When they made the decision to get into the automobile mend small business with each other, one particular of the initially factors Doug Jones Jr. and Alex Young experienced to make your mind up was what they need to simply call their garage on Main Road in the City of Niagara Falls.
Youthful advised they borrow from a well-liked track by the rock band AC/DC and “Thunder Struck Car Repair” was born.
“We have been likely by means of names and Alex mentioned, ‘What about thunder struck? I variety of thought about it and I stated, ‘Yeah, I like that’ and that is what it turned out to be,” Jones recalled.
On March 1, Jones and Younger will rejoice their 1st full calendar year of organization together at the Falls car repair service shop, positioned at the previous Steve’s Automotive site at 2665 Major St.
Jones and Young met even though Young was functioning as a mechanic at a further mend store on Grand Island. At the time, Jones was working a device truck that regularly shipped things to the Grand Island locale. The two started speaking and understood they experienced a lot in popular, specifically when it came to a mutual curiosity in repairing damaged-down automobiles.
“Alex and I truly formulated a definitely good marriage for the duration of the time when I ran the tool truck,” Jones claimed. “We did a good deal of conversing with each other and uncovered out that we were really really suitable and resolved, ‘Hey, let us do this.’”
Jones, 52, was born in the Falls and expended most of his daily life in Niagara County.
Young, 35, is from Denton, Arkansas. He said he moved to the Falls in 2017 to be closer to relatives users who ended up previously residing in Canada.
Right before likely into small business with Younger, Jones labored for 13 yrs at Washington Mills.
He reported he always wished to individual his own enterprise and when the chance arose, he jumped at the chance.
“It was just about the obstacle, hoping to make it function, striving to compete and getting my possess boss. I adore getting my have boss,” he mentioned.
Young, who is qualified as an automotive technician from Scorching Springs Local community Higher education in Arkansa, has been performing as a professional mechanic for 15 many years. He explained he took an desire in small motor repair at a youthful age and enjoys doing work on bigger repair service employment now.
“The day I get to do massive engine operate, that is my favourite day,” he explained. “To see that automobile leaving and realizing that I’m the explanation that motor vehicle is on the road and responsible once once more makes me really feel very good. That is the spotlight of my working day and my 7 days when I make that take place.”
Youthful mentioned he also enjoys doing the job on older-design cars.
“My preferred thing to do is function on more mature motor vehicles,” he explained. “I just adore it. I love getting a thing aged and resurrecting it, bringing it back from the useless.”
Jones admits there have been ups and downs due to the fact opening the business, incorporating that it can be complicated competing with other high-quality maintenance retailers in the place.
Jones and Youthful hope to keep shoppers coming again and to go on to increase their business enterprise by simply delivering major-top quality provider.
“You deliver anything in and it’s not managing and you really do not know why,” Jones mentioned. “(We) find out why and it leaves functioning.”
Equally Jones and Young stated the career has come to be extra difficult and even at instances more annoyance with newer versions and new automotive know-how.
“Automobile engineers are not very nice to the mechanics, let’s set it that way,” Jones reported. “Here’s an 8-inch bolt, but you’ve got to get it out of a 2-inch area. Some of these cars and trucks presently you basically have to consider the top rated conclusion of the motor off to modify the spark plugs.”
Younger reported his precedence on each and every repair position is protection.
“I’m all about basic safety,” he mentioned. “If it’s not harmless, you are heading to know about it and ideally we can arrive to an settlement to get it set.”
In the Falls, long recognized for its much less-than-pristine streets, Jones additional, fifty percent-jokingly: “We make cars safe and sound for roads that are not.”
The proprietors of Thunder Struck offer you interval auto maintenance checks, roadside support, including gas supply for occasions when motorists run out of fuel and “jumps” for days when the battery dies or there is an electrical dilemma. Jones claimed they are setting up to receive a tow truck or a flat mattress by Could so Thunder Struck will also be in a position to give expanded towing companies as well.
In addition, the repair service store presents discount rates to “front-line employees,” including first responders, military staff, nurses and other overall health care practitioners.
“They are entrance-line workers and they are worthy of it,” Youthful claimed.
“They should have everything they can get,” Jones added.
Thunder Struck Automobile Maintenance is open up from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday by means of Friday. For more facts or to schedule an appointment, phone 716-282-4661.