Polestar 2 Service Concerns
Sadly, the Polestar 2 is no longer sold in the US because tariff taxes make it far too expensive. Before it was pulled from the market earlier this year, about 28,000 Polestar 2s were sold in the US since 2021.
Many of these Polestar 2 cars are coming off of lease and entering the used car market, where they are incredible bargains. I see people asking Polestar 2 questions on Facebook and Reddit daily and sales of my Used Polestar 2 Buying Guide have been steady.
The Polestar 2 is a great car, being luxurious and fun to drive with wonderful styling. But one concern that comes up often is how to get service on them.
To be fair, like most electric cars the Polestar 2 does not need much regular service, but a car is a car and things can go wrong, requiring unplanned or emergency service.
In the US, you are currently required to take your car to a Service Point at a Polestar Space. Unfortunately there are very few of these, with only about 30 in the entire US!
And worse, I keep hearing anecdotal stories of cars brought in for service and having to wait around weeks because parts are unavailable.
From what I gather, technically a Polestar Space/Service Point is a Volvo dealer that has signed up to sell and service Polestar vehicles. It seems rather sad that only about 30 or so have done so. A quick Google search says that there are about 280 Volvo dealers in the US, but it would seem most have not signed up to work with Polestar.
I can perhaps understand this as the newer Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 are not all that similar to Volvo models and thus would require more training and specialized service technicians.
However, in the case of the Polestar 2, it is basically a twin of the Volvo C40/XC40 Recharge and EX40. These cars all share many of the same components.
It would be possible for Volvo dealers to be able to service the Polestar 2, even if it would not be so easy to service the 3/4. But from what I’ve been told, Volvo dealers that have not signed an agreement with Polestar are not allowed to service a Polestar 2, at least when it comes to warranty repairs.
I feel like it would be wonderful if Polestar gave all Volvo dealers approval to work on Polestar 2 models. This has the benefit of keeping the used Polestar 2 market alive and well while the car itself is otherwise not available here. At some point in the future, a newer Polestar 2 that is not made in China will surely be available in the US and it seems to me that Polestar would benefit by keeping brand awareness alive in the interim.
Although I haven’t checked with my local Volvo dealer (which is only about 4 miles from my house), I do wonder if they would be able to service a Polestar 2 when it is out of warranty. I suspect they won’t be allowed to order actual Polestar 2 parts, but it seems like they’d be able to order the equivalent Volvo part (if there is one) instead.
If they cannot, then should my Polestar 2 need service, I’ll have to schedule a trip to the Boston Service Point. That’s about 100 miles and two hours away, but I suppose it could be worse.
Have you had to take your Polestar 2 in for service? What has your experience been like?
