by Jean Crocker, Contributing Writer
Days of Thunder: Concours Cars mechanics stand at the ready to soup up the Lotus Super 7.
When you walk into the main room of Concours Cars, notice the huge, hanging spider plants; the bright atmosphere and fresh air; the grace of the European automobiles on display. They don't buy and sell these cars, they repair them. That's right, Concours Cars is an impeccably clean garage; a place where they drain used motor oil, fix transmissions, and other messy problems.
It's a place you can take your car and not feel like you're going for a ride. Mark Weiner will translate your "whirr-whirr-click" problem, and transform it into the spunky purr you expect from a European car. The light in his eyes and ready smile show he loves what he does. He chose auto repair as the middle ground between engineering, a field he felt obligated to pursue, and a deep aversion to spending eight hours a day inside.
"This is obviously not a forest ranger job, but I get to be outside, drive cars, and I'm not in a office that doesn't have windows," he quips.
Weiner studied engineering in college, but when appendicitis struck the same time his rusted Alpha Romeo broke in two, he felt he had a good excuse to drop out. Bored after six months, he returned to school, studying philosophy, psychology, and engineering—the things that interested him. He also took automotive jobs where he could.
"I was really good at it and I enjoyed it—here I am 20 years later," he said.
Is he really good at it? He's good enough to be able to limit his patients to European automobiles. Of which, there are only estimated to be 15,000 in the city of Colorado Springs. Within that limitation, he finds variety and challenge enough.
"We work on cars from the '50s to current year models. We have quite a diverse range of cars and people we cater to. It's really interesting and I really enjoy it. I think the European cars reflect the personalities and philosophies of the countries they come from. I like cars that have a little flair and have a little personality."
Even though Concours Cars serves a niche market, overall competition is strong.
"The business is getting tougher and tougher because mass marketers do oil and filter changes, and shock and brakes—all the relatively easy, high-profit work. They are getting bigger and more common. Not many dabble in the kinds of cars we work on—a saving grace for us."
Another mark in their favor is their environmentally-friendly approach to maintenance.
"We're a big proponent of synthetic lubricant," he said. "The oil change interval is one year or 25,000 miles. I do recommend changing the filter and adding a quart every six months, but the big thing is the convenience factor; and it's less waste to the planet. Normal oil should be done four times a year or every 3,000 miles. [With the synthetic lubricants] engines last longer, and start more easily when they are cold. It's an all-around better product.
"So that eliminates some of the attractiveness of the quick places. The rest of the jobs we tackle, they don't even want to work on because they're too weird. People think we're pretty brain-damaged to deal with these things; sometimes I do also."
They regularly work on 20-year-old cars. Given sound maintenance, those cars will be around for a long time. To the mechanics at Concours, that's an attractive alternative to disposable vehicles.
They prefer recycling to waste disposal. They recycle all of their oil, antifreeze, refrigerant, steel and aluminum.
"If we ever build our own building," he said, "It will be waste-oil heated. I try to be environmentally conscious throughout my whole life, not just one part. I have an Earth-Ship house.
They also accept used oil from people who change their own. It doesn't bother them at all that some of their customers are shade-tree mechanics.
"I try to be as helpful to people as possible," Weiner said. "We have an All-Data System, which is CD-ROM based. If anyone needs help with technical articles or things like that, I try and give them whatever information I can—other shops also—this business is difficult enough without people not being helpful and not sharing information; we also have shop manuals for sale."
He stresses preventive maintenance.
"Because all cars have their Achilles' Heel," he said, "If you educate people, they want to take care of these problems. A few dollars in maintenance could save thousands."
"One of the big problems today is the diagnostic time very often exceeds the cost of the repair."
"New cars are getting better and better mechanically. They don't break mechanically. They don't need tune-ups as often. They are much more high-tech. The things that break are much more expensive, more costly to diagnose. You need talented, intelligent, competent people to do that."
These aren't just words to Weiner.
All four mechanics at Concours Cars are Certified Master Automotive Technicians with the Automotive Service Excellence Organization. Two are Engine Management Certified as well.
Communication and courtesy are also important to Weiner. He listens carefully when customers bring their automotive problems in. When he finds the cause, he gives the customers as much information as they want in order to make an educated decision about the repair.
As much information as they want? How does he know? He listens carefully.
"When their eyes glaze over and they look like they're not hearing me or they say 'I don't want to know, just fix it,'" then Weiner feels confident he's given all the information the customer wants.
Some just keep asking questions. And he answers them all the best he can.
Printed from August 23, 1996, The Colorado Springs Business Journal, Don't take your car for a ride
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