Bill Bernick and Rick Jordan established Fifth Gear Automotive in 2004 with a shared goal of creating a family-owned and -operated auto repair shop that would serve the surrounding community for generations to come.

Now, 15 years later, Bernick said, Fifth Gear Automotive has a crew with more than 100 years of combined experience and a loyal customer base. And one of the best parts of the job, Bernick said, is getting to know the community he services.

“Once a customer finds us, we’d like to keep them for life,” Bernick said. “And one of the things you may know is that the auto repair industry is not always thought of as a very honest industry. Our approach is that if you want to keep a customer for life, you have to take care of them every single time.”

While Fifth Gear Automotive specializes in auto service and repair for all vehicles, the shop has a unique expertise in European models as well. This expertise was brought to Fifth Gear Automotive and maintained by Jordan, who started his career in 1977 servicing cars at a Porsche dealership.

Bernick said the knowledge Jordan brought to Fifth Gear Automotive allows the shop to do specialty auto repair work on European vehicles while also delivering quality care to any other automobile a customer may need work on.

Jordan’s son, Ricky, has been part of the business since its inception and now serves as the general manager. Ricky said Fifth Gear Automotive is unique in the way that it invests in its people.

“We work really hard to have an academy to grow young guys from very little experience, you know, into a career,” Ricky said. “And that’s probably the most important part of the business to me, is seeing the progression of the team.”

Whether it is the customers Fifth Gear Automotive serves or the technicians it employs, Bernick said, the business is defined by its investment in people.

“This is home for us,” Bernick said.