When Ron Morgan decided to open his own auto repair shop in February 2010, his plans were met with skepticism.
“So many of my friends had said, ‘Ron, listen, we love you but you’re not opening at the right time of year and the economy’s down. You’re not going to make it. So when we hit our first year, I said, ‘You know what? Let’s have a party!’”
And Mr. Morgan has had a party every year since to celebrate the continued success and growth of Complete Auto Repair, 20120 Veterans Blvd., Unit A, Port Charlotte (MyCompleteAutoRepair.com). His most recent Customer Appreciation Day was held earlier this month, and featured food and beverages, a DJ and an antique car show.
“My father and my uncles were all mechanics, so I grew up with it,” he said. “I had to work on my own cars because my father said if you’re going to drive, you’re going to have to fix your own car. So that’s how I learned. Now my father comes here for repairs, which is awesome.”
Complete Auto advertises itself as “a full-service repair shop providing basic oil changes to complete transmission rebuilding and everything in between.” But Mr. Morgan adds a “concierge” car service for part-time residents. Rather than let the vehicle sit sedentary — which is a bad thing — the shop will pick up the car, perform any maintenance and look for anything out of the ordinary, and then return it to the location. As will all other services, this one, too, is covered by the shop’s 24 month and 24,000 mile warranty on parts and labor when returned to Complete Auto Repair for service.
“If you’re keeping your vehicle up and doing the maintenance, you’re saving a fortune in repairs,” Mr. Morgan said. “I’d love to do maintenance all day long.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Weekly.
