Honest Garage Podcast

EVs are already showing up in independent repair shops, but Tom Pacheco is not here to scare owners into becoming an EV specialty shop overnight. His message is more practical than that: start with safety, train your people, and build readiness before the wrong vehicle rolls into the bay. In this Expert Spotlight episode, David and Paul sit down with Tom Pacheco, founder of ZEVTech Consulting and...

Shawn Gilfillan's story is not polished, easy, or overnight. It is busted knuckles, hard lessons, bad hires, a major injury, personal setbacks, and the decision to keep growing anyway. Shawn is the owner of Automotive Magic and Magic Lube and Rubber in New Jersey. Together, the two businesses create a smart split. Automotive Magic handles the heavier repair work, while Magic Lube and Rubber focuse...

Eric Newton is a second generation shop owner, but his story is not about being handed a business. It is about earning a seat at the table, surviving hard seasons, and then stepping into leadership at the exact moment the shop entered a new chapter. Eric is the second generation owner at Curt's Auto Repair in Phoenix, Arizona, a long standing shop known for honest diagnostics, diesel work, brakes,...

Chris Keefer did not grow up planning to be a career tech or a shop owner. He was a BMW enthusiast who knew enough HTML in the early 2000s to make a trade with a local BMW shop. Let him work on his car a few days a week, and he would build them a website. He never left. In this episode, Chris shares how a German trained mentor shaped his standards, including a lesson that still drives his leadersh...

Brandon Stapley started where a lot of real shop stories start, turning wrenches in his dad's backyard, then grinding through side work and a rough two bay setup tied to a construction yard in the Arizona heat. When that yard went away, Brandon had to make a decision. Fade out or build something real. Today Brandon runs multiple brands in Arizona, including Stapley's Garage in Mesa and Stapley Car...

Todd Santos did not take the typical straight line into shop leadership. He learned the trade, learned the front counter, and learned what a shop should never feel like for a customer. That mix shaped how he runs the day to day at Ken's Auto Center in San Diego, serving the Mira Mesa and Miramar area since 1999. In this episode, Todd gets specific about what changed everything for their customer e...

Julio Campos has built Dragonfly Automotive in San Diego by obsessing over the things most shops treat as "extras." Communication that is clear. A customer experience that feels intentional. A team that is trained and developed, not just thrown into the fire. In this episode, Julio shares what has actually helped Dragonfly grow in a competitive market like San Diego. He talks about creating a prem...

Alex Rodriguez built Euro Cars Southend around a clear promise. If you own a European vehicle and you want it serviced the right way, you should not have to settle for guesswork, vague answers, or a rushed experience.   In this episode, Alex shares how he developed a specialist mindset and why focusing on European platforms changes everything. The tooling, the training, the diagnostic approach, an...

Brian Parada did not grow up thinking he would own an auto repair shop. He came in through business school, lawnmower engines, corporate tire stores, and a long stretch of learning how the industry really works when you are the one responsible for the customer and the outcome. Today Brian leads AutoTek Automotive Service and Repair in Raleigh, North Carolina, and in this conversation he gets real...

Brandon Todd built his entire brand around a promise most shops are afraid to make out loud. Be the honest mechanic people hope they find when they are stressed, busy, and do not know who to trust. Brandon is the owner of My Honest Mechanic in Concord, North Carolina, and in this episode he shares how the name became a mission, not a slogan. He talks about seeing corruption in the industry and ref...

Curt Morgan started Shadow Mountain Auto Service in Phoenix in 2008 with a simple motto: Character counts. In this episode, Curt explains how he has spent nearly two decades proving that character, kindness, and profitability can live in the same shop. This conversation goes deeper than tactics. Curt shares how emotional intelligence shows up in leadership, how to build a team where people actuall...

Greg Miller knows something most shops learn the hard way, fixing cars is only half the job. The other half is building a customer experience that earns the next appointment. Greg is the owner of Figs Auto Repair in Charlotte, North Carolina, and in this episode he breaks down the practical habits that turn one time callers into long term regulars. He talks about why they do a full inspection on e...

Les Aliff has the kind of story shop owners respect because it is built on reps, not hype. He came up through the work, learned what customers actually need when they are stressed and confused, and built Youngsville Auto Care into a shop that wins through clarity, consistency, and doing the right thing when it would be easier to rush. In this episode, Les shares what he believes separates a good s...

Michael Grueneich built Providence Auto Care with a clear mission: take care of people, not just vehicles. In this episode, Michael shares how his faith and family values shape the way the shop operates day to day, from how they communicate, to how they handle tough conversations, to how they train the team to do what is right even when it is inconvenient. He talks about building trust the slow wa...

Mitch Krstovski did not enter this industry through the usual path. He studied business, lived abroad, spent time in New Zealand, and earned an MBA through MIT while based in Shanghai. He was on track for a corporate career in China until life pulled him back home fast. His dad was fighting cancer, his brother was overwhelmed running the family dealership, and Mitch stepped in to help carry the lo...

Marcus McFall grew up in a tire store. He was the kid stacking inventory in the back, watching customers roll in for tires, and learning what makes a shop survive when the market shifts. Today Marcus owns McFall Tire and Auto Repair in the West Valley of Arizona, with two locations serving Goodyear, Avondale, and the surrounding communities. In this episode, he tells the real story behind keeping...

Running a shop is hard. Running a shop with your spouse adds a whole extra layer, especially when the business is growing and the industry keeps changing. In this episode, David sits down with Lee and Kelli Weatherby of Accurate Automotive in Arizona, the hosts of the Underneath the Hood podcast. They share what it looks like to lead together without stepping on each other, how they divide respons...

Josh King walked through the lean years. No paycheck, low visibility, inherited problems, and the kind of pressure that makes most owners quit. Instead, he helped turn an unprofitable shop into something stable, growing, and worth betting his future on. Josh is the co-owner of Edmunds Automotive Repair in Surprise, Arizona, a veteran and family owned general repair shop serving drivers across the...

Victor DiGiuseppi did not come up as a flat rate tech. He came into automotive from the engineering and design world, then built C and S Auto around one big idea. There is a right way to run a shop, and it starts with clear standards, educated customers, and taking care of your people so the business is healthy enough to be there tomorrow. In this episode, Victor shares how he moved from engineeri...

Jeff Corwin is not trying to be everything to everyone. He built JC's British and 4x4 by leaning into a clear lane and getting exceptionally good at it. In this episode, Jeff shares how specializing changes the entire business. The customers are different, the expectations are higher, and your process has to be tighter because the work is rarely simple. He talks through what it takes to earn trust...

Rick Becker is a shop owner who is still a technician at heart, and it shows in how he thinks about the business. He owns Monsoon Automotive in Tucson, Arizona, and has grown it into a two location operation in an environment where independents are getting squeezed harder every year. In this episode, Rick shares how his love for the trade started early, working with his dad, fixing cars for classm...

Johnathan and Josh built the shop they wish existed when they were dealership techs. They are the co owners of Serenity EV Repair in Surprise, Arizona, an EV only shop created for owners of modern vehicles who want answers without the chaos. The name Serenity and the dove logo are intentional. They want the experience to feel calm, clear, and confidence building, even when the repair is complicate...

If you do not understand your numbers, you end up running your shop on stress instead of facts. In this Expert Spotlight episode, David sits down with Hunt Demarest, partner at Paar Melis and Associates, a firm that works heavily with auto repair shops. Hunt breaks down the core financial truths that quietly control everything in a repair business, including why profit is a trailing indicator, and...

Sean Gordon has lived on both sides of the automotive world. High end performance, hot rod and custom work, plus the everyday reality of general repair where trust is the product. In this episode, Sean shares how he took that background and built APA Total Car Care into a brand that can do both without confusing customers. Sean walks through the early days of opening APA in Gilbert, growing it fas...

Glen Hayward has been in the automotive world since the mid 1970s, and his story is not a straight line. He started wrenching in Milwaukee, survived a gasoline explosion that left him badly burned, and later spent nearly nine years serving on the mission field in Mexico, keeping vehicles alive in conditions where breakdowns were not just inconvenient, they were a problem. In 2004, Glen came back a...