A true Volvo head, great service, affordable, and so helpful! Keeping my car alive without destroying my finances thanks Brian!

Brian is the most honest, reliable mechanic I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with. When my 1990 240 sedan would not start in the parking lot of Les Schwab, he drove to me, rectified the problem, and showed me how to fix it myself if it ever happened again, all in under half an hour. I am very pleased to give him my business time and time again. old Volvos are special and having someone like Brian working on them gives me peace of mind knowing that he'll keep these beautiful machines running for a long, long time. read more

Took my 240 in about two months ago, and after a quick repair that was easy on the wallet, I can happily report that I have had no issues regarding the car so far. Didn't rip me off, provided excellent service and reasonable communication. Will visit again, hopefully not too soon. read more

Brain is an awesome trust worthy mechanic. If you want work done on your Volvo 240, he's the guy. I buy and sell these Volvo's all the time take everyone to him to get in tip top shape before resell. He's always fixed them and I've always driven away with the issues fixed like new. read more

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My 1989 740 saw 5+ mechanics in the last couple years, and they all couldn't figure out why my car was failing to reach 4th gear. Brian figured it out within minutes on the phone, and it was fixed within a days time. Brian was professional, deeply knowledgeable, and reasonably priced -- should be considered a local legend in the Volvo community! read more

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. read more

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. read more

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. read more

Like a saint for the Volvo hipsters of Old Portland. A dying breed of mechanic that doesn't want to rip you off and knows whats best for your car. read more

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. read more

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!) read more

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 82nd. 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. read more

Anyone who posts negative reviews of this guy has brought their own problems with them - and I don't mean Volvo problems! Unfailingly honest, efficient, fair, pleasant to deal with and knows his sh*t! I had to pinch myself the first time I had him do work on my '91 240 because he was so fast and cheap. Like a previous reviewer, he has actually talked me out of spending money on my car because he felt it would be a waste. After going to a couple of "big time" Volvo experts and getting ripped off, I'm hooked on honest. read more

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! read more

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 read more

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. read more

Brian is great. I bought a 81 240 from a mechanic who had no idea how to work on car, and ended up taking it to Brain after being referred by a friend. Over the years Brian has kept my 36 year old wagon running strong as my daily driver. He usually has repairs done in a few days, and has given me a ride before after I've dropped my car off with him. Never worked with such an honest mechanic, there has been a few times he's had me wait to fix things, because they didn't really need fixing yet, and has fixed things (like a loose clutch pedal and high idle) that I didn't even know were issues, but that I could tell a noticable difference after. If you have an old volvo that you love, and that has been good you, Swedish Volvo Massage is the only way to go. read more

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! read more

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. read more

I am so thankful to my friend for recommending Brian to work on my car. He has a done a great job so far. I have put off repairing so many little things on my car for so long and now that I know about SVM I can't wait to start checking all those things off my list. read more

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! read more