Brandon Fenoglio, an Otto local, has started the first-ever mobile tire shop, Delivered Car Care, to serve the Plateau.
After working in a tire shop, Fenoglio said he knew he wanted to open his own shop but buying a building would be a far stretched dream.
“I wanted to own my own shop and grow and expand as a person,” Fenoglio said. “I knew I couldn’t be a tire technician forever. I knew that buying a building wasn’t going to be in the cards. I thought and thought and figured it wouldn’t hurt if I went ahead and started planning. I had to buy a tire changer and a balancer and got the cheapest ones I could get. It started as doing it for just friends and family to see what I could do. Once I realized I could get an air compressor and generator, I could power this here, then it dawned on me that this could actually turn into something.”
Once Fenoglio talked with his wife and did a little research, he said he started buying better equipment and talking with distributors.
“Eventually, I sold all of the cheap stuff because I just wanted to see if this could turn into something,” Fenoglio said. “Then I started getting more high-quality equipment; stuff that won’t scratch rims. I got in touch with a few distributors that I knew of because I have been around tire work and started buying good equipment.”
With good equipment in the trailer, Fenoglio said he started researching if a mobile tire shop was a thing.
“I didn’t find anything online, but once I started putting things into development, I realized that there were other people that did this,” Fenoglio said. “The first one that popped up was a franchise in the Michigan area. Then I found some guys that weren’t doing what I was doing necessarily. They were more like roadside assistance. They could change the tire, but they couldn’t balance it, do oil changes or brakes. I couldn’t find anyone that was actually doing what I wanted to do, which was tires, oil changes and brakes and doing all of those things well and do it at their home, not having to meet in a parking lot.”
After finding more people that were doing similar things, Fenoglio was met with comments like “I tried it, it didn’t work,” but he said he didn’t let it get to him.
“There were several people that said the stereotypical, ‘I tried it. You can’t do it,’ sort of thing,” Fenoglio said. “It’s always a bummer to hear that, but the reality of it is, you get the proper sized generator, you get good equipment and learn as you go. There are still some things I have to do to get more established, but I just turned over 150 tires, and have had no complaints.”
Fenoglio said working in the mountain areas has its own set of challenges.
“It’s not the easiest thing, but I think I can make it work,” Fenoglio said. “People up here do have rougher driveways. So, a lot of them need the all-terrain type tires, which do well when it is super cold, but also do well when it heats up during the day. Trying to find the correct balance and help the customer is always enjoyable. Another thing is that people are skeptical if I can get to their house. I always say that I can try and if it doesn’t work, then they don’t owe me anything. I still need to develop a little more skill driving a trailer on these roads, but if it gets up there then people are happy. So many people are busy during the day and don’t have time to drop off their vehicle at a shop or sit in the shop for hours while they work on the car. With me, I show up and get the work done and I think that helps a lot of people.”
All of the services that Fenoglio offers are tire repairs, which include TPMS, replacing brake pads and the rotors and oil changes. The price is based on a quote, but Fenolgio said he does charge a $40 delivery fee.
“The $40 delivery fee may make or break somebody if they are just getting an oil change,” Fenoglio said. “But I think it is better than clocking out of work or having to drive somewhere to get these services done.”
So far, Fenoglio said people are loving the idea and he is trying to get the word out.
“People are pretty excited because this is not a usual thing,” Fenoglio said. “It’s starting to gain a lot of popularity across the country, but with Highlands being a growing area, I think people have a rare opportunity to be the first to try this and be a part of it. I feel really blessed for the customers that I have. They are very willing to help and see it succeed.”
Delivered Car Care is open 24 hours every day except for Sundays. To call for a quote, Fenoglio is available at 828-421-1452.
- By Christopher Lugo