YORK, Maine — Maine and Tennessee are not too different, according to Blake Hicks, save their proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.
“I do have a beach, that is true,” said Hicks, who moved with his family two years ago from the Volunteer State to York. With them came an idea Hicks had been dreaming of since he was a teenager fixing cars in his high school shop class – a mobile mechanic who came to one’s front door.
Southern Charm Mobile Auto Repair offers much of what a full-service auto shop can, according to Hicks. They are limited only by the ability to lift a car for jobs like engine replacements, but Hicks is hoping to find a solution for that as well.
For now, people with car needs can get their work done right in their driveway or on the roadside, from oil changes to wiper replacements, flat tires, tire rotations, brake repairs and computer diagnostics. He has been booked up in his first weeks open, going around the region from Dover, New Hampshire, to Arundel, Maine, in his 12-foot-long trailer decked out with all his specialty tools.
“Just about everything I needed,” Hicks said. “It’s a rolling shop.”
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Southern Charm Auto Repair concept born in Tennessee
Hicks, 29, said he got into mechanics starting when he was 10 or 11 years old, first on bicycles but soon graduating to go-karts and four-wheelers. He often used his father’s tools.
“He would get mad at us for not putting them back,” Hicks recalled. He also spent time with his grandfather tinkering on his Chevrolet truck.
In high school, Hicks said his house was a hub for his friends to get together and work on cars. He also joined an auto shop class that taught him how to bring broken-down vehicles back to life. The class purchased old cars to be repaired, repainted and sold for money to go towards the program.
“We had three racks in shop class. We were able to do just about anything,” Hicks said.
High school was also where Hicks met his wife Jayme. The two were eventually married and had children while Hicks started his career working in an auto shop.
Hicks said he was probably 18 or 19 when he first started thinking about a mobile automotive business. He said the idea comes from his upbringing, where he was always taught to pull over and help when a person breaks down on the side of the road.
“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Hicks said. “I just never really had the ability to do it, to get it started and off the ground.”
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Two years ago, Hicks said they moved north to his wife’s original hometown of York, her family name being Chase. He said she and her mother had moved to Tennessee years ago and wanted to return to be closer to her family. Hicks took a job at Seacoast Mazda in Portsmouth before going to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to work on heavy machinery.
Family was a big part of the inspiration to finally start Southern Charm Mobile Auto Repair. He said his mother-in-law has five daughters, including two twins with medical issues. He said that can make it difficult to plan simple appointments like an oil change.
“It’s hard for her and my father-in-law to get out of the house with their children,” Hicks said. “Let alone having to worry about their vehicles needing to get repairs.”
This year, Hicks said he decided it was time to give his idea of a mobile auto shop a chance. They purchased the trailer and decked it out with LED lighting and tool storage.
The main toolbox has all Hicks’ most used tools – impact sockets, swivels, torque wrenches, and the like.
“All the ratchets you can imagine,” Hicks said.
Also inside are large containers for used motor oil. Another drawer holds “every adaptor you could think of,” as well as pliers, screwdrivers, pry bars, hammers and picks. The mobile shop also has a welder machine that Hicks has used a few times.
Hicks said the business has received good feedback. His schedule is often booked solid, and his rate-per-hour of $85 is currently cheaper than the typical auto shop, which he estimated was $110. He also charges one $50 travel fee.
While Hicks explores the possibilities of an auto shop on wheels, he said he has enjoyed connecting with his new community.
“I’m just really happy that I was given the opportunity to showcase this and to help people who need help,” Hicks said. “To be able to offer that in your driveway… to be able to alleviate that hassle of that burden is kind of what I wanted to do.”
