Gene Brinkman
Founder
Opened the shop in 1994. Officially retired; still does Saturday oil changes. Don't tell his cardiologist.
About the shop
Two Generations, One Rule: the Estimate Is the Bill
Beaverdale neighborhood, Des Moines · since 1994
Gene Brinkman opened the shop in 1994 with one bay, a used compressor, and a rule he’d learned the hard way as a customer: tell people the price first, and make the estimate the bill. Thirty-two years later the compressor’s been replaced. The rule hasn’t.
Why we text inspection photos: years ago a customer came in shaken — a shop across town had shown her a dirty air filter (not hers, it turned out) and a $900 list. Matt started photographing everything we find on the actual car, texting it with prices, and letting people decide from their own kitchen table. It became the way we do everything. Nobody should have to take a mechanic’s word for it — including ours.
We live here. We coach here. We fix the cars of people who wave at us at the Hy-Vee — which is the best quality-control program ever invented.
Who’s in the bays
The Crew
Matt Brinkman
Owner · ASE Master Technician
Started sweeping these bays at twelve. Took the keys in 2016 — and kept the estimate-is-the-bill rule.
Hector Alvarez
ASE Master Technician
Fifteen years here. The transmission whisperer. If Hector says it's the torque converter, it's the torque converter.
Carrie Voss
Service Advisor
Translates tech into English, sends your inspection photos, and never sells you the flush you don't need.
Sam Petersen
Technician
Everyone calls him Tiny. He is not. Handles the trucks, the lifts, and the shop playlist — two of those well.
On the wall, not just the website
Certifications & Promises
- ASE-Certified technicians, two ASE Masters — recertified on schedule, certificates on the office wall.
- 3-year / 36,000-mile nationwide warranty — parts and labor, in writing, on every invoice.
- Written estimate before work, your OK before anything happens — the two-step that never gets skipped.
- Fully insured shop — and your car stays inside overnight, not on the lot.
Around the neighborhood: we sponsor a Beaverdale Little League team, run a winter coat drive out of the waiting room every November, and every fall you’ll find us — and the parts truck — at the neighborhood festival. First summer job? We hire two students from Hoover High every year. Ask for the application at the counter.
Come meet us — the coffee’s bad, the answers are straight
Call before 10am and most repairs go out the same day — we'll tell you before you drop off, not after.