Re: Volvo Repair
I had to find a VP repair shop, too. I went to the Volvo site and got their list of dealers in my area, then started calling each one to ask if they could repair a 290DP. Finally found one. But I did have another issue...
When I went out to take the drive to them I talked with the mechanic a while. It turned out he "doesn't like those drives" because he considers them less reliable than Mercruiser drives, and he told me I should stick with Mercruiser. I more or less insisted that I wanted to use this drive and asked if he could repair it or if he'd worked on one before. He said that a couple of boats in their marina have them and he'd repaired them a few times.
Probably this guy was the worst ad for Volvo ever, especially since they have the big light-up Volvo sign out front saying they do VP repairs. I almost wanted to take the drive elsewhere, but this marina was the first place I've found (out of about 10 places I tried) that would actually work on the 290.
Short answer to the question that apparently was asked by the original poster: Get the list from the Volvo site and start calling around. Ask if they've worked on your particular drive model before.
Erik
