“It’s not rocket science,” Enio Reyna — co-owner, with Oscar Alvarado, of the new Hartsdale Auto Service – said of car repair. But for most people, a good mechanic is a must. So it should come as no surprise that the partners are seeing steady business since they leased the garage on the lip of East Hartsdale Avenue Oct. 1. (Separately, the spot includes a Mobil gas station — where Reyna’s uncle, Oswaldo Escobar, works — with plans for a Chestnut Market.)
Location, location, location: The new business, in the Greenburgh hamlet of Hartsdale, is diagonally across from a Harlem Line Metro-North Railroad station and just feet away from the Bronx River Parkway on a part of the thoroughfare often called “Restaurant Row” that connects Greenburgh with Scarsdale.
“It’s a great location on a busy street,” said Reyna, who first encountered it as a 14 year old pumping gas at the station, which is where he fell in love with cars. “I was looking for a shop for five years. I knew as soon as it went on the market, I was primed to get it.”
The two men, Guatemalan immigrants, bring years of experience with horse power foreign and domestic to the new venture. Alvarado spent 21 years at Lenny’s Auto Clinic in Scarsdale. Reyna spent 15 years with BMW Service & Parts in Port Chester.
“Our goal is to fix the car right the first time and build a relationship with the client,” said Reyna, adding that this embraces everything from an oil change to an engine rebuild.
The most common problem the two see? “The ‘check engine’ light,” Alvarado said with a grin.
Ah yes, the dreaded “check engine light” prompt: Sometimes it’s the death knell for a car as an engine rebuild can cost more than the vehicle is worth. Reyna encountered just such a challenge when a woman brought in a BMW 550I stick shift, worth about $9,000. The engine rebuild came in at $8,000. But the car had belonged to her late husband. She couldn’t part with it. So Reyna rebuilt the engine.
He came to this country in 2002 at age 14, graduated from New Rochelle High School and went on to a 14-month program with Lincoln Tech. Alvarado got all his training in Guatemala, arriving here in 2003 at age 26. The two men knew each other in their native country and have continued the relationship in New Rochelle, where they live. “We’re family,” Reyna said, adding that he also learned about cars from the senior Alvarado.
During those years, cars have become more sophisticated, with many computerized safety and convenience features, even in some cases driving themselves. Reyna said the pair are constantly upgrading their skills to keep up with the improvements and enhancements, making use of the latest diagnostic equipment.
Hey, it may not be rocket science to them, but to the rest of us, it practically is.
Hartsdale Auto Service is at 240 E. Hartsdale Ave. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. For more, call 914-574-5720 or 914-574-5721.
