Downtown Toronto area Volvo mechanics?

Jeremy's on Queen around Sherbourne is an indie garage that does the work on my 98 V70. Very professional attitude, clean shop, will repair rather than replace.

Give them a try. They are not strictly Volvo but do a lot of BMWs, Saabs, etc.

Inno

Jeremy's on Queen around Sherbourne is an indie garage that does the work on my 98 V70. Very professional attitude, clean shop, will repair rather than replace.

Give them a try. They are not strictly Volvo but do a lot of BMWs, Saabs, etc.

Inno

Hi Clayton,

You won't have to sorry about driving out to South Scarborough because I've been told the new owners pulled a "midnight move" and they are no more.

Try Apollo Garage at Bathurst and Dupont. They are Volvo specialists and pretty decent at doing what needs doing without padding.

Their number is 416 535 9565 and they might still be open Saturday mornings too.

Good luck, blurp ps. I know another seemingly very honest and friendly guy at Queen and Dovercourt called Mario, also a long-time Volvo guy, 416 588 3881

Seriously?! When did this happen? Are you are talking about the same South Scarborough Auto... the Goodyear dealership who specializes in Volvos?! This is bad news since I have an issue with the brake job they just did a couple months ago and was going to try to have them rectify it before switching! Wow... thanks for the heads up, blurp.

Unfortunately Apollo is no more as well... I heard the two old guys retired. Either way, the shop is gone with a for rent sign in the window. Disappointing as its a 5 min walk from my place.

Thanks for Mario's info as well, blurp... I'm pretty sure he's the guy I've been recommended before who used to be located at Sudbury & Dovercourt but recently moved to Richmond & Strachan? I've heard he is very good, but very busy - a good sign, but hopefully doesn't reflect in his prices. Hell, if he's that good, I suppose it would be worth it.

Also thanks to Inno for the Jeremy's recommendation. If Mario isn't too busy, I'll try them out. Its just that I'd prefer a strictly Volvo shop if possible...but not a dealership $$$$.

Thanks a bunch guys! Clayton.

Well I suppose it makes sense. My uncle (who recommended those S.S. guys in the first place) told me that the old mechanic who started the volvo service there left over a dispute with the new owners, and that ever since the new guys took over completely, his monthly service costs went up dramatically. He decided to find a new mechanic and this news worried me as they had just completed a full brake job on my '88

240 (new rotors, new calipers, new pads, new hoses, some new lines). Low and behold, I now have a sweaty front caliper and a leak somewhere (I'm guessing in or around that caliper)... gotta get it fixed now, and was hoping they'd rectify since they did the work only a couple of months ago. Guess that won't be happening! Argh.

That's good to know that the Apollo guys are still around! I'd heard about them, and they're close by so I'll probably try them out. Do I need to specifically ask for either Rui or Rick? Is one better than the other? Thanks for looking into that!

Clayton.

Yup, on Warden between St. Clair and Eglinton. A friend of mine dropped by there a month ago and there was a sign in the window. They had a box of her parts too and I don't think she got them back. The landlord let her in to look for them and indicated to her that he suspected they had been planning this for a while. I used to get work done there too but the location was a bit of a pain and I had some issues with them as well. I drove by there a few days ago and it all looks the same but there aren't Volvos parked out front.

I was surprised by this so I called the number and found out that they have moved to 1138 Dufferin (just north of Bloor) and consolidated two locations (the other was caled Direct Auto Service) into one business called DAAS (which stands for Direct Apollo Automotive Service) and the guys I liked dealing with at Apollo (Rui and Rick) are both there!

Once again...

They told me that Rui was off for march break but that Rick was there. I don't know that you'd need to ask for either of them but they were the guys running Apollo so I figure likely any Volvo that arrives will be for their attention. I don't know if the newly amalgamated company deals with other cars as well or if it's just a big Volvo shop now. Apollo was in a really cramped space so one of the reasons for the merge was to increase capacity.

As for which on is preferred, I liked dealing with them both. Funny thing is they used to (and probably still do) drive big American cars (the kind of thing Jim Rockford might have gotten locked in the trunk of) and not Volvos, as one might expect.

I took my old 240 Turbo to them many times for brakes, fuel pumps, and various other random jobs. Now I live across town.

Cheers, blurp ps. I see your work all over the place and I quite like it!

Thanks again for the info on the Apollo guys, blurp!! Very useful and appreciated indeed! I'll be heading over there later this week to talk to them. I was going to go today but decided to head over to my newly aquired 'parts car' and strip it for goodies instead since the weather was so nice. I've also heard that those Apollo guys had used wheels at the old spot... wonder if they still have this stock and by chance would have a set of virgos? I'd love to get some for the summer. Did you have those on your old Turbo? If so, how did they ride?

Thanks re:my work! I guess my email isn't very 'annoynomous' eh? heh heh. Do you have any favourite pieces that you've seen?

Well I still have the Turbo and it's still on the Virgos. Actually it's got snows/steelies on the back right now. The Virgo rims are very nice and I've always thought they were among the nicest Volvo rims out there. I've seen them come up on ebay but shipping is a bit of a hassle. Lilly (the 240 turbo) has seen better days but with over 320K on her she owes me nothing and still she runs. Right now she's a winter car for my brother-in-law and she's gradually changing his mind about Volvos: he's a die-hard American-car kind of guy but now he drives my matt-black 1983 240 Turbo to his job at the Porsche dealership so all this European workmanship is starting to soften his resolve.

There's a place on Landsdowne (I think) called Volvo Guys and Swedish Motors on Eastern who sometimes stock older/used parts. And if you're up to the short drive to Guelph Hamilton's Corner Garage will surely have Virgos for sale.

I've seen your work in eye, dose, and in Walrus. I think (although I may be mistaken) that your art is on the cover of a CFNY compilation disk from years ago but I cannot be sure as I no longer have the disk.

As for my favorite, right now it's this one:

's become my project for this weekend! Cheers! blurp

Thanks blurp. I'm definitely sold on these rims, and have also felt they are the best looking volvo rims out there. I'll begin my search now so that they're ready for the warm weather right around the corner. Someday, I'd love to own a 240 Turbo myself... the two door with out all the body trim is a pretty sweet looking ride, plus I'm sure that extra power would make it quite a sleeper.

Thanks for the tip!

one:

That's become my project for this weekend! Cool, thanks. I've also been doing work for the Globe & Mail lately if you ever pick that paper up. The CFNY disk wasn't mine but I'm curious to see who did it. As for your fav illo, the doggy slidding door - did that one for Cottage Life... the writer claimed it to be the best fix for a screen door ever! His dog was always opening the screen door but couldn't close it (heh heh) so he rigged that set-up so it automatically shut behind the pooch. Let me know how it works out!

Take care, Clayton.