Auto Experts has moved to its new location at 1758 SW Veterans Way. The auto shop came from a smaller location on NW Sixth Street, and owner Joe Strong says the new location has acres of space comparatively.

“We outgrew the old location about three years ago,” Strong said. “Finding a good location was kind of tough, so instead of growing in steps, we went from small to huge.”

It opened at its original location in 2010 and moved to the new one May 9. The new location is about 10,000 square feet, which more than triples the 2,790 square feet of its old location.

The new location, in a roughly 15-year-old building, is more than half a century younger than the location on Sixth, which is more than 70 years old. Strong says he had regularly turned business away because there wasn’t enough space, but he now looks forward to having some elbow room.

“It is fantastic because I was getting stressed over there,” Strong said. “There were lots of inefficiencies because we just didn’t have the room.”

Strong and his crew of two other mechanics have seven lifts in the garage, with room for another 20 vehicles inside. Office manager Jenny Anderson gets to work in her own office now, having shared the shop’s break room, office space and customer entry at the Sixth Street location.

Auto Experts provides complete auto service from bumper to bumper, except for alignments and tires. Before they moved in, they spent about six weeks renovating, which included installing new floor and constructing a welcome desk. They made a customer lounge for those who stay while their vehicle is worked on, complete with leather sofa and TV. Strong got a new office as well, which was a new addition.

“It’s really nice to finally be in a nice building,” Anderson said. “We like to keep a clean shop.”

The new shop gives the Auto Experts staff a little more pride in where they work. Strong said the old location had been a wrecking yard before he moved in, and wasn’t in the best shape. He even spent more than a week of 12-hour-days scraping the floors to remove the decades-old caked grime and grease. The location on Veterans Way is pristine, and Strong said it’s more than about being clean — the new location is welcoming.

“I am actually excited to take customers back into the shop to show them what’s actually wrong with their car because before that wasn’t even possible,” Strong said.

Strong says the biggest difference between locations is the economy of space. Before, they only had three lifts with limited vehicle storage space, so if they took apart a vehicle and found the broken part was on order, they would then have to reassemble the vehicle and wheel it out of the shop to make room for another job. This added hours to a job which didn’t need that much attention, Strong said.

But now, they won’t have to go one step forward and two steps back because there is plenty of space to organize and store vehicles in different stages of completion.

The three mechanics, including Strong, have about 65 years of experience among them. The breathing room at the new location has boosted morale in the shop, and Strong said he is looking to add one or two more technicians and a service writer. They also look forward to working somewhat regular hours; before the move they were putting in 14 hours for a regular day.

“We’re more efficient, put out more work with less stress and less hassle and we will have more time off,” Strong said.

Strong said he has room to grow at the new location but will remain focused on day-to-day operations, which he said will be easier.

He also looks forward to not turning away business.

“It’s a huge stress relief finally having enough operating space,” Strong said. “And seeing the time that was wasted at the other shop … it’s a huge change.”

— Reporter, 541-548-2185, cbrown@redmondspokesman.com