Late to the party!
I was just reading through this forum, and thought I would add my 2 cents worth. As an owner of an older NT 37 (2002), I am not a fan of some of the changes Nordic Tug is undertaking. For me, the 2 biggest issues are the "go fast" boat style patio door they have chosen to install for entering the salon/galley, and the Volvo engine.
I am sure that Volvo has, and will continue to build some good engines. My personal experience with the Volvo that came with my (purchased new) sailboat was anything but rewarding. First, parts were expensive. Second, most of the time, even in the first five years, parts were not available locally, even in North America, and had to be ordered from Europe! My engine (MD2030) ate glow plugs (and either would not start or was VERY hard to start when one malfunctioned). The local Volvo manager just told me that "they didn't have a glow plug issue, that I must be operating it incorrectly". FYI I followed their "owner's manual" to the letter, and had several mechanics try to sort out the cause to no avail. Then the bolt on pulley that drove the coolant pump "split in half". it was made from cast aluminum. That part had to come from Sweden. The final straw was when the engine suffered a major failure when it was just past the warranty (in time only (years) but was well under in engine hours). One of the nuts holding the rod cap to the connecting rod had backed off as it was never torqued properly from the factory. I know the cause, as everyone who examined the engine came to the same conclusion. They were the mechanic who "rebuilt it as a result", the insurance adjustor whose job was to determine both cause and coverage, and the metallurgical engineer who tested the parts. The only person who blamed me for the problem was the Volvo manager (talked about earlier). According to him, I didn't change the oil often enough, or use the right oil, or or? As stated earlier, I religiously followed the owner's manual and only used "Volvo" brand filters. My insurance covered a good portion of the bill, and to be fair, after much effort on my part, Volvo did finally cover my deductible. All of this happened before the engine was 6 years old with about 500-600 hours.
Then to hear that Volvo is no longer producing parts for "out of production" engines, even though some of them are only 10 years old is the final straw. Some parts just not available!
Personally, I will never own another Volvo marine engine.
Just my humble opinion,
Tom
, but apparently not being very successful at it!
