Joe's Auto Body revs up old-fashioned service

SANDPOINT — A new auto body shop promises to fix your car without lifting your wallet, all the while providing all the bells and whistles that the information age affords.

Joe’s Auto Body Shop co-owners Stan Kraly and Joe Muldoon know that car repair shops have a reputation for bilking customers. That’s why they’re jumping into the business with their guiding motto: “Old-fashioned service in a high-tech world.”

Kraly and Muldoon didn’t pull that slogan out of thin air. They carefully crafted it to reflect their emphasis on maintaining the latest in auto body repair technology and progress update methods while offering the personal, trustworthy customer service more readily associated with days gone by.

“You can even hear it in the name Joe’s Auto Body,” Kraly said. “It sounds like something out of the 1950s.”

While they advocate a 60-year-old work ethic, however, their facility is decidedly modern. Muldoon said that an advantage in opening a new shop was the ability to stock it with the latest in auto body repair machinery and  other technologies. For example, they only use water-born paints, which eliminate the solvents that can damage the environment.

Technology also assists the ambition for great customer service. Joe’s Auto Body employees are able to send frequent progress updates complete with photos via text, e-mail or other means of Internet distribution. Then again, much of their approach hinges on old-fashioned friendliness and respect. Visitors even get a free baker’s dozen of Yoke’s doughnuts with every estimate, a sweet remedy to one’s automotive woes.

The partners have been shaping their business since October, when they first began searching for a facility. After settling on a location at 1621 Baldy Mountain Road, Kraly and Muldoon focused on reshaping the building into an ideal location for car repair.

That team effort is the product of an unlikely pairing. Kraly, a recently retired tug boat captain, heard that Muldoon was the person to see in town about all matters involving auto body repair. After meeting, the two decided to start their own shop.

The division of labor proved fairly seamless. Kraly, with his years of management experiences, heads up administration and sales. Muldoon, meanwhile, employs his 20 years of experience as an auto body worker and his certification as a master paint technician to oversee repair work.

“We feel very passionate about the business,” Muldoon said. “We want to use our experience to improve the process for our customers.”

Information: 255-2777