Jerry Carpenter has been working in the repair side of the car business ever since he can remember. That’s what happens when your dad (in his case Ed) owns the business––which he bought from George Liskey in 1972––and needs someone to sweep, mop or vacuum the place. When the city of Lansing informed Liskey’s (circa 1989) that the construction of Oldsmobile Park across Michigan meant transforming their land from a place that fixed cars to a place where you park them, his dad asked him if he was interested in keeping the business running. Jerry replied with an immediate and emphatic “Yes!” And it’s a good thing for Lansing––a city some believe is the birthplace of the pothole––that he did.

“When [Dad] first got the notice that they were going to be buying him out,” Carpenter said, “he sent me a letter wanting to know if I had any interest [in taking over the business].” Carpenter was still in the military, but thought, “What the heck am I doing out here? I’ve got this opportunity.” Soon he was out of the military, certain that was what he wanted to do, and he’s been working at Liskey’s ever since 1990.

To many people, the name Liskey’s conjures up visions of professional wheel service and alignment––and nothing else. However, while it’s true that the majority of its business still comes from working on a car’s or truck’s suspension, performing wheel alignments and frame repairs, about five years ago the name was changed to Liskey’s Auto & Truck

Service to reflect the growing number of areas of expertise they possess.

The way Jerry tells it, “Years back, we were more of a specialty shop where we did wheel and brake repair, [but] we found out that stuff isn’t wearing out as much, so we had to broaden out a little bit and become more of a general repair. [Now] we do everything but body work. I’ve done a lot of advertising on the radio and TV that we do more than wheel service, but there’s still as perception out there that we only are wheels, that we don’t do tune-ups; but we do everything. We’ll even put a new motor in your car.

“I would still say that the majority of our business is suspension and brakes. Tires are not a big part; it’s more of an add-on. We don’t stock any tires; we get them out of a warehouse here in town and can get them in about an hour or so. We sell ten a day maybe.”

The economy being what it is, Carpenter says, “It is encouraging in our business [in that] people are going to be keeping their cars longer than they’ve kept them in the past. [With] the downturn in the economic condition, people aren’t going to rush out and buy that new car. They don’t want to be tied into four or five years’ worth of payments not knowing if their job is secure. I think people are going to start driving their cars longer than they ever have driven them, which is good for us. I think we’re headed for some good times.

“You can drive these cars 200,000 miles without a problem. With a little maintenance and a little bit of upkeep they’ll make it.”

Another factor: With lease rates not nearly as attractive as they were even as recently as last year at this time, Carpenter said that people have less incentive to get a new car. In fact, he said that most people could keep their cars twice as long as they do, and should, if they want to get the maximum value out of them. It’s no secret that a new car loses a good portion of its value as soon as you drive it off the lot, and the biggest percentage of its value in the first two to three years. It follows then that the longer you keep a car, the more value you can drive out of it.

The majority of Liskey’s customer base works in Downtown Lansing. To Carpenter, this means two things: It makes sense to shuttle people back and forth from the shop to their place of employment; and as goes Lansing, so goes Liskey’s. That’s why he expressed concerned about the prospects for a General Motors turnaround, acknowledging that slow business for them has the trickle down economics effect of hurting all the feeder companies, which in turn hurts Liskey’s business.

Another factor that doesn’t help: “When they come here, they’re not happy. There’s something wrong with their car; they don’t want to spend the money. We try to make that experience as pleasant as possible and make sure [we’re] there when that customer has a problem. They’re here looking for comfort and solutions, so we try to be that person.”
When a car starts making that funny sound under the hood that evokes no laughter, one’s first thought isn’t typically that it’s time to take it to Liskey’s, but rather wonders how much longer to keep driving it before it doesn’t get where one needs to go. And if prospective customers have just enough in their budget to either get the car fixed, or vacation in Rio––or even Reno––there’s a good chance they’ll end up there before coming to see their friendly Liskey’s mechanic.
“People don’t budget for car repair as they might budget for a trip. If they’re going on vacation, they put money away. All of the sudden they have a car failure and they have to find that money somewhere, and we’re taking it from them, so we’re the bad guys in a lot of situations.”

Continuing education is something that both Carpenters are big proponents of. “That’s one thing that Dad has always strongly encouraged, continuing education [at Lansing Community College, seminars and training schools] and keeping the guys updated on the latest and greatest equipment,” the younger Carpenter says.

He also believes that their location has been critical to their success. When the city told the senior Carpenter that it was going to buy out the original Liskey’s location, father and son seriously considered moving to north Lansing. But when they analyzed their customer base and saw what percentage of their business came from downtown, they knew they had to stay. And Jerry couldn’t be happier that they did, calling their location “key to our success.”

What about other keys?

“I preach to my guys, ‘Look at the car as if it were your own. What would you do to it to make sure that it’s safe and functional?’ We’re not the cheapest shop in town; we try to put on high-quality parts, but we don’t want to try to oversell anybody.” Instead what Liskey’s does is “over exceed customers’ expectations to get their business.”
Another is a lot of good word-of-mouth advertising. “We’re very fortunate that Dad worked very hard to get the reputation of the shop to where it is today.” So while Liskey’s runs radio and TV ads to keep their name out there, it’s reputation that makes them successful.

Finally, as their ads say, “There is no substitute for quality.”

Carpenter’s final thoughts: “I think that the small, family, independent shop is much more personal than the dealership or a chain. I think there’s more here for us than there is a chain. Your owner of an independent shop is more a part of the community and has more at stake [when it comes to] taking care of that customer.”