Kyle Murray’s family operates several CARSTAR locations in and surrounding Seattle, but he had the idea to start one location dedicated to EVs, according to a press release.
Murray’s grandfather, Bj Bjorneby, originally founded Bjorneby’s Auto Rebuild around 50 years ago. Since then, Murray’s parents and uncles have run several locations with CARSTAR, such as CARSTAR Murray’s, CARSTAR Port Orchard, Bob Bjorneby’s CARSTAR Federal Way Collision, and CARSTAR at 272nd.
In early 2022, Murray noticed the number of electric vehicles appearing on the road and within his family’s shops and realized he would most likely only see more. He started researching the possibility of EVs and ICEs being worked on in the same facility and decided to take on the task of making CARSTAR Murray’s Des Moines into a shop solely for EVs.
Murray started by focusing on three areas: “team training, facility improvements and process changes.” First, he trained the shop’s team on OEM and I-CAR training to learn the ins and outs of Teslas and other EVs.
The facility originally opened in 2002 and also needed a revamp, so stronger power resources and storage accommodation was built. Murray also devised a system of taking inventory on in-demand parts and ensuring there was enough on hand so that backorder delays wouldn’t be a problem.
“We [are] definitely seeing an increase in our profitability, thanks to the improved efficiency of just repairing one type of vehicle, the higher standard labor rates for EVs and motivation and productivity of our repair professionals,” Murray stated. “…We see customers coming from four to five hours away for service, and we’re already booked out for the next four to five months on repairs.”
