A longtime area resident and master mechanic says that he opened his local car repair business to help the "common people" have affordable access to the much needed vehicle repairs that come up from time to time, but that he is also building a family legacy by including his sons in project.
Jerry Miller, who has over forty-years of automove experience working at several area dealerships and has run his own various businesses over the past decade, says that maintaining a low overhead, doing quality work at prices people can afford, and providing good customer service are all keys to making Monkey Wrench Auto Repair an attractive alternative to high-priced repairs.
"I've worked at a lot of big dealerships and made good money doing so," said Miller. "But their pretty showrooms and clean work shops make for big overhead, and somebody has to pay for all that. That somebody is the customer."
"I could have a big fancy shop over on Towson or someplace else. but the overhead would force me to charge a lot more for my labor to cover," said Miller. "On some of the repairs, people can end up paying three times what we charge for the same parts and the same labor."
Miller is right about "nothing fancy" at Monkey Wrench...the shop is located at an unassuming address near Division Street on North 7th. The building is a throwback to "shade tree" mechanic work, but there is nothing "shade tree" about the quality of work.
"I'm master certified in a lot of different areas," said Miller. "I work for years as an electrical engineer in an industrial setting, and I got started doing mechanic work as a hobby. I just started getting a lot of people wanting me to fix their cars and eventually it turned into a money making deal."
Miller says he has the same tools and skills as the "big boys" but his years of experience makes him the kind of mechanic that can "look and listen" for problems. He does just about any automotive repairs, sans transmission work, and specializes in quick fixes of minor problems before they can turn into major problems.
"We don't do oil changes...we can, but it cost us as much to get the stuff as Walmart charges for the entire oil change," said Miller. "I tell people to just take it to Wally World to save money."
"I had a back injury several years ago so that limits me on what I can do," said Miller. "But these boys are catching on and I can tell them what needs to be done...I oversee all the work and mke sure it's done right."
The fact that Monkey Wrench is a family affair is not lost on him either. His sons are all "mechanics in training" and his wife Janie "runs the show" when it comes to the business/office side of things. They have a motorhome parked at the site for the grand childen they watch and one of the sons lives in a stand alone apartment on the premises.
In the end, it's all about family and community.
"We just want to be a community-friendly, low cost option for people," said Miller. "We stand behind our work and we make sure people get what they pay for. We invite anyone with repair issues to give us a call or stop in and see us."
Monkey Wrench Auto Repair is located at 1623 North 7th. You can call them at 479-274-9681.
