Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph CyrOPEN FOR BUSINESS — Dan Soucy, right and his wife Erica have opened Soucy’s Auto Repair and Auto Electronics on 54 North Road. Soucy brings nearly 20 years of experience in the automotive repair business. He opened his doors on Aug. 1 and features all varieties of automotive repair, as well as installation of electronics in vehicles, such as stereo systems and remote car starters.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HOULTON — Dan Soucy knows his way around an automobile. So it only made sense for him to open his own auto repair business — Soucy’s Auto Repair and Auto Electronics.
Soucy launched his 54 North Road, Suite B business on Aug. 1. He is located in the same building as MACS Trading Post.
“We do a full range of auto repair,” he said. “Anything from changing a spark plug to an engine swap.”
His wife, Erica Soucy, handles all of the business paperwork for the company.
Automotive repair is not the only work done at Soucy’s shop. He also specializes in installing automotive electronics, which includes such services as fixing a broken speaker wire, installing back-up cameras and new stereos or putting in a remote car starter.
“There isn’t very much in this area for the auto electronics, so I thought that would be a great addition to the business,” he said.
Recently, he installed updated radios and electronics for the Houlton Police Department’s new cruisers.
Soucy has been in the automotive repair business for as long as he can remember. “I think it’s been close to 18 years,” he said. “Basically, it was right out of high school.”
Soucy has worked at numerous car dealerships and repair business over the years, including the past five years in the local community, but decided the time was right for him to start his own business. He had been looking at a number of locations to open his own shop, and when he learned the North Road location was available for lease, he jumped at the opportunity.
“This is exactly where we wanted to be,” he said. “There has always been some sort of a garage at this location.”
Soucy said he had to do a lot of demolition work inside the building and then construct the layout for his business from the ground up.
“I’ve always been enthused with the way motors work,” he said. “Then I got into the electronics end of it. I love the challenge of chasing down a problem.”
Repair work has evolved dramatically in his 18 years in the business. Check engine lights are some of the biggest reasons people bring their vehicles to mechanics today. That light, however, can mean a myriad of different problems with a vehicle.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph CyrUNDERNEATH — Dan Soucy examines the undercarriage of a vehicle at his new North Road establishment. Issues with rust are one of the primary problems he has seen in today’s vehicles.
“In today’s vehicles, there are hundreds of different reasons for (Check Engine Lights) to come on,” he said. “Without a scan tool, it’s pretty difficult to find the problem. We have one of those here and can help people figure out what is going on with their car or truck.”
Soucy said newer vehicles have so many sensors in them and more are being added on a yearly basis. The most common sensor issues are oxygen sensors, which measure the proportion of oxygen in the gasoline and are used to monitor electronic fuel injection systems and emissions control.
“There’s even a sensor now in some of the newer Chevrolets that measures the temperature of a person’s scalp,” he said.
Soucy said one of the more common problems he has seen in vehicles in recent years is rotting and rusting along the undercarriage of most every vehicle.
“The rot factor has gone way up, and nobody seems to know why,” he said. “Even vehicles that are less than 10 years old are rotting right out.”
Soucy hopes the installation of remote car starters will be a big draw for customers, since many establishments do not do this type of installation.
“There are a couple of different ways you can do them,” he said. “The bypass module is the biggest thing. Defeating the security system to get a vehicle to start without a key can be tricky.”
Many of the newer vehicles have complex, digital keys that have transmitters in them that make getting around the security system even more difficult, he said.
“A remote starter is the same for every vehicle,” he explained. “How you bypass the security system is the challenge.”
Soucy’s Auto Repair and Auto Electronics is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 532-3771.