Thinking of using Midas or similar shop? Maybe this story will help you decide.

Okay, this happened a while back, but there's no reason to believe it's any different nowadays.
My wife was needing a new (used) 240, and I saw an ad (private sale) for one at a ridiculously low price. It was, as I recall, only $4,000 for a 3-year-old 1984 DL (this was 1987) which originally cost (again as I recall) almost $13K list. So naturally I expected a really abused, maybe even dented up, car, but I went to see it anyway.

I showed up, and saw an immaculate car! The only disappointment, at least visually, was that it had non-metallic paint (what I call "sky blue") -- I'm partial to metallics for their added shine. But this was for wife, who isn't so particular. I knocked on the door, and was answered by a young housewife (with child in-tow) who said, "Thank you so much for coming".

I was wondering why she was selling it so cheap, but that's the first thing she offered! She said that she wants me to know that the brakes are no good (and she hugged her kid, indicating her concern)! That's why she wants to get rid of the thing as fast as she can so she can get another car!

She explained that her husband took the car to Midas for a brake job -- she showed me the receipts indicating front pads and "turned" rotors (that's where a lathe cuts them to give them a smooth finish, something that really shouldn't be done with Volvo, or any other, rotors, but it's common in indie shops to generate more money when the rotors aren't worn enough to justify replacing the rotors yet). Oh, and she also had all service receipts, some from Volvo and some from other indie shops -- apparently the husband is a bit of a cheapskate!

And she then told me that ever since her husband brought the car home from Midas, the brake pedal has been mushy. Even after the husband brought it back to Midas, and they bled the brakes, it stayed mushy. So Midas ended their part by next insisting that the feel is "normal"(!) from new pads, and it will go away in time. The husband then brought it to another shop (not Midas), and they also bled it, and the brakes were still mushy, but couldn't explain it either. So she won't drive the car, and wants to get rid of it "at any price!"

So I said I'd like to take the car for a drive (and reassured her that I'd be careful). So I went out with it (after giving it a careful look around), and noticed right away that the pedal is very mushy. It wasn't like a bad master cylinder, but something similar. But at that price, I could practically rebuild the brakes and still be ahead as far as the value of the car is concerned, so I told her that I'd have to consider at least $500 in brake repairs, so if she'll take $3,500, I'll buy the car. She took it without hesitation -- perhaps in part to punish the husband for what he did to her car?

Anyway, driving it home, I wondered about the possibilities! New brakes, even by Midas, couldn't be so bad without a reason! What is it? First thing that I did when I got home was jack up one front corner and take the wheel off. Then I looked at the caliper, and nearly fell over with laughter! I even had a slight, brief pinge of regret that I had cheated her (but it quickly passed). Can you guess what it was?

The pads had been inserted so that they had nudged the rubber dust shield off from around the pistons and rolled them under the pad, now squeezed between the pad's back and the piston. Sure enough, it was the same on the other side's caliper as well. So on both front's, there was this piece of "rubber" (whatever the dust shields are made of) being crushed whenever you step on the brakes! No wonder the brakes were mushy?

I pulled out the pads, repositioned the shields (which later had to be replaced), and slipped the pads back on -- I always first insert an old, thin metal backing plate first, to keep the shields in place. Low and behold, now I had perfect brakes!!! Rock hard.

So, that was what a Midas tech did (not once but twice, on both sides of the car!). Is that who you want to work on your car?

You decide.

Good luck.

P.S. -- I still have that car, now with 220K miles! It was a steal! I have to thank Midas for it, but the original owners won't!

Run away!

1. Midas type places use real hard (noisy) pads that will trash your rotors.
2. Brakes are a bit touchy on these cars. An inexperienced mech means very noisy brakes. Even if they don't brake anything else.
3. You have way too nice a car to entrust it to high school drop outs.
4. I would find an independent who specializes in Euro cars, if not Volvos.

Good luck.

If you don't go to a Volvo mechanic and use Volvo parts you will have squeaky brakes before you change your calendar to August.

Actually, you are pulling our leg, right?
--
'96 855R,'64 PV544 driver, '67 P1800 basket case, '95 855, '95 854, the first three are mine, heh, heh, 435,000 miles put on 9 bricks

Thieves. Liars. Incompetents.

You are a little crazy? No? Do you need just pads or rotors also. How about the rear brakes and rotors?

The pads are very easy to replace, very. And if you do it yourself, you can put Mintex on the front and OEM on the rears. Less brake dust that way.

If you need new front rotors, look around for slotted rotors. They usually go for $125-150 for the pair. Front rotors are also easy to do. The rear rotors usually last a very long time.

If you don't trust yourself, then find any "good" independent shop to do them for you. Ask them to order slotted rotors and the above pads.


Klaus