COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Brent Werner has captured Heather Nelson’s heart, and they just met.
Here’s how he did it: He took her into his car repair shop and gave her a play-by-play of what was wrong with her car. He told her what she needed to spend money on right away and what could wait. He fixed an axle for $150 less than what she had paid for a similar repair at another shop. And he threw in the oil change.
It’s how Werner wants to treat every customer. About a month ago, he and partner Randy Stacy opened Repair & Share car service. Instead of a flat fee or hourly rate, Werner and Stacy charge on a sliding scale, based on a customer’s need. The greater the need, the bigger the discounts. They also intend to educate people about cars so the people don’t get ripped off.
Clearly, Repair & Share is not your typical auto business. In fact, Stacy and Werner are working to establish it as an independent nonprofit. In the meantime, they’re operating under the wing of Parents Challenge, a nonprofit founded by Steve and Joyce Schuck to help low-income residents pay for private-school tuition, computers and tutors for their children. And the mechanics are getting advice from The Schuck Foundation President Don Griffin.
“Yesterday was my first day there, and I just cannot say enough,” said Nelson, a kindergarten teacher who has been unable to work since April because of an illness. “Brent took me back with a flashlight and pointed things out and is telling me, step by step, ‘this is what you need to do now’ and ‘this can wait.’ I was so impressed, I literally took two pages of notes.”
Werner came up with the idea for a car-repair nonprofit after spending a year as a civilian contractor in Iraq. As someone who “eats, sleeps and breathes” cars, he wanted to use his passion to help those in need. Customer need is determined by an income survey—available on its Web site—and mirrors income qualifications for federal school lunch programs.
He and Stacy met through a mutual friend about a year ago, and worked for months to lay the groundwork for the shop. They found a low-rent space on South Academy Boulevard that needed a lot of TLC, and spent a month of 12-hour days fixing it up. With hardly any money for supplies or promotion, they’ve relied on friends and trades to get what they need, and social service agencies and word-of-mouth to line up customers.
Repair & Share is really a labor of love. Not money. Stacy is living off his savings; Werner has gone through his savings and is living with a friend.
“We haven’t had a paycheck since we started this thing,” Werner said.
Their hope is to attract enough customers who can afford the full cost of their repairs and use that revenue to subsidize repairs for those in need.
But even those who can afford to pay full price get something of a discount because Werner has priced his labor at about $75 an hour, less than what most other places charge, he says. In addition, he and Stacy comparison shop for parts.
“The whole concept is just wonderful,” Nelson said. “People who can pay are still going to get a good deal … and people who need help, they’re willing to help, even at the cost of their own paychecks.”
Darnell Jones, a truck driver, said both he and his mother-in-law have taken vehicles to Repair & Share and ended up paying far less than they would have elsewhere. One reason, he said, is that other places were giving him estimates for work that didn’t need to be done.
“I went some other places for the transmission on my van, and they were telling me I needed a whole new transmission,” Jones said. “Then I took it to Brent. That saved us about 1,200 bucks. Everybody I run into, I tell them all about it.”
Werner and Stacy hope to get grants and donations to supplement their shop. They’ve solicited some places for help, but haven’t gotten anywhere.
“But we’ve made up our minds: We’re going to do this whether you help us or not,” Werner said. “We’re going to make this happen.”
