By Robert Bravender
At one time most types of automotive repair were done under one roof. Mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, suspension—a full-service station would handle most of it, and clean your windshield, too. However, as time went on, the market divided into specialty services and brands, and the function of the corner gas station morphed into that of a convenience store.
While we’ll probably always have a pressing need for stale pastries and energy drinks, this diffusion of disciplines might be reversing, as evidenced by Murphy’s Automotive in Kingsport, Tenn. Drivetrain to driveline, AC to CV, they even do diesel work.
Fittingly, the shop was once a three-bay full-service station, but market changes have altered its outlook as well: two more bays were added to bring the square footage up to around 3,000, while the fuel islands were removed to make more room to park cars.
By the time owner Robert Murphy got a job here in early 2000, it had been part of a tire store chain since 1993.
“It was mainly general service stuff back then,” he reported. “We still do all that — brakes, tires, alignments — but we wouldn’t do anything crazy like an engine or a transmission swap back then; we evolved into that later on.”
Murphy began buying his ownership from the tire company in installments, “slowly but surely,” he recalled. “And as I started buying in shares, I was learning the management aspect of it until I was pretty fluent in it…. [The previous management] had certain ways they wanted to do things, and a lot of the changes we made were perhaps because of that. I wanted to put my name on the sign and do things my way, basically.”
One thing he retained was the tire market, although going independent allowed him to sell all brands.
“We’re a Michelin affiliated dealer, but they’re pretty lenient,” Murphy said. “They’ve got a premium product, and they know you’re got to fill it in with other brands. They don’t have aggressive off-road tires, oversize ones.”
Mobile roadside assistance was added as a service when they became an AAA-preferred auto shop.
“We’re the only one in Kingsport,” Murphy said. “We’re not going to repair a car on the side of the road; we have our own rollback, and I’ll be glad to send a guy out with an air tank or a jack to fix a flat, or jumpstart one, or have locked your keys in the car — we’ll do some of the minor things.
“Sometimes you get overloaded with it,” he commented on their rotation. “There’s always been a thought for a second truck for a long time, but finding drivers is actually more difficult than finding techs. Nobody wants to commit being on-call for 24 hours.”
However Murphy’s Automotive really cemented its identify as a one-stop shop when Rob Murphy signed up as a dealer for Jasper Engines and Transmissions.
“We do a ton of business with Jasper,” he affirmed. “Superior product, very good to work with, and they have a heck of a warranty: three years/100,000 miles on parts and labor nationwide.”
Murphy pointed out it that with the rising cost of a new car, it makes a lot more sense for a customer to spend $6,000 on replacing an engine than dropping $60,000 for a new ride.
“Or say your transmission goes out, and your car’s got 150,000 miles on it. Ten years ago you’d be like ‘it’s done; call the junkyard,’” he said. “Now it’s not uncommon to put 350,000 miles on a car. Selling you a transmission, knowing that you’re probably going to get another five years out of it, makes sense to me. Jasper also does a great job if you’ve got a particular type of car known for having transmission issues; they’ll go in and look at why those units fail and rebuild them with better parts. Usually a Jasper unit is better than the factory unit.
“One thing I pride myself on is never taking advantage of someone,” Murphy stated. “If I feel like your car is — for lack of a better term — a turd, I’m not going to push you to put a motor in it. I’m not that guy.”
Some markets evolve, others are discovered along the way; the sale of oversized tires naturally led to lift kits.
“We just kind of dove in head first,” admitted Murphy, after customers began requesting them. “I would say that we easily do two or three a week now.”
He gestured out toward the street. “Everybody who’s got a Jeep or a four-wheel-drive truck in this region — probably in the country — they’re wanting oversized wheels and tires, and of course to do that you’ve got to put a lift kit on. Driving around here you’ll see jacked-up Jeeps and trucks; it’s kind of the going thing.”
Murphy noted that the difficulty of the install depended on the make and model.
“When you get one straight from the dealership, everything’s gravy; new bolts, new everything,” he explained. “When you get a rusty used truck that came off a farm, they can be challenging. Some of the installs are small, what they call a leveling kit, which is just the front end. Some of them are big lift kits installed all around.”
Murphy reported they haven’t delved any deeper into truck customization, like pinstriping or ground effects.
“But we do a lot of diesel work,” he added. “That’s big right now.”
Long a separate market, diesels have also been returning to the repertory of many shops.
“You’ve got anyone from farmers to doctors, lawyers and high-end businessmen driving a nice big diesel truck to tow their boat, their camper, etc.,” explained Murphy, who dove into that market six to seven years ago with online classes for his five techs. “Many of these auto parts stores and some of the distributors also offer training.”
Bless the Age of Information. Anything seems possible now, even German makes — which had never been the domain of the average shop.
“We’ve done Audis, Mercedes, BMW; we don’t turn anything away,” Murphy boasted. “We even get into their diesel technology.”
Murphy noted that scanning tools are the key.
“You’ve got to stay up with the times,” he said. “When new scan tools come out everybody [balks at that], but you’ve got to bite the bullet. You need more technology because the cars have more technology.”
The shop also has a number of local contractors among its clients, as well as the county itself.
“The [sheriff’s office] has their own mechanics who do all the general service; we do most of the major work,” Murphy explained. “The [cruiser] that’s out there today got a Jasper engine put in it. We’ve done several over the last couple months. Just like everybody, they’re to the point where, rather than buying a whole new fleet, they’re repairing what they’ve got and getting a few more years out of them.”
Does that mean they frequently get to take a rebuilt 5.7L Chrysler Hemi with a police interceptor package for a spin?
“It’s a fun test drive,” he smiled.
The most recent change has of course been COVID-19, which almost immediately created an upsurge in pickups and deliveries.
“As part of our service, people will leave keys on their doorstep so we can pick their car up,” Murphy explained. “Fifty to 60 percent of what’s coming in is for maintenance, and if we don’t feel safe driving them home in their own vehicle, we’ve got a couple loaner cars, a small SUV we run people back and forth in.
“We’ll do ‘no contact’ deals like going to their work to pick up the car—anything we can do to stay in the loop,” he continued. “We want everybody’s business, so if they feel uncomfortable coming in, we’ll go to them. [COVID-19) has affected business; I mean it’s not as hectic as it usually is, but you have to adapt. We’ll do a lot of scheduling; I have to have a herd of people here to do that,” which includes himself, an office manager, and a receptionist.
Yet despite the uncertainty of the times, Murphy is looking to expand eventually.
“We’re kind of land-locked here,” he observed. “If I could expand here I would do that, but probably a second location will be coming pretty soon.” •
