STILLWATER, Okla. —
Christy’s Auto Repair has been helping customers with car issues for 25 years. The shop opened in 1985 and was located in town for its first four years, but moved in 1989 to Lake McMurtry Road.
The owner, Bob Christy, has seen a steady flow of customers over the years.
“We stay as busy as we need by word of mouth,” Christy said. “We have never needed (to advertise). We’ve been very fortunate through the years.”
Christy grew up in Oklahoma City and came to Oklahoma State University for school. He had originally started his automotive career at a dealership, where he was a mechanic. A few short jobs later, Christy had moved back to Stillwater and had trouble finding anything due to the “oil bust”, which left the technical trade area with no openings. Christy attributes this and other reasons to his current business.
“Lack of options,” said Christy. “So, I came back to Stillwater and there wasn’t anything really available, so I started my own shop.”
Christy’s Auto Repair does all the basics of an automative shop such as oil changes, tune-ups and brakes. The summer heat has given Christy a lot of certain repair jobs.
“Well, right now it’s air conditioners,” Christy said with a laugh.
Besides Christy, there are only one or two people working at the shop. Christy only employs one person full-time, however he seems to enjoy the setup.
“This is a manageable thing for me,” Christy said. “At one point, when we were in town, I had more people working for me. And it became higher stress than what I wanted to deal with, so we scaled back when we moved the shop out here. The older I get the more I’m probably going to need more help in the shop. So, probably, at some point, we’ll be looking for another full-time mechanic.”
Christy and company repair and service five to six cars daily on average. The shop itself sits right next door to Christy’s home.
“Having a shop at your home, you never really get away from work,” said Christy. “But at the same time, it’s very convenient. I mean, I walk to work every day.”
Living so close to the workplace has had its downside for Christy and his wife, Allison.
“It’s tough sometimes because we usually have quite a few cars and therefore the driveway gets pretty plugged,” said Christy. “So, sometimes, first thing in the morning, we have to go move cars so she can get out to go to work.”
Christy relies on his customers and their referrals to keep the business steady.
“We’ve had a good customer base through the years,” he said. “And that is probably the one thing that keeps me going right now is the customer base and the return customers. We have been very blessed through the years. We’ve stayed busy and that’s all I can ask.”
Christy loves the atmosphere of Stillwater and how it fits him and his business.
“Stillwater is a great place to live,” said Christy. “I’ve only lived two other places and I wouldn’t go back to either one of those. It just wasn’t for me. We like it. We get the bigger town stuff, but it’s still a small town feel.”
Whether Christy is working on a Stillwater resident’s car or someone’s in a neighboring city, he tries his best to keep the customer satisfied.
“I try to be honest with people and keep them informed along the repair process,” said Christy. “Not always successful, but I do the best that I can. And people seem to appreciate that. Almost everybody understands that we are just trying to make a living. I’m not trying to look at retiring off any one person or anything, so we try to be fair with the customers and in turn, they are fair with us. I just want them to feel like they are treated here the way that I would want them to treat me.”
Christy’s Auto Repair is open Monday through Friday 8 am to 5:30 pm. For more information, call 405-624-0506.
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