By Barbara Scott
Staff Writer
“We’ve been very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Rick and Justin, helping them to be able to expand their automotive repair business at the same time bringing it to Caribou,” said Eric Scott, loan officer with the Northern Maine Development Corporation. “I think the community will be very pleased with the services offered here as Rick and Justin are both very dedicated and service-oriented individuals.”
Aroostook Republican photo/Barb Scott
Participating in the grand opening ceremony of Caribou Auto Repair and Service on Feb. 16 were, from left, front row, Lisa Cantafio, Rhonda Bell, Katelyn Bell, co-owners Justin and Rick Bell, and Eric Scott. Back row: Danny Bell, Rick Solman, Kim Jones, Peggy Smith, Jennifer Craig, Ken Murchison, Steve Buck and Troy Heald.
Scott was speaking in reference to Caribou’s newest business CARS (Caribou Auto Repair Service) located at 13 Laurette Street, owned and operated by father and son team of Rick and Justin Bell, who held their grand opening on Feb. 16.
“For me personally,” stated Justin, “I have always wanted to own and run my own business. I do have some history in Caribou, working at Midas from 2000-04, where I enjoyed the work and the customers. While employed at Midas, I had the opportunity to do everything the manager did — from answering the phone, writing estimates, invoicing, doing stock orders, scheduling, and speaking with customers, to actually doing repair work,” he added.
“I had a strong desire to get back to doing the same thing I had enjoyed so many years ago. The customers are great — many of them still remember me and the work I did for them even today — and many asked me to contact them if I did get a shop of my own. Well — here I am and ironically I am back in Caribou, not too far from where I previously worked,” the younger Bell said.
Rick Bell has worked mostly for himself over the years, farming for three years prior to going into logging, which resulted in owning and operation his own sawmill. “The sawmill was one of those businesses that took off by itself,” said Rick, “at its peak, my partner and I employed 12 people operating two shifts.
“There are many garages, barns, decks and even one or two houses that were constructed with my lumber that I sawed. While cutting my own lumber, I also sold and serviced used tires for cars, pickups, farm tractors and trailer trucks,” he added. “I also did all my own mechanical repairs myself over the years on everything from chainsaws to heavy equipment. I look forward to working in Caribou with my son.”
Residents of Wade, Justin said after both he and his father were laid-off from work at the Maine Military Authority, the duo established Dunntown Automotive LLC in April of 2008. In March of last year both were again laid off and decided to operate their own business full-time.
“We have been working with NMDC since we got laid off,” stated Justin, “to be able to acquire more equipment for our shop located in Wade. After many hours of discussion with Eric (Scott) from NMDC, both my father and I agreed, our location was hurting us.”
“So the hunt began,” said Justin, “we looked high and low starting in Presque Isle — touring several buildings throughout the PI area, but none were a good fit for our needs. We were close to purchasing extra equipment for our original shop until we got a phone call from Eric saying, ‘I found a building and you need to come look at it.’ Dad and I jumped in the car and immediately went over to see it — it was perfect, just the right size, right price and most importantly — right location — and as they say, ‘the rest is history,’” Justin added.
Caribou Auto Repair Service offers a wide variety of services including oil changes, headlight alignment, custom exhaust, shock and struts, CV and drive shafts; engine tune ups, brakes and brake-line repair, tire mounting, balancing and repair, heater cores, radiators, water pumps and much more, including state inspections in the near future.
“We also offer small engine tune-ups and we will service lawnmowers, mower decks, bearings; chainsaws, etc. and light welding, and blade sharpening,” said Rick. “If you aren’t sure it’s a service we offer,” he added, “call us. If we don’t have the right equipment then we will try to find someone who does.”
“Our number-one goal is making sure our customers are happy and satisfied,” said Justin. “We are working with the public and knowing that everyone has different needs and being able to work with our customers one-on-one makes for a better experience for everyone,” he added.
“In the future we hope to expand our business to add another bay (or two), which will create one or two more jobs and at the same time allow us to better serve our customers,” stated Justin. “We will always offer free written estimates and more importantly work with our customers, ensuring they get the work they need done on their vehicles, at a reasonable cost.”
Business hours at Caribou Auto Repair Service are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to noon. The shop can be reached by phone at 498-4141 or by emailing caribouautorepair@gmail.com.
