By LOIS KINDLE
Melissa Canfield and her husband, Joe, recently bought At Home Auto Care from longtime owners Julie and Lee Gale. The couple subsequently rebranded the business as a franchise of Grease Monkey, an international chain of automotive service centers offering oil changes, preventive maintenance and other car care services.
But other than its new name, nothing much will change, Canfield said.
“The Gales were ready to retire, and we wanted to continue their great legacy with the same staff and great technicians,” she added. “Don Zizelman stayed on as service advisor and Samantha Lasher as office manager. We’ll be providing established customers and new ones, alike, with consistent, high-quality service.”
This is not the couple’s first rodeo. In fact, they had already been in the automotive repair industry for 17 years as the owner/operators of HiTech Automotive in Brandon. They sold the shop last year, planning to retire, but within nine months they were ready to get back into the business.
“It just didn’t take,” Canfield said.
Now in addition to established repair services, the Canfields are offering express oil changes for walk-in customers, which include a multi-point inspection, lube, oil and filter.
“Joe has more than 30 years of experience with HiTech, Goodyear and Sears Automotive as a mechanic and service advisor,” Canfield said. “We can do exactly what a dealer can but at a fraction of the cost, and we can work on 90% of the cars on the road, including European models like Mercedes, Audi and BMW.”
Grease Monkey offers the following services: Air conditioning repairs, alignments, battery sales and installation; brake repairs, engine diagnostics and engine replacement; fuel and emission cleaning, headlight restoration and lighting repair; power-steering fluid flushes, radiator flushes/fills and cap replacement and serpentine belt replacement; service maintenance, tire rotation/repairs and replacement and suspension repairs; wheel balancing and alignment, wiper blade replacement and more.
COURTESY PHOTO
Melissa Canfield and her husband Joe want to meet your automotive repair and maintenance needs at Grease Monkey, formerly At Home Auto Care, 2003 U.S. 41 S, Ruskin.
All repairs and service are reported to CARFAX.
Apollo Beach resident Jennifer King recently needed to replace four Pirelli tires on her 2019 Mercedes E450. After getting a quote from the dealership for $2,400, she called Grease Monkey to see if the Canfield could do better.
“They found, replaced, aligned and balanced four Pirelli tires within 48 hours for $1,700,” King said. “They saved me $700.
“It was a nice opportunity to try them out,” she continued. “I’m 100% sure I’ll return if I need anything else done on my car.”
The new owners enjoy being part of the community.
Grease Monkey International LLC is the nation’s largest independent franchisor of automotive oil change centers, with more than 500 operating throughout the country and abroad. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Denver.
The family-owned and -operated Grease Monkey franchise at 2003 U.S. 41 S, Ruskin, is currently a member of the South Hillsborough and Greater Riverview chambers of commerce and plans to join the Southshore Chamber soon.
“We like to be involved and want to give back to the community,” said Canfield, who’s about to finish her term as the honorary mayor of Brandon.
Grease Monkey’s hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. All major credit cards are accepted. To make an appointment, call (813) 645-0339.
“Give us a call,” Canfield said. “We look forward to hearing from you.”