CARS: California Auto Repair & SmogBuilding From the Ground UpShop TalkName: CARS (California Auto Repair & Smog)
Location: Redding, CA
Number of shops: 1
Years in business: 14
Employees: 10
Sq. footage: 6,100 (expanding soon to 8,100)
No. of Bays: 8
Volume: 20-30 per day
Average repair cost: $250-$300
Annual Revenue: $1 million
Imagine the following real-world scenario taking place some morning when you're faced with a line of customers waiting to drop off their vehicles:
The shop phone rings. On the other end, a familiar, though panicky, voice begins speaking. A regular customer is in trouble. Her brakes have failed, and she's hurtling down an off-ramp at 70 mph. She's dialed you believing your expertise can prevent imminent disaster.
That's trust - the kind of trust that usually exists only in families or between neighbors in small towns. It's the kind of trust shop owners Tim and Barb White built from the ground up, brick by brick, customer by customer, in rural Redding, CA.
In 1993, something fortuitous happened to the Whites: Tim's employer, Allen Test Products, was bought out by a competitor. Looking at bleak job prospects, the Whites decided to take the leap into auto repair. Tim sold his new business its initial equipment and used the commission as seed money. Barb negotiated the lease. Suddenly the couple was in business. They opened CARS - California Auto Repair and Smog. Something else fortuitous occurred: No customers came.
From Top:
1.
The front of the shop features a drive-up area to keep customers out of the weather.
2. A gift shop just off to the side of the waiting area has created a side business and extra revenue for owners Tim and Barb White.
3. The chairs in the waiting room are strategically placed to face the gift shop.
4. Inside the shop, it's all neat and tidy, providing plenty of room and organization for the techs.
5. James Pollard, ASE Master Technician, inspects a 1971 Chevy that the shop restored for a customer.
6. Lon Mayberry, ASE Master Technician, performing emissions inspection on a customer's Corvette.
(All photos: California Auto Repair and Smog)
"Unlike other owners, we didn't come from a previous shop. We had no client base to take with us," says Tim.
The couple used these initial setbacks to set themselves and their shop on a rollercoaster course that would deliver success. They divided up duties, with Tim handling the production and technical end while Barb addressed the business itself.
Everyone at the shop went back to school. Tim attended automotive management classes, and he paid for his techs to attend every continuing education class available. Barb, who already had a degree in business, devoured marketing books and instituted a business plan.
The couple then took their new business one step further by forming professional relationships with the Automotive Service Association (ASA), Automotive Service Councils of California (ASCCA), Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Redding Chamber of Commerce.
Thirteen years later, CARS is incorporated, with Barb serving as president and Tim as vice president. Tim proudly states the shop is a "woman-owned business with all the benefits." CARS is a Blue Seal of Excellence ASE shop. All seven techs are ASE certified, with many holding a master certification.
In 2004, CARS moved into an all-new location with eight bays, a technical data office, training room and customer area complete with porcelain flooring and palm trees. In the adjacent waiting area, Barb runs a boutique that sells stained glass, candles, silk pajamas and gourmet foods.
"It's doing very well. We get a lot of people stopping by just to buy gifts," says Tim, "A lot of husbands buying things for their wives."
On the automotive side, the Whites have added tire and wheel services. They also plan to build three more bays, along with a unit room for tearing down transmissions. Eventually, they'll develop the property next door to sell accessories.
Not bad for a small family shop, and one that stumbled as it came out of the gate. Putting the Whites' accomplishments into further perspective, they've built their business selling locally to families - parents, cousins, aunts and uncles who refer them to other family members.
"You need to do good work here. In a small area, everyone learns your reputation quickly," says Tim.
That reputation has paid off in a number of ways. One morning, it even helped a runaway driver reach a safe stop (Tim coached her on using the emergency brake) and then reach CARS for a reliable repair.
- Tim Sramcik
