Community Automotive Repair | Top Shops for Technician Jobs in Grand Rapids, MI

About Us

YOU'LL OFTEN FIND FOOD HERE FOR LUNCH, DONUTS FROM THE LOCAL BAKERIES, COFFEE AND OTHER SNACKS FOR FUN. WE'RE VERY PROFESSIONAL WITH A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR, WE LOVE OUR MECHANIC SHOP PUNS AND WE'RE FULL OF GOOD DAD-JOKES. WE HAVE A SMALL TEAM THAT IS VERY DIVERSE AND WE SUPPORT PEOPLE IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE. COME JOIN US AND MAKE US A BETTER PLACE AND WE PROMISE TO MAKE YOU A BETTER TECHNCIAN AND HELP YOU GROW IN YOUR CAREER. It is our mission at Community Automotive to delight our customers with automotive expertise, excellent service, and thorough communication as we partner with them in the caring of their automotive related needs. Our auto repair shop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, provides the best care drivers can find in the area! Honesty, integrity, and respect will drive our relationships with our customers and employees and permeate all we do. Established in 1975. Community Automotive Repair (CAR) was founded out of a faith-based group formerly referred to as "The Community” in Grand Rapids, MI. Dick Zaagman (owner) began in the early 70s repairing vehicles owned by members of The Community. Members of this group eventually became the first employees of CAR, motivated specifically by a collective agreement to trade their time for minimum wages so most business profits could be poured back into the local neighborhood serving families with the greatest needs. After leaving, The Community, CAR transformed a backyard garage model into what would become the acquisition of a small Unocal 76 service station, later it grew to 8 bays and certified Bosch Auto Service repair shop. We now operate 12 bays. We specialize in imports and performance vehicles. We are a dealership alternative and consider ourselves leading experts in various makes such as: Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, Jaguar, Land Rover, Subaru, Honda, and Toyota. We also offer services for exotic cars and classics. With Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Hybrids starting to increase in production in the mid-2000s, we have started to prepare for servicing these types of vehicles too. We are NOT exclusively a foreign service repair shop; domestic counterparts are welcome.

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Under The Hood

Is the shop heated? Air conditioned?

Our shop is very comfortable, heated, air conditioned, and cleaned twice a week.

What is the size of the team I’d be working with?

Our team consists of: - 7 Technicians - 1 Maintenance Technician - 2 part-time Porters - 2 Service Advisors - 1 Service Manager - 1 Bookkeeper - 1 Business Manager - 1 President

What are the shop hours and what are the shift timeframes?

Open Monday - Friday, 7:00am - 5:30pm (technicians schedule is 7:30am - 5:00pm). We enjoy our weekends with family, friends, hobbies, outdoors, and other relaxing activities.

What tools does the shop provide that are available for all technicians to use?

Too many to list, we're loaded!

What type of break room facility is provided?

Open room with brilliant natural light coming in from the windows. Additional small break room to prepare food and store items. We have a Kurig and provide a variety of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate free for employees; microwave, microwave oven, toaster, fridge/freezer, and utensils all provided.

How many bays does your shop have?

12 bays.

How many repair orders do you average per month?

We're a very busy shop, 344 average monthly repair orders.

What is your parts ordering process?

Service advisors order, handle, and distribute parts to technician shelves. Technicians often request certain parts and state preferences.

What is your policy on side work?

Our employees may use our shop for their own vehicle repairs and immediate family outside of normal business hours or weekends. Shop may not be used to run your own side business.

Are there any other unique features of the work environment worth noting?

We care about mother nature and purposefully have environmentally friendly design and actions. - Use of recycled oil to heat building. - Natural lighting, lots of windows and garage doors are glass. - White roof membrane to reduce urban heat island effect. - Scrap metal recycling. - Tire recycling. - Planter boxes outside. - Follow all EPA guidelines.

Do you offer any skills training or continuing education opportunities?

In our industry it is important that we strive to continuously improve our ability and knowledge while preparing for the future. We provide many opportunities and encourage our team to continually improve through educational experiences, classes, seminars, video training, books, etc. We cover all pre-approved training at 100% of the cost and we pay you to attend training. Additionally, we award bonuses to teammates that complete 40 hours or greater of training per year.

Can you describe opportunities for career growth at your business?

- ASE certification support. - Apprenticeship program in partnership with NAPA AutoCare Solutions. - Elite Business Coaching - classes, videos, articles, etc. for continual growth and leadership training. - Multiple subscriptions and partnerships available to employees for continual ed.

Can you describe your performance review process?

Daily billed hours tracking in real time. Weekly metrics provided for performance. Quarterly feedback and goals progress review.

What type of safety training is required?

General industry safety training and on-going monthly safety topics cover relevant safety information.

Can you describe how Techs work with and mentor younger techs?

We have one Lead Technician that helps during orientation and on-going training. Other technicians offer advise and help as needed. We are a team oriented shop so everyone helps each other and shares their strengths with each other.

How does your shop get involved with the local community?

We service our community with a strong emphasis on a local non-profit called Inter City Christian Foundation (ICCF). We service their fleet of vehicles and financially donate to their organization. We attend a once a year dinner and fundraiser. We support Local First, an organization focused on increasing business and purchasing from local nearby businesses.

Do you do anything with local high schools or tech schools to encourage more students to enter the profession?

We have been involved with local tech schools and high schools as mentors, guest speakers, teachers, and provide opportunities for internships.

Where do you see the shop in five years?

We see our shop growing and improving in the following areas: 1. Space and amenities 2. Customer Service (creating an uncommon and unforgettable customer experience) 3. Increased community support.

Do you have an application form and how long does it typically take to complete?

Yes, about 15-30 minutes.

Do you phone screen applicants before doing in-person interviews?

Yes

What do your in-person interviews entail?

Tour of shop, introduction to some of the team, sit-down interview with 2-3 individuals. Sometimes we invite applicants to work a 2-4 hours shift to get a general feeling of the work environment and to provide us the chance to assess the candidates capabilities and competencies.

Do you perform background checks, drug screening, or personality tests before hiring an applicant?

Criminal background checks, Motor Vehicle Record checks, DiSC Personality Profiles, and pre-employment drug screen.

Do you perform a skill assessment before hiring an applicant? If yes, what does it entail?

Yes, one written self-assessment and possible on-site work assessment.

After an in-person interview, approximately how long should I expect to wait for a rejection or an offer?

Depends on how many candidates we have in our interview process, but often 1-2 days.

Approximately how long does the full hiring process take from submitting the application to the time of the hiring decision?

Depends, could be 1-5 days or a couple weeks. We prefer to work rapidly and quickly on hiring the right fit individual.

A Level Technician Pay Range: $80,000 - $120,000/year

- Flat rate pay with increasing increments based on hours billed during week. - Rolling 4 week bonus pay eligible once 50 hours billed time is reached. Annual bonus potential of about $7,800. - Bi-weekly payroll.

B Level Technician Pay Range: $47,500 - $67,500/year

- Flat rate pay with increasing tiers based on hours billed per week. - Rolling four week billed hours bonuses with annual potential of $3,900. - Bi-weekly payroll.

Service Advisor Pay Range: $45,000 - $72,000/year

Base wage: $45,000 - $50,000 annual salary. Starting wage is based on equivalent experience. Commission: $3.25 per hour sold with minimum of 80 hours sold during the pay week. Service advisor must sell 80 hours minimum per week to be eligible for commission for that pay week. Each pay week starts on Monday and ends Sunday. However we do not have weekend hours so often selling happens between Monday – Friday. Below is a sample chart of hours sold and commission per hours sold.

Health Insurance Offered: Your health and the health of your significant others is important to us. That is why we offer a reliable health insurance plan – Priority Health HMO a. Single plan monthly premium: $459.35, Employee pays $106.00 per check b. Double plan monthly premium: $1,075.55, Employee pays $254.40, per check c. Family plan monthly premium: $1,299.64, Employee pays $307.41, per check d. 8/1 renewal, non-aggregate deductible. e. Eligibility Waiting Period: First day after 90 days. Priority Health is one of the leading health insurance providers in the greater Grand Rapids area. Plan contract supersedes any descriptions set forth here.
Dental Insurance Offered: We work with an independent insurance agent that coordinates group rates for us on dental insurance. This benefit is supplied to employees as an elective benefit. Employees pay for the benefit premium through payroll deduction.
Vision Insurance Offered: We work with an independent insurance agent that coordinates our vision insurance. This benefit is supplied to employees as an elective benefit as a rider option with dental. Employees pay for the benefit premium through payroll deduction.
Retirement Plan Offered: It is good to save for the future, so we provide an IRA (traditional and ROTH) Retirement Plan with Safe Harbor Match, 100% match on first 3% and 50% match on anything over 3% up to 5%. Waiting period is one year of employment. 100% vested, no vesting schedule.
Sick Leave Offered: Unpaid sick leave is offered case by case.
Vacation Offered: Excellent paid vacation 5 -15 days. Upon hire, vacation days provided are based on previous years equivalent experience. Paid vacation is equivalent to 8 hours of pay per day and paid at average hourly rate.
Paid Holidays Offered: Six paid holidays: New Years, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
ST / LT Disability Offered: We offer a supplemental insurance with Colonial Life that employees may elect. This benefit is provided at a group rate, employee pays premium through payroll deduction. Waiting period is 90 days.
Life Insurance Offered: We offer a supplemental insurance with Colonial Life that employees may elect. This benefit is provided at a group rate, employee pays premium through payroll deduction. Waiting period is 90 days.
Uniforms Offered: We present ourselves professionally and make it easy for customers to know who works at Community Automotive so we provide uniforms and a weekly service to laundry your uniforms. We make this easy by having a provider pick up your laundry at work and this in turn keeps your home clean and your washer/dryer free from oily and grimy uniforms. Technicians share uniform cost at 50% bi-weekly deduction through payroll
Other Offered: RELOCATION ASSISTANCE If you're relocating to West Michigan we can help. Please ask for details as each circumstance is different and not all relocations are the same. CONTINUAL TRAINING In our industry it is important that we strive to continuously improve our ability and knowledge while preparing for the future. We provide many opportunities and encourage our team to continually improve through educational experiences, classes, seminars, video training, books, etc. We cover all pre-approved training at 100% of the cost and we pay you to attend training. Additionally, we award bonuses to teammates that complete 40 hours or greater of training per year. INSURANCE Tool Coverage – Comprehensive general liability insurance in case of fire, theft, etc.