Downtown Toronto area Volvo mechanics?

I live in downtown Toronto and I'm wondering if anyone knows any good
indy mechanics who specialize in Volvos, specifically in the downtown
west-end? Up until now I've been visiting South Scarborough Auto
Service (volvo specialists) way out in, you guessed it, Scaraborough
(30-60 min. drive depending on traffic). Does anyone know more about
these guys? Are they worth the drive, or is there someone closer to
Bathurst & St.Clair area of Toronto that I'd be better off in dealing
with? I've only been going to these Scarborough guys because my uncle
recommended them (although I just found out he stopped going since his
trusted mechanic left due to a difference of opinion with the new
ownership), and its only been a couple of times that I've been so I'm
not really married to them. I've heard of a guy down on Richmond near
Strachan but I don't remember the name of his shop.. anyone? It would
make my life much easier.

Thanks in advance.
Clayton.

 

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

 

You won't have to sorry about driving out to South Scarborough because

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.

 

Yup, on Warden between St. Clair and Eglinton. A friend of mine

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!

 

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:
http://www.claytonhanmer.com/html/i39.html
That'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!

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.

 

Its nice to hear folks appreciated our efforts back in the day. We did our best to provide friendly service and best possible value for the dollar. Not sure if any of the participants in this ancient thread will receive any notification that someone has posted here after all these years, but I figured since this is the only reference to Apollo left on the internet, I would leave a comment here for posterity.

For any interested parties, Rui (the last Apollo proprietor) passed away last year at the age of 46 of a heart attack. I know he was thankful for all the wonderful people who were Apollo regulars. You all made a very difficult job a bit more bearable that it otherwise would have been. Unfortunately the winds of business did not blow in our favor and the shop became untenable.

Thanks for all the happy memories! Sincerely, Rick.