Family owned: Mechanics Pride ‘all about honesty and integrity’

As a kid growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, Mike Frederico was a tinkerer. He liked taking things apart and putting them back together.

Naturally, he gravitated to cars.

“My dad taught me how to work on them,” he said.

He worked in the automotive industry and came to Spokane in 1977 to work for Goodyear – and later transitioned to Midas. That’s where he met his mentor, Ron Sterling.

“Ron kind of educated me to work in sales and with customers.”

Mike found he had a knack for that kind of interaction and decided he wanted his own business.

In 1989, he and his wife, Kelly, opened Mechanics Pride Tire and Automotive on the corner of Third and Monroe.

“She worked with me for 20-plus years, and that was enough,” he said, grinning.

Mechanics Pride has always had a presence downtown, though the address changed a couple of times. He bought the property of their current location on Second Avenue and Jefferson Street a few years ago.

“The guys here all have a lot of education,” Mike said. “We have to keep learning. Back in the day, carburetors and brakes were simple.”

Nowadays, few repairs are simple.

“Cars are more complicated, and the equipment to fix them is expensive,” he said. “We do everything but paint and body.”

His son, Mike Jr., does diagnostics for all three stores.

“He’s our troubleshooter and tackles the hard diagnostics,” his dad said. “He’s been working with me since he was 16. He graduated from Wyotech (a technical college in Laramie, Wyoming) right after high school.”

Like many business owners, Mike said the most challenging part of his job is finding good employees.

“It takes months to get a good technician,” he said.

Fifteen years ago, he opened a shop in Spokane Valley, and 12 years ago, they expanded to the South Hill.

“Each store has a manager and an assistant manager,” he said.

And overseeing all of them is his daughter, Sabrina Frederico.

“I started working here 20 years ago,” she said. “They needed help. Our mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and could no longer work. I came on to help out and never left.”

Sabrina manages 36 employees and does the payroll, billing and receivables.

“It’s not uncommon for me to be at all three locations in one day.”

Her biggest challenge?

“My dad’s a very strong personality,” she said. “Working with him is challenging and rewarding at the same time.”

That said, she enjoys being part of a family-owned enterprise.

“Overall, it’s fantastic,” Sabrina said. “My brother and I are fortunate that Dad wanted us to come on board.”

Having his son and employees working on the hands-on, day-to-day portion of the business and his daughter dealing with admin issues allows Mike to do what he does best.

“I’ve always known how to work with customers – that’s my forte.”

Sabrina agreed.

“Customers love my dad – some of them have been with him since he opened.”

His business philosophy is simple.

“It’s all about honesty and integrity,” he said. “You sell the job and tell them what needs to be done, and you deliver what you say and stay by your work.”

At 65, he’s supposed to be edging toward retirement.

“I bought a place in Montana where we four-wheel during the summer and snowmobile in the winter,” Mike said.

Retiring is taking some getting used to.

“I talk to Sabrina in the morning and in the evening every day.”

Sabrina laughed.

“He’ll go to his grave with his headset on,” she said.

Mike admitted, “It’s hard not to be here.”

But turning over the reins to his daughter and son has been his goal all along.

“I always wanted a family business,” said Mike. “I wanted something to pass on to them.”

For more information visit mechanicspride.com.

Contact Cindy Hval at dchval@juno.com.