| Word of Mouth Brings Steady Work to Cranston Garage
DC Automotive is coming up on its 10 year anniversary fixing cars in Cranston. "As long as you keep the receipts, you don't need to go to the dealership for routine maintenance," Cousins said. One thing you probably wouldn't take to the dealership is a classic car, and that's where Cousins' business excels. "It started with one guy coming in with a classic car, he liked the work I did. "It took a lot of cars off the road that may have been bought," Cousins said. . "So before, someone might say 'yeah, go ahead and do it' and now they're saying 'let's hold off a little bit,'" Cousins said. While the Cash for Clunkers program was heralded as an economic boost for the auto industry and a force for improving the nation's average fuel economy as many old cars were taken off the road, it has hurt local repair shops. "If it's got a motor or takes fuel, we'll work on it," said Darren Cousins, owner of the Comstock Parkway shop. DC Automotive is the sort of garage that you come to after getting a good recommendation from a friend of a friend. Cousins now has a base of classic car owning customers who count on him to keep their rides lubed, tuned and ready for the road. The leak got fixed without having to replace the original catch can. "No matter what, I tell them how much it's going to cost to fix it," Cousins said. Cousins said business continues to be good even though the economy is still not that great and was really bad not that long ago. "People are holding on to stuff longer," which is good for the auto repair business, Cousins said, since people tend to take new cars to dealerships, not small shops like DC Automotive. Still, Cousins said he has a reliable stream of regular customers who've come to expect quality work, quality parts and a job done right, he said. One thing the shop won't do is a transmission rebuild. He also will not do much body work, since his relatively modest space does not have room for a spray booth. But he's got enough space to contain three lifts and Cousins said he plans to add two more. It costs in the tens of thousands to keep his computer diagnostic hardware updated. But the investment is worth it. Up next will be a whole new dash pad and some other work. People keep coming back because Cousins said he takes a simple and straightforward approach to auto repair. |
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
Word of Mouth Brings Steady Work to Cranston Garage
