Our History & Team
I came from formal Domestic and Asian repair experience with the formal starting after high school and then went on to spend 10 years as a Journey man technician with Mercedes Benz before opening my own shop. My ambition for as long as I can remember was to be a mechanic (they were not called technicians yet) and to own my own shop. I was always playing with my go-carts, motorcycles, my parents cars and eventually race cars. It was everyday 24/7 that I was thinking about engines and cars. I am very fortunate to have great parents that always supported this. As I reached my teens Christmas presents were the tools I asked for and when I worked for my Dad he paid me with tools I asked for. Everyone of those tools got me off to a great start are still in use in my shop today.
When I opened I hired Jose Velasquez and he has been with me ever since. He came from a strong background of Domestic and Asian repair also. I had a good feeling about his ability and quickly learned of his great skill as a technician and he evolved quickly into an excellent European tech also. Jose has a soft touch with the cars and it is not in his nature to ever quit if the task at hand becomes difficult.
Both Jose and I started our formal training under the great Bob Blade in the Sonoma Valley High School Auto Shop, Jose being 7 years my senior. I was also extremely fortunate to have Metal Shop in high school under the great Bill Leone. What Mr. Leone taught me about welding and machine shop practices and life has served me well in my Automotive career and my life. He is truly a gifted teacher and individual and I will never forget him. I always have prided myself on the ability to deal with whatever needed to be done to get a job done correctly, this only happens because I was taught Automotive, welding, and machine shop technologies by the best and I wanted to learn.
After high school Jose and I both attended Santa Rosa Junior College and received A.S. degrees in Automotive Technology, Jose under the great Stan Vermeil and myself under the great Dwight Tracy (Stan Vermeil retired the previous year before my arrival). I call my instructors great because I they truly are, their abilities with every aspect of the automobile was not only second to none their teaching abilities and personalities were able to catch the imagination and desire of many students to become the best they could be in Automotive and life. Jose and I were very fortunate to have them touch our lives. It does not happen to everyone to have so many truly talented individuals help them along.
Eight years ago I hired Richard Torzilli he was about 14 years old. His uncle Paul and I are great friends and he asked me if I had something that Richard could do in the shop after school. I did and I hired him as a helper. When he turned 16 and got his driver’s license he also became the shuttle driver for the shop. He has paid attention to the work and procedures in the shop, well over the years and is becoming a wonderful technician also. He also shares the same ability as Jose and I to stay focused and never give up when the going gets tough. He shows a strong desire to learn and takes a lot of pride in his work. His age brings in another dimension to the shop that is welcomed, he has a strong computer background that was taught during his time in high school that Jose and I were not exposed to yet. Jose and I had to learn the very informal way about computers. It is second nature to Rich and if tasks such as programming vehicle ECM’s goes haywire because of things such as windows PC formatting Rich is on top of it and can keep it going smooth.
Nina, my oldest daughter has worked part time for me since 2008. She has now graduated Sonoma State University and runs the front office full time. She has the unique ability to do everything right and care’s about how she is doing it. Her presence brings a softer gentler touch to what is sometimes a difficult world in the automotive repair business and I tell her all the time she has a career in the business. I don’t think she is as excited about that as I have always been though??? The shop is very fortunate to have her and is very organized because of it. She could quite possibly become the world’s greatest service advisor, she is so smart.
Lorrie, my wonderful wife and partner of 20 years has been the behind scenes support for me for years. My career has evolved into other things also and has required 60 to 80 hour work weeks for years and without her love, support, comfort, and food, (lol), the road would not have been traveled as well. It is said behind every successful man is his wife and in my case that is true. She is an unbelievable wife that is very unselfish and understands what it takes to get things done.
Shop Goals
- Operate a full service car and light truck repair facility while specializing in Mercedes Benz and Volvo.
- Offer to everyone fair and honest prices. Be dependable with the repairs.
- Perform work in a reasonable amount of time and keep the customer informed if anything changes.
- While treating the customers with respect goes without saying also treat the employees with the same amount of respect.
- Keep technicians up to date with training classes, lectures, seminars, and on-line training.
- Maintain all equipment in working order and updated.
- Keep the appearance of the shop the best it can be a all times, be professional at all times. The conduct and appearance reflect our attitude about the job.
- Every job needs to be approached with skill and thought in order to have the best outcome for everyone involved.
- Diagnostic work needs to be approached in a logical order of steps to avoid delays and frustrations for everyone involved.
- When a repair is recommended it is not necessarily the last step and the customer will be advised on the progress.
In this order of things the outcome for everyone involved will be the best it can be.