SPOTLIGHT ON KILLARA GARAGE

Killara Garage has been a successful independent European service specialist and dealer alternative since 2004 and for owner Rafael Jelich, it all began servicing Volvo’s as a 16 year old.

Raf began his apprenticeship with Concourse Volvo, a dealership in Haberfeld Sydney in 1986 where he learnt, nearly exclusively, the ins and outs of servicing and repairing Volvo’s.

These first years gave Raf a great base but wanting to gain experience in other makes, in 1991 he found a position at Pacific Motors, a general service specialist that leaned toward European vehicles.

The owners must have been impressed with Raf’s work ethic and business nouse, and by 1999 he took over as the Workshop Manager, a position he held until 2004 when Pacific Motors decided to relocate. At that time, Raf took stock of where he was at from a career perspective and where he wanted to be.

“Pacific Motors relocating gave me the catalyst to take the leap into business ownership. I had effectively been running a workshop, taking the responsibility for its success and putting in the long hours. I felt my experience and hard work could be channeled better as an owner, motivating me further and providing opportunity to see the reward for those efforts.

Raf partnered with two previous bosses to start Killara Garage. Building the new business from scratch, the biggest question was how to attract new customers.

Unlike most states, NSW has compulsory yearly safety inspections of all vehicles older than 5 years old, before you can renew your registration. Killara Garage capitalised on this with a very simple catch phrase placed on a sandwich board out the front that said ‘Rego’s while you wait”.

This quick turnaround offer proved to be a golden ticket for attracting new customers, as did opening on Saturday morning. Retaining those customers came from quality work, fair prices and great communication. Word of mouth soon became a fantastic business multiplier.

The other major challenge in the first years was making the partnership work.

“We all had different personalities and to a certain extent different ideas about how to best run the business, so this took some communication on all sides to move forward,” said Raf.

Form that first year with a team of four, year by year the business continued to grow and today the team is eight strong, consisting of a service manager, book keeper, three qualified technicians and three apprentices. Raf is also now the sole owner of the business, the other two partners having moved on.

“A CAR IS USUALLY THE MOST COMPLEX PIECE OF MACHINERY PEOPLE OWN.”

“We are seeing an average of about 12 cars a day in and out from a servicing/repair perspective, plus 5 more coming in for the rego while you wait option. We are a one stop mechanical shop, and do virtually everything in house from engine rebuilds, to gearboxes and transmission work and electrics through to new tyres and wheel alignments.”

Having half of his workshop staff as apprentices may raise eyebrows of other business owners, but the apprentice issue is one that Raf has given a lot of thought to.

“One of the biggest issues across the industry is the difficulty in finding good qualified technicians. Well trained technicians are assets to a business and don’t often move on.”

“The first thing I say to industry colleagues, is ‘put apprentices on’. They respond that they don’t have the time, it costs the business money or there will be some disaster, etc.”

“Ultimately though, if you don’t put effort into training people, you won’t get the quality mechanics that are in

need now and in the future. There is challenges choosing the apprentice course, but persevering pays off as a business, and as an industry.”

“I lost two technicians a couple of years ago and there is no doubt it’s disappointing when you have put in so much training and fostered an apprentice only to have them leave, but the alternative is you may not have anyone to fill roles in your business for the future.”

“I’d love to see changes in the apprenticeship side of the industry that not only encourages the next generation to take up trades, but also mechanisms that better protect the investment trade business owners of all types are making with their apprentices.”

Independent workshops continue to face other challenges.

“With manufacturers offering longer new car warranties, in some cases out to 7 years, it makes the life of independent workshops harder to lure these owners away from dealerships, so we have to push the benefits of why we are great dealership alternatives.” “From price to convenience, the diversity of the offer (such as tyres and wheel alignments), lower service lead times, accountability, the fact you are a small family owned business and the personal attention are all great facets to spruik.”

“Stand by everything you do. Communicating on the customer’s level is particularly important to build rapport and trust.

As is the case in many industries, it is those who can adapt and embrace the changes in the automotive industry that will thrive.

In a twist on the usual forward thinking requirement, Raf finds it interesting to consider that there is going to be a call for ‘old school’ mechanics, skilled in the art of carburetors and older vehicles as these mechanics retire, with many of these skills starting to be lost.

One thing is for certain, Raf and Killara Garage will continue to proudly represent the industry they love and they look forward to the future.

MECHANIC SPOTLIGHT – KILLARA GARAGE RICHARD MINACA

As the old saying goes, you are only as strong as your team, and technician Richard Minaca is undoubtedly an important component of the success of Killara Garage, through his experience, skill and dedication to quality work.

Nickname - ‘Carlos’

Why did you decide to become an automotive technician? I had a passion for cars from an early age. My father and brother always tinkered with cars and I did the same.

How long have you been an automotive technician? I started my apprenticeship with Killara Garage 14 years ago and here I am still going strong!

What do you enjoy most about your job? I like the challenges of working on newer generation cars. The technology keeps evolving, so we have to keep evolving our knowledge at the same time. Do you have an area of special expertise within your job? I generally tackle the larger jobs, such as engine rebuilds but I am experienced in all areas of service and repair.

What car you own? I don’t actually own a car at the moment!

Dream car? When I was younger I used to enjoy and own an S13 Nissan Silvia, but my dream car would be a R34 Nissan Skyline GTR.

What you do in your spare time for fun? I enjoy travelling both interstate and overseas.