time wisely and get the parts I needed. While it took two separate days to complete, the mission was a success. 

The first day, a rainy Saturday morning, I took a pretty long drive down to Cheshire, CT to purchase the air dam, being graciously donated from a blue 1990 240 Sedan. It unfortunately recieved a front end collision, so it had to be totaled. I'm very gracious for the deal I got on the air dam, as I know I would've paid a lot more if I bought a piece from eBay or IPD. 

The second day, a much nicer sunny Sunday, I took another lengthy drive up to Cambridge, MA to purchase the original radio and speakers. A 1989 240 donated its radio and speakers to mine, as it was recieving a modern unit. These were also sold at a decent deal, and I got to meet a young 240 owner! To read more about thar car, check out the Car Narratives story 1989 Volvo 240 DL.

About a week or so later, after my glass finally got installed, I took several trips to Connecticut for the trim pieces. I needed the front and rear bumper moldings, as well as the driver's side door trim and rocker panel trim. My first stop was in Mystic, as an older Volvo mechanic was parting out a few of the cars he had sitting in his lot. You can read about these old Volvos in Old Volvos of Connecticut, as there were plenty of cool Volvos in that lot, including a very rare '83 turbo wagon!

A dark blue '87 donated its trim, but I unknowingly purchased sedan rear bumper trim, which doesn't fit the wagon. So, I now had to source another parts car. Fortunately, a '93 wagon was being parted out in Morris, CT, a town in Northern CT, very close to New York. It was a nice day out, so I decided it would be a nice drive down the highway. It took me the day to get out to Morris and back, but it was a very beautiful drive. There were many rolling hills and a small town, home to small shops with a festival taking place in the park. It was a homey feeling. 

Now it was time to install the correct trim. Thankfully, with the correct trim, I was able to finish the rear end of the 240. However, some trim clips had rusted off, but I had sourced a few from IPD, and the job was able to be completed successfully. The trim made a huge difference in the 240's appearance, especially the air dam. While it didn't look bad with the missing trim, the addition of the missing pieces really pulled the car together well.