Swedish Volvo Massage

I have debated for awhile on wether to review Swedish Volvo Massage or not. Brian is obviously a lover of Volvo’s and dedicated to the repair of them, but having brought my 1987 240 to him twice, I would agree with Jovie B. (a few reviews prior). I am not surprised he claims he does not remember her in his response to her, as he did not remember me after I called him a week after picking up my car and the issue I brought it in for started again. I, too, was told that I would hear from him when he knew more, and ended up calling him because it had passed the time he stated he would call at the latest.
I can truly appreciate Brian’s love for Volvo’s, and really had hoped for more in making the trek to bring my car to him. Although communication is not generally a mechanics (any that I have met at least) stung suit, this situation made it difficult to give a good review.

Brian loves volvos and his prices are fair that’s for sure. And yes, he will meet you at your broken down car to check it out before he has you tow it, which is obviously above and beyond.
The only thing is that he’s a terrible communicator. I’ll spare you the boring hour by hour details of how he says «I’ll let you know what I find out» then doesn’t call for days on end, but I will say that the first time he «fixed» it only lasted 2 weeks then started having the same problem and broke down a second time. Again, I ditched it in the parking lot it broke down in, and he took a look at it while I was at work (super nice) but never took 20 seconds to call and say if he got it running or if it was still just sitting there on 82^nd. Eventually I called and he said he didn’t know what was wrong. He didn’t warranty his original services that ended up being $ 300 when he quoted $ 200 since, even though he said he had no idea what was wrong with it, he somehow knew for a fact it wasn’t the same problem (even though it was the same problem).
Overall, yes he loves volvos and is probably one of the more honest mechanics out there. But at the end of the day my car still isn’t running after spending $ 300 and I never had any idea if my car would be ready in a couple of hours or a couple of days because he never tried to keep me in the loop.

Brian is awesome! I seriously don’t know what I would do without him as my Volvo mechanic. He is passionate about his craft and it shows. He is honest and affordable and will go out of his way to do extra things to your car that you did not request, like wash it, in my case!

I started taking my ’84 240 to Brian after a reccomendation by a friend in 2007. He seemed too good to be true — labor is $ 45 an hour, he fixes little things for free, and he uses used parts to save you money. That was the good news. Bad news: over the 5 years I brought my car to him, on several occasions I had to bring the car back the next day because what I asked him to fix wasn’t. Once I asked him to replace my brakes, when I got the car back they were worse that when I dropped it off. He did fix them the second time, but there was no appology and I had to drive the 30 minutes from my house to his a second time. Another time he worked on my steering column, and when I drove it home the wheel was so loose I could turn the steering wheel almost 45 degrees without turning the tires. His response? «Bring it back». No explanation. I learned quickly that you have to remind him when you’re bringing your car in. He seems to forget which day he told you to drop it off. Like every time. He would tell me my car would be ready on a certain day, and he wouldn’t call to tell me if it was done or not. Invariably, I would call him and he would say «I’m still working on it» like I was bugging him (I need my car, duh) or «It’s done». A call either way is what I would expect… maybe to much to ask at this point. After getting completely fed up with his flakiness and questionable work I took my car to another Volvo repair shop and after checking out my car found all kinds of work Brian had done that were just «barely holding parts together» and actually showed me what they were talking about. It was actually unsafe to drive! I trust their opinion, they’ve been honest and up front with me ever since and even work with me on labor and parts costs. These guys don’t cut corners just to offer cheaper prices. Trust me, you get what you pay for with Brian. If you’re okay with having to come back 2 or 3 times to have the same problem fixed, deal with someone who’s totally flaky and doesn’t explain why he can’t fix your car right the first time then have Brian work on it. If not, you need to go somewhere else.

Swedish Volvo Massage is the most affordable and honest Volvo repair business I’ve encountered in Portland. Brian works exclusively on naturally-​aspirated old Volvos because he believes that these incredibly durable and reliable machines deserve to live as long as possible.
When I brought my car to Brian, he quickly completed the repairs I’d requested (water pump, timing belt), and tied up a few other loose ends at no extra charge (attached hangnail trim, tightened clutch cable, cleaned air-​mass meter connections).
I will be trusting Brian to repair my 240 from now on.

Good deal. Took my 1966 Volvo 122s to Brian to fix the heater. He gave me the option to select a new part, or a used part for a lot less. I chose the used part for less. I got the car back and the part failed a few days later (as used parts sometimes do.) I called Brian and he said to bring the car back and he would try another part. Two more used parts failed during his testing (apparently this particular part has some problems) but he kept at it and was able to use a part from a different model Volvo and make a small alteration to it. Works perfect! And, even though I chose to get a used part, he didn’t charge me for the replacement part or for the extra time to install a replacement, or even suggest extra charges. In fact, he returned a bit of what I paid him initially because the original installation took less time than he estimated. Only minor downside is that the car was with him for a while, and I initiated phone calls instead of him calling me. But that might be related to the tracking of old parts. I recommend!

I went to see Brian about a shot alternator on a Volvo 240. He promptly supplied me with a rebuilt one and his rates were reasonable.
However, my complaint is about the followup service. My alternator belt snapped 2 – 3 times afterwards (with resulting loss of coolant, etc.) and each time I took it to Brian to have it replaced, with just a shrug of the shoulders from him to explain how it happened.
Brian used an off the shelf carriage bolt with no washer from the hardware store to secure the alternator, resulting in tension problems with the belt. He did not correct this in three visits back.
Brian, I’m sure you mean well, but nickeling and diming your customers like this isn’t going to help you in the future.

Brian is absolutely the best mechanic I’ve ever worked with. In about 2 years I’ve been to him a couple of times — for small things like rewiring the brake lights to a bigger brake job. He is the best. Friendly, fast, and affordable. He clearly loves volvos and understands them way better than a more generalized mechanic ever could.

Brian worships Volvos, and you can’t beat his prices. He is mellow and friendly and knows his stuff. After feeling ripped off several times by other mechanics in town, it feels nice to finally trust someone with my 1990 240.
Brian seems plenty professional. He promptly returns calls and lets you know the moment your car is done. This isn’t a dealership with polished customer service representatives, and his rates more than make up for his mellow approach.
I’m really grateful I found him!

First, let me say that I’ve heard nothing but positive things about Brian since we first got here 2 years ago. We first went to him a few months ago when our timing belt blew and we were both so psyched. The price was right, it was done quickly and he was super friendly.
We decided to use him again to get our brakes done and I was totally underwhelmed. We dropped our car off at 9 am on a Friday morning, and he had no idea who we even were when he opened the door. After we reminded him, he said he thought our appointment was for the previous Friday (we called him on a Monday and he said «next Friday»). Confusion? fine. These things happen I guess.
He had our car for the entire weekend, which would have been fine had we any idea that was the deal. Instead, we had to keep calling at the end of each day, which made us feel like dicks, because we’d just get «yep I’m still working on it» (which, of course, when you’re working on something, the last thing you want is the people you’re fixing it for calling constantly). I wish he had just said «This is a 3 day job, I’ll call you when it’s done». We just felt really in the dark about the whole thing.
I dunno, maybe I’m just too uptight to use a mechanic like Brian. He’s a great mechanic & a nice guy but I need a little more professionalism then what we got. We’ve also had some weird rattling noise ever since we got our car back.
I’d still recommend him to people, but we’re taking our car somewhere else next time. Bummer.

Best Volvo mechanic on town. Totally trust with my ’92 240. He loves this care, literally. You’ll never meet a more compassionate mechanic for the car he works on.

I found out about Brian day (Swedish Volvo Massage) when I bought my beloved 1984 240 off a dude on craigslist. The guy raved about Brian and I was like whatever at the time but he still gave me his number. After trying a few high priced volvo shops I decided to give brian a try and wow just about the best financial decision of my life! HAHA. His prices are fair and the work he does is very good. He once told me «lets not put to much money into this car» Now thats honesty at its best! He’s kept my car going for the last two years now. Just got a front brake job done today and it was only 70 bucks! Try to find that price around town! Get your swedish steed over to him before its too late!

My mom decided to use Brian after reading all the reviews, and boy are they right! Nicest guy! Gave her a ride home after and everything. Turns out nothing was wrong with the car so there was no charge! We will always use Swedish Volvo Massage

Brian is great. He was quick, inexpensive, and honest. We took our old volvo 73 to him and he whipped her into shape in no time. I have never written a review before, but to recommend Brian it was worth it – great guy.

Brian Day of Swedish Volvo Massage has been working on my cars and all of my friends’ cars (who own Volvos, anyway) for over 12 years.
Brian is a completely honest mechanic, keeps his shop rate very competitive, is fast and efficient, and, as Claudia mentioned above, will NEVER suggest unnecessary repairs.
I have always had the sense that he’s in this because he loves helping people, not because he’s trying to make money. Every time I bring my car to him, he drives me home. He regularly makes house calls if the car can’t be driven.
Brian has been making my life easier and less stressful since 1998. He is the reason I own two Volvo 240s. If I ever buy another car, it will be another Volvo, so Brian can work on it.

It’s nice to have a mechanic you can trust. I never worry that Brian is ripping me off or suggesting unnecessary repairs. His prices are great, he’s fast, and makes things hassle-​free. He’s been working on my car for the five years that I’ve had it, and I wouldn’t go to anyone else. Before him, I went to a few other Volvo repair shops and was really dissapointed, and could tell I had been swindled (Volvos Only-Don’t go there!)