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CONTACT:
Kelly Kolhagen
Phone: 248-425-6681
E-mail: [email protected]
ACDelco Features Young Entrepreneur Who Was Driven to Succeed
Grand Blanc, Mich. – Andrew Sexton and his father always tinkered with cars in
the family’s barn – not as a hobby, but as a necessity. “We weren’t a very wealthy
family or anything, so we had to fix our own cars just to keep them on the road,”
he said.
Sexton had no idea he’d eventually
use those skills to open his own
automotive service shop – ATS
Automotive in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Sexton opened the shop in 2009 at
the age of 21, thanks in large part
to encouragement from his fiancé,
Jennifer Johanns.
“She really reinforced that I was a
great tech, I knew what I was
doing. She told me, just, you know,
let’s quit, let’s start a shop and
that’s what we did.”
Sexton is the third young auto service professional featured in “The Part That Built
Me,” a video series developed by ACDelco to honor the work of technicians and
encourage young people to pursue careers as automotive technicians. (Watch at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cY0M4PIn1g)
Five years later, ATS Automotive is growing every year, thanks to loyal customers
who continually refer new clients.
“It was the scariest thing I’ve probably ever done in my life,” said Sexton, an ASEcertified technician. “But owning your own business is the best thing in the world. I
love being able to help a wider range of people.
“We just want to keep growing and just keep that small-town mentality that we’re
going to take care of that customer, we’re going to take care of you.”
Sexton said a big part of taking care of customers is using the right parts. He uses
ACDelco parts for almost every job because “using inferior parts is not taking care
of anybody.”
Customer Thad C. praised Sexton and ATS Automotive on the online review site
Yelp:
I had car trouble on the way home … from Christmas vacation. I had AAA tow me
to ATS Automotive in Cedar Rapids because they were open until 6 pm on Fridays. I
got there about 5:15 p.m., and ASE-certified technician Andrew Sexton stayed late
to figure out what was wrong with my truck.
Even though they are normally closed on Saturdays, Andrew came in on Saturday
morning to get me on the road again. I was guessing my bill would be $360, and it
turned out to be only $205. Awesome service and great pricing. I highly
recommend ATS Automotive if you are anywhere near Cedar Rapids, IA.
Those are the kinds of testimonials that make Sexton happy he and Johanns
followed their dreams, took the plunge and opened the shop.
“You know, we get to know [our customers] and they’re just like family. You can
always just stop in even if your car is running just fine. Just come down and say
hi.”
ACDelco is the exclusive Original Equipment parts brand for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac, as well
as provider of premium aftermarket parts for most other makes and models. Other available applications
include off-road, marine and industrial. With a century of history behind it and nearly 90,000 parts across
37 product lines, ACDelco is the preferred choice of professional technicians and do-it-yourselfers in
more than 100 countries. To find an ACDelco Professional Service Center program participant or parts
retailer, visit acdelco.com or call 1-800-ACDELCO. Find ACDelco on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and
Twitter.
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