Garwin’s Michael Tichy recently opened CarDoc, a full-service auto repair shop, on the former Musgrave Motors site on Highway 63 in Toledo. Tichy leans on his 1966 Ford Galaxy Hot Rod, which he has worked on rebuilding over the past few years. CarDoc was officially opened on May 17th and is available Mon-Fri from 8 p.m. to 6 p.m. for all general car repair or maintenance work. Darvin Graham / News Chronicle
The vehicle service landscape in Tama-Toledo was strengthened by one workshop last month with the opening of CarDoc in Toledo. Owner Michael X. Tichy begins his career as an entrepreneur and full-time mechanic with his newly established company, which operates out of Galen Musgrave’s auto repair shop, the former Musgrave Motors location on Highway 63 in Toledo.
Tichy runs the business together with his father Michael J. Tichy. The two have been working on vehicles together since Michael, the younger, was little and grew up on the farm. Tichy is from Garwin and graduated from GMG High School in 2016.
Although the entire three-story garage is occupied by CarDoc, Musgrave remains the owner of the building and is available to Tichy as an experienced advisor if necessary.
Musgrave, 66, began cutting down on his business in 2018 when Brent Wilkerson rented part of the Musgrave Motors garage for his company, Wilk’s Repair.
Wilkerson ran Wilk’s Repair for a little over two years before leaving the business in March to work for a local contractor.
Growing up on a farm, Tichy inherited a great deal of mechanical knowledge and skill from his father and the machines and motors they would need at home.
Tichy entered an automotive program at Des Moines Area Community College shortly after high school and graduated from an Associates in Applied Science in Automotive Mechanics Technology in August 2020. With the degree came the areas of vehicle chassis and drive train, vehicle maintenance and light repairs as well as vehicle engines and tune-up.
Although Tichy entered the DMACC program with a solid foundation of mechanical knowledge, he said the area he learned the most in during his undergraduate studies was working with automotive electrical systems.
In addition to his post-secondary training, Tichy gained mechanical experience at his uncle Tracy Tichy’s company, Tichy Bagger and Trenching, and at Car-X Tire and Auto in Ankeny.
Tichy said he had long dreamed of having his own shop and after completing his apprenticeship at DMACC, he started looking for opportunities nearby.
It just happened the day Musgrave put a rental sign in front of his garage when the Tichys drove around looking for a place for their new business.
As soon as the rental sign was up, it went down again and CarDoc was on its way to the opening day.
CarDoc officially opened on May 17th, and Tichy said traffic had increased steadily for the first few weeks.
As Tichy gained more experience and invested in a career in auto maintenance, he said he learned to appreciate the challenges of working on a variety of vehicles.
“I enjoy the experience of working on different cars”, said Tichy. “There’s always something new to learn and it’s fun to see how every car works a little differently.”
Tichy said one of the advantages of partnering with his father is that they bring different levels of expertise in working with older and newer models of vehicles.
With two of them in the store, you can have an extra pair of hands if needed and another person to man the store while the other may be testing a vehicle or driving to an auto parts store.
According to Tichy, the services at CarDoc will be similar to what the customers of Musgrave Motors were used to. CarDoc strives to provide fast services with care and attention to detail.
Tichy said that oil changes are an important service in their business and that he recently developed a detailed inspection checklist that applies to every vehicle that comes for an oil change to avoid problems with things like brakes, signals, fluids, or batteries.
Prices for an oil change start at $ 20 plus the cost of the oil and oil filter. Tichy said he intends to keep his prices competitive with larger retailers.
Services include, but are not limited to, oil changes, tuning-ups, gearbox work, suspensions, fluid and coolant flushing, tire balancing and repair, and air conditioning work.
The workshop can service both domestic and foreign vehicles and can handle most vehicles up to the size of a pickup truck.
Tichy and his father work in the workshop Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., although they both said they were able and willing to stay past their closing hours to ensure vehicles could be serviced on time or earlier .
When he’s not busy under the hood of a car, Tichy enjoys playing with his dogs, fishing, traps, and playing Warzone on Twitch on the weekends. He currently lives in Clarinda, Iowa, but is looking for a relocation location in or near Tama-Toledo.
Those passing by will notice a vintage red Ford Galaxy car parked at the entrance, greeting visitors entering the parking lot. Michael J. bought the 1966 Ford Hot Rod from a real estate sale several years ago, and he and Michael X worked on it as a project car while Michael X was in college. Michael J. noticed the car as he remembers driving around in one several times as a child. The Galaxy now has a 390 big block engine and remains a project for the two when free time is available.
In the future, Tichy wants to expand the CarDoc business with a view to long-term expansion. For the time being, he hopes that CarDoc in Tama-Toledo can become a mainstay in the automotive services industry by offering quality service at an affordable price.
CarDoc is located on 107 N County Rd. (Highway 63) in Toledo and can be reached at 641-484-3358. Appointments can be made by phone or by visiting the store during business hours (Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. to 6 a.m.). The shop is also on Facebook at CarDoc.
source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/cardoc-takes-off-in-toledo-news-sports-jobs/
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