Sacramento, Calif.--When John Ralich, owner of Silver Star Motors in Sacramento, first came to the United States from his native Yugoslavia in 1972, he was only 19 years old and knew very little about the American way of life, he said. Luckily though, he had a skill, and that was fixing cars.
“I was always working on cars for as long as I can remember,” Ralich said. “In Yugoslavia, I worked on everything, including Peugeots, Renaults, Porsches, Volkswagens. Back then, the vehicles were a little simpler to repair because in my country people drive older cars, which are easier to fix. Those were the cars I learned about by working on them.”
On coming to America, Ralich said he worked for eight years as a technician for a Mercedes-Benz dealership and then for an independent repair shop in the Sacramento area. He said he then decided to start his own Mercedes-only repair shop in 1981. It was a huge risk, but it’s paid off handsomely over the years, he said.
“We’ve done better every year since I opened the doors 28 years ago,” he said. “We’re doing 10-15 cars per day now and have built a very large customer base. Our motto is, ‘If it has a star on it, we’ll fix it.’”
Silver Star operates from a 5,000-square-foot facility with six bays and employs five people, including four technicians and a counterman, Ralich said.
During his first year in business, Ralich, 56, said he learned the value of good, old-fashioned American journalism, when the local daily newspaper, The Sacramento Bee, wrote an article about Silver Star Motors.
“They did a story about a young immigrant from Yugoslavia coming here and working hard to build his business and be a part of the American Dream,” he said. “It really helped me get customers because a lot of people read it. That’s when I learned the importance of getting your name out there.”
Subsequently, Ralich said he started an aggressive advertising and marketing campaign, running ads on radio stations and on the local public television station in town, as well as doing fliers and print advertising.
“At the beginning, we did a lot of advertising,” he said. “But now we rely almost entirely on word-of-mouth. Mercedes-Benz owners are a tight group, and if you do a good job, they have no problem recommending you to other Mercedes owners.”
Ralich works on any make or model of Mercedes and does some BMWs, although it’s a very small part of his revenue mix, he said. He loves Mercedes and the way they’re built, he said.
“The majority of the Mercedes we work on are from the early ’90s up through the around 2006,” he said. “They’re wonderful cars that will last forever if you maintain them. I saw a 1975 300D with more than a million miles on it, and it was still running strong, so that shows you how durable these vehicles are.”
One reason for Silver Star’s success is Ralich’s ability to find and retain good technicians, he said.
“Two of my guys have been here for more than 22 years, and most of my people stay at least 10 years,” he said. “It’s not easy to find good techs, but once you do, you have to hold on to them. The people I have now don’t want to leave because I treat them well.”
Ralich said he pays all of his technicians hourly, although he used to work on a flat-rate basis himself and prefers it.
“I like the flat rate, but they don’t,” he said. “I loved working flat rate when I was at the Mercedes dealership because it made me think and innovate ways to get the work done faster.
But these guys want a steady paycheck, and who can blame them? They want to be able to go home and sleep comfortably at night while I do all the thinking. It works well.”
Diagnostics is a big part of the overall workload at Silver Star, Ralich said. Five years ago, it made up 30 percent of his business, he said, while today it accounts for more than half.
“If you diagnose correctly, you can make money,” he said. “But if you misdiagnose, you can lose your shirt. Mistakes can kill you, absolutely. Many of these computer modules cost $1,000 or more, and once you plug it in, you can’t return it.”
Ralich has invested an enormous amount of time and money into becoming skilled at diagnostics, he said. “We’ve got over $35,000 in diagnostic equipment, and we’re constantly reading and learning more all the time. We use the Mercedes-Benz Vehicle Information System (VIS) and AllData as a secondary source in order to diagnose any year and model Mercedes that comes through the door.”
Being adept at diagnostics is crucial to his shop’s survival, Ralich said. “A lot of European shops focus on the mechanical side, and they’re very good at it,” he said. “But, then they’re lost when it comes to the electronics side. We pride ourselves on knowing these systems inside and out. The newer the cars, the more complicated their electronics, so you have to be on your toes and picking up new information all the time.”
Another thing that Ralich said he prides himself on and continually stresses to his employees is shop cleanliness. “Many shops have reputations for being grease pits where you can slide and glide around on the floor,” he said. “We keep this shop spotless all of the time. I’ve had female customers tell me that our shop is cleaner than their house.”
When it comes to parts, Ralich said he bucks the current trend and carries a significant inventory. “I have almost a half a million dollars in parts here at the shop,” he said. “It’s really more than I should carry, but I like to have certain things on hand; it just makes life easier.”
Ralich said he orders the majority of his parts from four sources--Mercedes-Benz of Sacramento, WorldPac, SSF Auto Parts, and IMC. He prefers OE over aftermarket for most parts but has had good success with recycled parts in some instances, he said.
“We use recycled parts on rare occasions where we can find good quality on things that have a limited chance of failing, like suspension parts and differentials, things like that,” Ralich said.
What does the future hold for Ralich and Silver Star Motors?
“I have no plans to retire any time soon,” he said. “As long as I still enjoy what I’m doing, you can find me here.”
