Honest Garage Podcast

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 complicated.

In this episode, Johnathan and Josh share how they went from Tesla and other dealer environments into independent ownership, and why EV work is a different world. There is no steady diet of oil changes or maintenance packages. Most of the work is failure driven repairs on complex systems like suspension, air conditioning, and high voltage components. They also get honest about the business side of a specialty shop, including the turning point when they finally set proper parts margins, and realized customers did not push back when the value and communication were there.

A big theme in this conversation is education. Johnathan explains why he loves teaching customers what is happening, and how transparency builds trust fast, especially in EV repair where parts, process, and safety are not familiar to most drivers.

If you want a real look at what EV only ownership looks like, and how to build trust in the next generation of automotive service, this one is worth hearing.

Links:

Honest Mechanic Marketing (HMM): https://honestmechanicmarketing.com/

Serenity EV Repair: https://serenityevrepair.com/

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 why the leading indicators that actually move the needle are sales and gross profit. He also explains how to assign the right scoreboard numbers to the right roles, advisors focus on sales and gross profit, techs focus on hours, owners keep the full picture tied together.

You will hear a clean framework for thinking about shop health, including the common 50 30 20 model and the simple rule behind it, your gross profit percentage needs to be at least twenty points higher than your overhead if you want twenty percent net income.

Hunt also gets practical about marketing and advertising spend, including why an average benchmark can mislead you, and how to use it as a sanity check. He shares that many shops land around three percent of sales on advertising, but the better question is value and customer acquisition cost, not the cheapest option.

If you want to make decisions with clarity, not guesswork, this episode will help you see your business the way a great operator should.

Links:

Honest Mechanic Marketing (HMM): https://honestmechanicmarketing.com/

Paar Melis & Associates: https://paarmelis.com/

Hunt Demarest podcast page: https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-by-the-numbers/id1611355257

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 fast, then launching the Queen Creek location and adding a dedicated performance shop so they could serve daily drivers and serious go fast projects under one banner. He gets real about the challenge most shops underestimate, branding and marketing. Fixing old online footprints, cleaning up SEO, dialing in the Google Business Profile, and making sure the market understands what APA actually is today.

You will also hear Sean's definition of honesty in a modern shop. Digital inspections that show the customer what is real, zero tolerance for fake recommendations, and even sending a car back to the dealership for warranty work when that is the right call. He ties it all back to one operator mindset, watch your numbers, watch your reputation, and build a system that keeps your bays full with the right work.

Links:

Honest Mechanic Marketing (HMM): https://honestmechanicmarketing.com/

APA Total Car Care: https://apatotalcarcare.com/

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 and opened Good Works Auto Repair in Tempe, Arizona using a home equity loan, then steadily grew it from a small owner operated shop into a modern facility. Along the way, he made a big bet on where the industry was going. Good Works became one of the early independent shops in Arizona to specialize in hybrid repair and hybrid battery conditioning, eventually partnering with The Hybrid Shop and working on everything from Priuses to Teslas.

This conversation is packed with practical operator insight. Glen breaks down why transparency matters, how they use video and inspections to help customers see what is real, and why their five year, sixty thousand mile warranty only works if parts quality and process stay non negotiable. He also shares how coaching and being around other shop owners helped him learn business skills most techs never get taught.

What makes this episode different is the heart behind the shop. Good Works supports Helping Hands for Single Moms, runs service clinics through local churches, and treats community involvement as part of the job, not a marketing angle.

Links:

Honest Mechanic Marketing (HMM): https://honestmechanicmarketing.com/

Good Works Auto Repair: https://goodworksautorepair.com/

Brady Lehr is the owner of High Country Performance 4x4 in Colorado, and his story is equal parts shop growth and personal comeback.

He started out cleaning toilets in the same building he now leads a team in, then built a career around the fun side of the industry. Lift kits, armor, axles, gears, fabrication. As Brady says in the interview, nobody needs what they do, it is all want based. That changes everything about the sales process.

In this episode, Brady breaks down the question that drives every build at High Country. Why. Why does the customer want this truck, and how are they actually going to use it. Overlanding, rock crawling, camping with the family, daily driving. From there, they mix and match the right parts across brands to build a package that fits the use, not just what is sitting on the shelf.

Brady also opens up about hitting a personal wall, addiction, and what life and leadership look like on the other side. If you are building a specialty shop, trying to sell with clarity instead of pressure, or you need proof that you can rebuild after a hard season, this episode is worth hearing.

One more thing, Brady sent over something personal after the interview. He wrote a motorsport themed hype song about recovery. If you want to use it, great. If not, feel free to share it with someone who might need a lift. His hope is simple, that it helps the right person at the right time.

Links:

Honest Mechanic Marketing (HMM): https://honestmechanicmarketing.com/

High Country Performance 4x4: https://hcp4x4.com/

Hype song about recover:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3v27PKtstlKnhyn8CTWrAh?si=D_NIhK8CTOKRwDc_ypQSgA

Alex Jones did not buy a shop to "own a job." He bought it to build an operation that can scale.

In this episode, Alex shares the real story behind stepping into ownership at AutoWits in Scottsdale, Arizona, after retiring from professional basketball and taking some early hits in business. He talks openly about what changed when he went from learning business in theory to learning it with payroll, customers, and real consequences on the line.

You will hear how Alex is rebuilding the shop from the inside out, including implementing EOS (Traction), defining core values, running a leadership book club, and operating from a long term vision that is clear, aggressive, and measurable. He also gets practical about the daily operator work, tightening process, improving inspections, building a team of techs you can trust, and marketing in a way that supports growth without sacrificing standards.

If you are a shop owner who wants more than survival, and you are trying to build something scalable on purpose, Alex's episode is a strong listen.

Links:

Honest Mechanic Marketing (HMM): https://honestmechanicmarketing.com/

AutoWits: https://www.autowits.com/

Jim Mueller is not just running shops, he is building something that holds up over time.

Jim owns Repair Masters Automotive in Boulder and Louisville, Colorado, plus The Auto Repair Place in Boulder. Three general repair locations within a few miles of each other, and a team culture so sticky that some of his core people have been with him since they were teenagers.

In this episode, Jim shares what it actually takes to grow without turning your business into a revolving door. He talks about why relationships matter more than shortcuts, how he thinks about leadership with a multi generational team, and what it looks like to take care of people in a way they never forget, including bringing the whole crew and their families on Thanksgiving trips.

You will also hear the behind the scenes story of how his third location came to be, and why he refused to grow in a way that would hurt the people already in the building. He also gets real about customer expectations, warranties, and how trust is earned one decision at a time.

If you want to build a shop that customers stay loyal to, and a team that stays with you for decades, Jim's story is worth hearing.

Links:

Honest Mechanic Marketing (HMM): https://honestmechanicmarketing.com/

Repair Masters Automotive: https://repairmastersauto.com/

The Auto Repair Place: https://theautorepairplace.com/

Jeff Owen and Melissa Velasquez are the kind of leaders every shop owner hopes they can find, then keep forever.

They run the day to day at Jeremy's Garage in Pueblo West, Colorado, a family owned NAPA Gold and AAA approved shop that has served the community since 2008. In this episode, Jeff and Melissa get tactical about what it takes to keep a busy shop smooth and accountable, even when the owners are not in the building.

You will hear how they built systems that remove chaos, including a defined repair order flow that keeps every ticket moving through the right hands at the right time. From diagnostics, to the lead writer, to sales, to parts ordering, to parts receiving, to final delivery. They also talk about quality control checkoffs after repairs, key tracking, and why digital inspections help customers see the full picture without turning every update into a phone tag nightmare.

Melissa also shares how they built an apprenticeship program after realizing the old hiring pipeline was not coming back. They started with a national program, then customized it into a paid, hands-on path that supports real life, real families, and even includes EV training as part of the progression.

If you want to build a shop that can grow past the owner bottleneck, and you want a clearer playbook for ops, culture, and training, this episode is for you.

Links:

Honest Mechanic Marketing (HMM): https://honestmechanicmarketing.com/

Jeremy's Garage: https://jeremysgarage.com/

Stephanie Corbin spent more than 25 years in corporate IT, then helped build Bullet Automotive and Diesel from a simple idea sketched on a Chick fil A napkin into a growing multi location operation on Colorado's Front Range.

In this episode, Stephanie breaks down what it takes to scale without losing the thing customers actually care about, trust. She shares the four pillars Bullet is built on, honesty, integrity, reliability, and transparency, plus how those values turn into real systems inside the shop. You will hear how they designed vehicle inspections, how they write recommendations, and how they quote and explain work so customers understand what they are paying for and why.

If you are trying to grow beyond one location, tighten your process, or build a shop that wins on clarity instead of hype, Stephanie's story will give you practical ideas you can use.

Links:

Honest Mechanic Marketing (HMM): https://honestmechanicmarketing.com/

Bullet Automotive and Diesel: https://bullet-automotive.com/

Ken Stafford spent decades in the collision world, sold his business, and tried retirement. It did not stick. What started as a small "keep busy" shop quickly turned into something bigger, especially once Chris Oatman came in and Ken handed him the keys to run day to day.

In this episode, Ken and Chris unpack how Next Auto Care in Highlands Ranch, Colorado grew from a side operation into a real business with a real team. They talk about what it takes to scale without losing quality, including hiring with culture in mind, creating trust through consistency, and adding layers of support that most shops skip.

You will also hear the "next level service" details that customers actually notice, like mini detail touches after the repair, plus a dedicated quality control role to help prevent comebacks and protect the customer experience.

If you want a clearer picture of how to grow steadily, stay people first, and build a shop where customers and employees want to stick around, this one is worth your time.

Links: Honest Mechanic Marketing (HMM): https://honestmechanicmarketing.com/ Next Auto Care: https://nextautocare.com/