ES
Eric Schaefer
Feb 25, 2026
Where to begin..? TL:dr, buy and service here, Porsche and Volvo; and if you are new to Volvo like I was, be prepared to be impressed. These are solid folks, and they work with excellent products - here’s how I know:
Beginning with purchase, I needed something comfortable, reliable, and safe, for the regular long distance drives that my wife, and our two dogs do on a regular basis; between visits to the family house in South Lake Tahoe and checking in on aging parents in the Arizona desert, we rack up some miles. Martin Diefenbach is a legend in the world of air-cooled Porsches and I was fortunate enough to find myself conversing with him at a car meet one morning, and as luck would have it, he operates a boutique dealership in Walnut Creek, partnered with Antonio, who specializes in diagnostics and maintenance of Volvo Cars. I was originally thinking about an older Porsche Cayenne or possibly Macan, but my budget meant I would be buying a pile of compromises, even if I looked at Audi options; I had never considered Volvo, they simply weren’t on my radar
Martin and Antonio spent countless hours on the phone and in person, answering questions, demonstrating features, even lending me their personal vehicles, helping us finally land on The One, an XC60 T6 version, that checks all the boxes for us, proving an absolutely fantastic, trustworthy road trip companion
In optimizing it for winter use I added dedicated ice & snow tires, and I wanted to convert the hubs to studs, instead of bolt-style lugs, to simplify the swap back and forth with summer wheels & tires. This is where it becomes clear how the gang of technicians behind the scenes at Independent add immeasurable value to the Sales side. Unlike the usual pot-lot wholesaler, Independent offers lifetime of comprehensive care and maintenance, and they are excellent. After installing the aforementioned winter upgrades, and performing full spark plug & serpentine belt service for us, we immediately racked up half a dozen Tahoe trips, and a drive to the desert and back, thru a series of storms and blizzards
To say our Independent Volvo has performed well would be such an understatement, rather, it has proven to be the most comfortable, capable, and confidence inspiring Grand Tourer we could have asked for. More important though is the support, knowing that Antonio and his team, Juan, Ramon, and Savanah all get it. Volvo is a premium manufacturer and their products are designed to perform at a high level, and after several thousand miles through the most demanding conditions, thru areas where mechanical failure is simply not an option, I can wholeheartedly endorse that … assuming Independent Volvo Porsche Service & Sales is providing the support behind the scenes ~ thank you all once again! 🙏