Owner Brad Hullum opened a second location of Reliable Automotive in early July. Hullum said the auto repair shop got off to a rocky start when the first location opened in 2012.

Hullum opened the San Marcos location in May 2012. At the time, the space was so small it contained only three bays to service vehicles.

Just eight months after opening, a fire caused by a “freak accident” damaged the facilities and injured a technician, he said.

An employee had been lowering a fuel tank when he tripped over a nearby car battery charging. The gas tank slipped off of the jack and fell onto the battery charger.

“It sparked, and flames were everywhere,” Hullum said.

The employee sustained third-degree burns as a result of the accident and took eight weeks to recover. The fire also totaled all three cars in the shop. 

The employee who was burned in the fire still works at Reliable Automotive, he said.

The shop reopened following the incident, and with community support, Hullum said, sales increased to the point that he was able to expand and add three more bays in a nearby building. Business continued to grow. The fire had changed Hullum’s mindset.

“It brought us closer and taught us that no matter how careful you are, mistakes are going to happen. You have to learn from your mistakes, and I think we did that,” Hullum said.

In 2014, one year after the fire, the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce named Reliable Automotive the Emerging Business of the Year.

“That was a very big honor. It’s a big deal,” Hullum said. “With [San Marcos] being the fastest-growing city in America, right then and there, that was the signal that we needed to keep expanding. We have a good thing going.”

Hullum looked toward his hometown of Buda as the next Reliable Automotive location.

“I live here in Buda, born and raised. It was a dream of mine. Even before I opened my business in San Marcos, I told my wife, ‘I’d love to put a business here [in Buda],’” he said.

The Buda location opened in early July. The shop offers the same services as the San Marcos location, including state inspections; oil changes; tuneups; alignments; and brake, air conditioning, engine and transmission services. Hullum said he hopes to open at least two more auto repair shops, and will continue focus on expanding within Hays County.

If Reliable Automotive is successful in Buda, he said he hopes to have another shop in the works within two years. Locations he has considered include the east side of Buda that borders Kyle as well as Dripping Springs or Wimberley.

“I want to be the guy in Hays County that people trust and rely on for all car repairs,” Hullum said.

The key to Reliable Automotive’s success is its good attitude, effort and track record of being honest, Hullum said.

“People are starving for quality service and care,” he said. “We give everyone the same type of effort I would give my own mother. We’re not perfect, but we do our best to be perfect.”

Between San Marcos and Buda, Hullum employs 16 people, 12 of whom are mechanics. Seven of those work at the Buda location, and Hullum hopes to have 12-15 there eventually.

“I’d like to have the [Buda] store fully staffed by this time next year,” he said. “My favorite saying is, ‘If you’re not growing, you’re dying.’”