Interview with Lee Bumgardner, owner
Q: How did you get involved in this business?
A: This was a hobby that got in the way of work in the beginning. I was a parts and service director at a Chevrolet store, and I was working on these specialty and collector’s cars at night. After a while of juggling, I decided that I wanted to do this full time. I work on classic cars and hot rods. It’s something that I’ve had a passion for ever since I was a little kid.
Q: What distinguishes you from other businesses in your category?
A: We’re like the last-chance garage. We tend to fix everyone’s problems. No matter what seems to be wrong with the car, we always get it figured out. I’ve got some really good people who have been with me a long while, and that helps me maintain a high level of service and integrity.
Q: What do you like best about your line of work?
A: The people that I have met. My customers come from all walks of life, and it’s really interesting to meet so many different kinds of people who share this hobby to some extent. It’s really fun for me to see that common denominator. I meet people who you would never expect — as far as what their profession is — to be into cars. It’s such a big variety of people. Lawyers, doctors, surgeons, truck drivers, business owners, regular Joes and so on. I’ve met some really great people and made some longtime friendships through this.
Q: What is your business’ biggest challenge?
A: There’s just not enough hours in the day to get all of the work done, and life always seems to get in the way. We have a lot of cars that we’re working on right now, and I would like to bring more people in to help, but I can’t expand the business right now. There’s really no place to go or to expand to; buildings are hard to find and it costs too much to move, so we’re making due with everything now.
Q: Something people might be surprised to learn about you or your business:
A: We have been around for a long time in this business, and a lot of other shops have come and gone. That gives me a little bit of comfort and pride in my business and the way that I run my shop because it proves that I’m doing it right. When I was first interested in getting into restoring and working on collector and rare cars, no one would help me. I mean, I was just a kid who wanted to build a car, but none of the pros at the time would talk to me or take me seriously because I was new to everything. I have made it a point to talk to everybody in my store.
Profile
Business: Zoomers Automotive
Address: 1007 E. 75th Ave Suite A, Adams County
Hours: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday
Founded: 1991
Contact: 303-289-4480,
Employees: 3
