Mechanics are like truck drivers: most people only notice the bad ones. And with a name such as Superior Care melded in the massive mulch of mostly mediocre mechanics surrounding 4th Avenue, one tends to have a relatively low expectation of both competence and bedside manners - make that car side manners. When there are women staffing the phone however, it sets the tone a bit differently and one may wonder whether this is a dealership-like setup, with high price and sometimes dubious service.

Oh, you wanted a review, you said? For the bottom line, you have to wait a bit! So I call Superior Care, which I find online while searching a 4-wheel alignment for my tire eating 1994 Volvo 850 wagon. The shop manages to take my car in on the spot two days before Christmas, in anticipation of my trip to Massachusetts the day after Christmas - we know what happened to that trip! I arrive from Park Slope a half hour after my phone call and meet with Dom (Dominick), a very merry gentleman in this Yule season. Oh, and competent, too, and willing to talk about problems in depth (good, as opposed to at length, which can be bad, sorta what I am doing here because you just want my bottom line opinion - please do suffer some more). Dom knows a thing or two about Volvos, as it turns out, acing my first test (he has owned 850s such as mine, far better than your average mechanic), lifting the fog of doubt I came with and turning this into a fun trip. And he is funny, Dom. My kind of funny! I am thinking, if I'm going to die, it better be at the hands of a good-natured doc who happens to have a good dose of competence diagnosing the ailment(s) at hand. The same goes with my Volvo, so I resolve not to drive away.

Dom tells me he will go over the whole car. He did, that very afternoon, and I know he didn't lie about it because he found specifics I hadn't talked about. A good start, and I accepted his estimate for quite a few things such as lower control arms which covers the main reason I came, and a tuneup to do at a later date (gee, it's already January 4th!) and some optional electrical tweaks we may well do without altogether. I got the car back the next day, within the estimate, including a free used tire to tie me over for the trip that wasn't, both lower control arms replaced, a four-wheel alignment done, and all my tires rotated, and get this, he also gave me not one as I offhandedly asked, but three small plastic hubs to replace the one I had broken - oh yes, no charge. Oh, and the dash lights? let's wait until the trip odometer fails and then we'll do it, to save time and money. He's got a spare instrument cluster out back. Does he know Volvos?

OK, here is my bottom line: I've got a good one here, so please don't destroy it by swamping the shop with zillions of new customers.

Dom might lose his sense of humor!