"I got my house paid off, went debt free, and I decided that if I ever wanted to give up a boss, this was the time to do it," he said.
Now in his fifth year as a business owner, Esry said he has experienced steady growth year to year, which will most likely lead to the addition of a second technician.

Currently, Esry said he is pushing out eight to 10 cars a week, a number he said could be much higher if he didn't have to wear so many hats. 

 
"There are days I come into work at 9 and the phone starts ringing at 9:01," he said. "I might be on the phone until 3, and I never left the desk and still have six hours of solid work ahead of me. A six-hour job can easily turn into a 10-hour job."

Esry said his daughter Ashley, a sophomore in high school, may help fill the extra technician spot by coming to work for him this summer. "She excelled in the automotive classes at high school," he said. "Next year she will be a cadet teacher for the class, and I think working here will give her a better understanding of the industry, as well as help me out in the shop."

Esry's wife, Rita Jean, is also involved in the business, Esry said, taking  care of all the bookwork and equipment purchases. Her latest purchase, a BendPak scissor lift, became a perfect second lift, he said, adding that it's great for brakes, tires, and front-end work, along with being a great space saver.

"I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this lift," he said. "I have worked under scissor lifts before, but none of them compared to this one."

Esry, who got involved in the automotive industry in high school, has spent time at various dealerships, including Chevrolet, SAAB, Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus.

"The more I worked on European cars, the more I loved them," said Esry, adding that he has gone through BMW and Lexus training schools to hone his skills. 

"Automotive repair is not just about taking something off and putting it back together," he said. "You have to understand what is causing the problem. For what you have to know in automotive repair, other trades only have to know a tenth. Not to mention that we get the least amount of respect--I think the automotive technician ranks right above the used-car salesman."

Esry said he has built a good rapport with his customers, which has resulted in increased business through word of mouth. Other than that, he said he only runs a Yellow Book ad to promote his business.

"I don't even have a sign out front," he said. "A sign out front would help bring more customers, but the word-of-mouth (method) has gotten so tremendous. Perhaps if I had two technicians, it would be worth it, but I am busy enough as it is."

Esry said the biggest advantage to working on European cars is the customer base he has developed.

"Everybody has been really good," he said. "These owners get involved with their cars, they like to help out with parts, and they love their cars." 

 
Parts availability and access to repair information on the other hand can make working on European cars difficult, said Esry, who turns to WorldPac and local dealerships for his parts and AllData for vehicle information.

Esry said another struggle is the world economy and the value of the dollar.

"We are basically two dollars to the British pound," he said. "We are getting slaughtered all over the place. My parts prices change daily because of the exchange rate."

Although Esry said parts availability, access to information, and the world economy can make working on European cars difficult, he said it is nice that the import automakers there tend to hold onto the cars for five years to discover the bugs.

"Five years is enough time to get program and software problems solved," he said. "There are tech bulletins on problems they have seen already, and if you don't read your tech bulletins, you could end up wasting a lot of time chasing something down that somebody else already beat their head against the wall over." 

 
To combat the ever evolving changes in the automotive industry, Esry said he reads all the trade magazines he can get his hands on. 

"Some of these cars now are pretty complicated, and frustration can set in," he said. "Late-model Mercedes don't even have an oil dipstick anymore; you have to go to the instrument cluster and go through a specific procedure just to check the oil."