Our History of Ethical Auto Repair

Not everyone in the auto industry is the type of people you see on investigative TV news stories. Some of us are the people the news channels consult for those stories.

Now, each auto repair business, like any business, must make a profit to keep the doors open. A business that fails – is of no use to you, either for your next need or for its ability to stand behind its repairs with a warranty.

So it is how the repair shop makes a profit that should be of interest to you.

• We’ve heard the ads, but there is no such thing as a $99 brake job. First of all – brakes are no place to cut corners. I’ve heard numerous stories of people attempting to obtain a ‘cheap’ brake repair only to find that the offer ‘does not apply to their car’ or ‘we don’t even stock the pads for that ad’, or they’re told that their car needs much more. If a facility ever does perform a ‘cheap’ job, the facility would need to make it up somewhere…you don’t want it to be on your car and it’s not fair for it to be on anyone else’s car either.
• There are no such things as ‘free’ diagnostic procedures. I have tens of thousands of dollars in equipment; even lesser equipped facilities or lesser trained techs do not operate gratis. Expect that; if fees are ‘not charged’: the proper diagnosis is not performed and they’re likely guessing or you’re paying for it in other fees, or someone else is paying too much – to make the profit back.

I believe that fair prices on repairs that are really needed is the only way to run a business.

We find that it is cheaper to do things right the first time. We’ve been doing this a long time and you and your referrals have the benefit of this experience.

Here’s an example:

The original brakes on my own truck lasted approximately 35,000 miles. While many may assume the”factory” parts to be the best, we used a ceramic pad from another supplier. The next set of front brakes lasted 70.000 miles, fully twice as long. Same driver, same operating conditions.

On that same type of vehicle we found it common to wear front tires prematurely. 30-40,000 miles was typical. Using our prescribed maintenance schedule, which is included in our service at no charge, the tires lasted until we finally replaced them on that vehicle preventively at around 60,000 miles.

Aside from knowing what we’re doing, we’ve been known to do what’s right:

• We have a standing discount that we call the ‘St Vincent DePaul’ discount whereby we perform repairs at our ‘cost’. We help families that are referred to us by such organizations as St Vincent DePaul, the Salvation Army and the Department of Economic Security.
• We train and employ tech-school students in a co-op program offering the students an entry-level position in their chosen field, offering them a ‘leg up’ on their peers as they make their way toward becoming Certified Technicians.
• We are currently implementing industry-leading programs to reduce our environmental impact.
• We maintain high levels of training. Technicians look for every opportunity to stay at the leading edge of their craft. My management training has taken me to the AMI’s Accredited Automotive Manager certificate and beyond.

We’re very serious about what we do, but it doesn’t mean we aren’t enjoying what we do. Our customers are like an extended family to us – we don’t take advantage of family and we don’t take advantage of you.

I’ll leave you with this thought from J.C. Watts, Jr.:

“Character is doing what’s right when nobody’s looking.”