A few weeks ago I came to a stop sign and the engine just died (as if I had turned the car off). All the lights on the dashboard came on, and I could not restart the car. I had it towed to the Volvo dealer. When they finally were able to take a look at it 3 days later, it started and ran perfectly on repeated occasions. In the meantime, however, I managed to rack up a $1,700 bill for unrelated things (like brake roters, pads, and hoses; replacing distributor cap; rear housing; and some other "critical" repairs). They never did figure out why the car had stalled in the first place, so I chalked it up to the universe forcing me to get the car into the dealer to deal with the brakes!

Well...all was well until last week when the car again stalled. This time I was moving along at about 30 mph and it just cut out. (Incidentally, it occurred within 100 feet of the first incident, leading me to wonder if there was some weird energy field there or some other cosmic reason for such a coincidence!! Go ahead and laugh!) In any case, I pulled over at the time and was able to restart the car. The check engine light came on and stayed on, but I did not heed the warning (because I've been told that once it goes on due to the engine stalling, it'll stay on until "reset"). I continued to drive the car without any trouble and the check engine light went off within a day.

So...getting up to the present, the car died again today while I was waiting at a stop light. After panicking a bit, I tried to restart the car and then realized it was in drive, so I put it in park, but it wouldn't start. I decided to just wait a couple minutes and try to start it again. The second time I tried, it started right up and I was able to get home without any further problem.

Since the dealer couldn't figure why it was doing this in the first place, I'm not sure they'll be able to offer me any new information and I'm afraid I'm going to end up with another unrelated bill that I won't be able to pay!

I need some ideas as to the possible causes for this so that when I do take it in, I an intelligibly relate the problem to the dealer and point them in an appropriate direction. By the way, I'd really like to find a reliable and affordable, independent mechanic who works on Volvos, but everyone I know in the Newport, Rhode Island area with a Volvo takes it to the dealer.

One last question: When the dealer replaced the front brake rotors, I asked him if they hadn't been replaced a couple years ago. He said the rear ones had been replaced (in 2000). When I located my service records, I noticed that the bill from 2000 indicated that it was the front rotors that were replaced, not the rear. What is the life expectancy of brake rotors on a 760? I put about 8,000 miles on the car per year, and I'm a very cautious driver (I don't drive "extremely," so I don't think I'm particularly hard on my brakes).

Thanks in advance for any useful information you might be able to provide.

Meredith