Conder’s Automotive

By C.M. Frederick

A small-town automotive repair shop is always a welcome accommodation to any area. Honest dealings and a dedication to strong customer service, perfectly paired with years of experience, can maintain a deep loyal customer base as well as bring in additional shop patrons. Bruce Conder, owner and operator of Conder’s Automotive, has developed such a place in the town of Mt. Juliet, Tenn.

Located at 441 E Division Street in Mt. Juliet, Conder’s Automotive is a small automotive repair shop that will take on most mechanical issues, save alignments and transmission repair. The business takes advantage of four car bays that are outfitted with car lifts and other useful pieces of equipment to accomplish these tasks.

A busy business-owner, Bruce Conder typical workday begins around 6 a.m. at his automotive repair shop and usually ends around 7 p.m., or whenever he finally is able to go home. Even though the business is closed on the weekends, he often comes in on Saturdays to complete the finance portion of his business.   

With one visit to Conder’s Automotive, one can see how Conder and his staff can stay so busy. Even though the small shop is open Monday through Friday, the business and its lot constantly stay filled with vehicles in need of repair. On the Tuesday when I visited the shop, the shop was busy with customers calling to inquire about their vehicles, while others dropped them off for repairs.

Although Conder’s Automotive is an independent business, it is a NAPA Auto Center. The business pays a flat rate per year to NAPA, and in return, it receives rebates on parts ordered through the corporation. Warranties come with repairs done using NAPA parts, making customers able to have repairs completed at any NAPA Auto Center location if parts fail. After utilizing other parts suppliers for his business, Bruce Conder believes that “the failure rate on NAPA parts is less than the other companies” that he has used.     

When asked about his entry into the automotive industry, Conder states that “it started as a hobby.” Looking back at memories of his childhood, a 12-year-old Bruce Conder and his brother Mike would help their father repair the family’s old Volkswagen Beetle. Conder says that he became interested in automotive repair when he was “sitting on the concrete with the Volkswagen engine head in his lap, lapping valves.” After several rebuilds of the Beetle’s engine, Conder’s father purchased a Volkswagen Bus, and the family began tinkering on that vehicle’s engine.

This pattern carried over into Conder’s teenage years. His father would purchase an old “junker,” then the teenager would have to rebuild the engine.

“It kept me grounded for a long time,” Conder said, “while I saved my money.”

To make the cars safe for the road, purchasing these old vehicles forced Conder to diagnose any other issues the automobiles may have had.

While in high school, Conder worked in a lawn-mower repair shop, during the summer months. Experience received at this position educated the future shop owner to have a more thorough understanding of engine repair. 

Around 1978, Conder began working full-time at a local service station, pumping gas. After a while of employment, he was tasked with driving the station’s wrecker and eventually worked his way into the shop. He states that “people were scared of disc brakes, when they came into the shop,” but he was young enough to learn about the new innovation. Because of this youthful enthusiasm, he became the shop’s expert on the new trend.

After working in several shops as a mechanic, Bruce Conder decided to start his own business, and in 1999, he opened up Conder’s Automotive in Donelson, a suburb of Nashville, Tenn. The business grew and gained a following of local customers. Desiring to have his business closer to home, Conder’s purchased a 2,900 square-foot building in Mt. Juliet and moved his business to a smaller town, farther away from Nashville, in 2008.

To get the new building into shape, Conder repainted the whole building, replaced the lighting, installed safety equipment, and built a counter for the office area. Although the business moved to a quieter area, loyal customers still commuted from Donelson to Mt. Juliet to take advantage of the shop’s services. Additionally, he has gained business from Mt. Juliet residents, and he services the local U.S. Post Office’s fleet of vehicles, completing routine maintenance and repair work.

As one can imagine, this keeps the business quite busy, and Conder’s employs four workers, who have varied years of experience in the automotive industry, to help him complete automobile repairs. His customer service manager, Kyle, utilizes his experience in retail to better serve the needs of Conder’s clients. Another employee, Mike Conders, Bruce’s brother, works part-time with Conder Automotive, helping with repair diagnosis and electronic issues.

Through one avenue or another, each employee has come to Conder’s Automotive and enjoyed employment at the establishment. None of the employees have formal training, but each holds a great deal of knowledge through work experience. To help boost job satisfaction, Conder utilizes a bonus program that distributes money to his employees when financial goals are exceeded.

Although Conder’s Automotive is currently fully staffed, employee issues are a concern for the owner. Two employees will soon be leaving the business due to life transitions. Finding and hiring replacements for these staff members will be difficult in the small town, and Conder confirms this by stating “finding new employees is my biggest challenge.”

In addition to hiring new employees, another challenge encountered by the automotive shop was enticing new customers. However, after years of developing a strong reputation, Conder’s Automotive relies mostly on word-of-mouth advertising to bring in work. To accompany this more personal marketing strategy, Bruce Conder maintains that key chains, with the business’s information printed on them, serves as a great promotional tool.

No matter how busy the auto shop is, Conder’s still finds time to give back to the community. Every year since the shop moved to Mt. Juliet nine years ago, Conder and his shop have hosted Mt. Juliet Church of Christ’s Single Mom’s Car Care Clinic. At the annual event, cars are inspected for potential issues, and routine maintenance is completed by church volunteers and Conder, free of charge.