Jon McGraw stands in front of the sign for his new auto repair garage, JM Automotive, at 527 Route 1 in Newcastle, next to Mike’s Place. McGraw, of Newcastle, has more than 20 years of experience as a mechanic. (Maia Zewert photo)
A Newcastle man with more than 20 years of experience as a mechanic opened a new auto repair garage on Route 1 in Newcastle on Monday, April 4.
Jon McGraw opened JM Automotive at 527 Route 1, next to Mike’s Place. McGraw has more than 20 years of experience as a mechanic, including 10 years working in the service center of a Ford dealership. He has wanted to open his own shop for a long time.
“I used to work a lot of nights and weekends, and I wasn’t able to see my wife and kids as much as I wanted,” McGraw said. “With my own shop, I know I’ll be in here set hours and can spend more time with my family.”
Bobbie, McGraw’s wife, is helping out with the business, where she works in the front office. McGraw said the couple’s 10-year-old son, Aidan, has already started showing an interest and will have a job at the garage in the future.
“(Aidan) is already fixing our four-wheeler, which he definitely gets from Jon,” Bobbie McGraw said. “He can’t wait until he can start helping out.”
The garage services all cars, trucks, and light-duty diesel vehicles.
“Our motto is ‘if it’s broken, I’ll fix it,'” McGraw said. “I like working on the problems that are a bit of a challenge and figuring out what’s wrong and how to fix it.”
JM Automotive is equipped with up-to-date diagnostic equipment, and McGraw is a trained Power Stroke diesel mechanic.
“It’s a bit of a specialized area,” McGraw said. “We hope to make that our niche.”
McGraw also has a natural talent for diagnostics, Bobbie McGraw said.
“It’s one of those things that just seems to click for him,” she said. “There are mechanics who have called him to get his opinion on something they can’t figure out. He has a real knack for it.”
The McGraws hope to hold an open house at the garage at some point in the future. In the meantime, McGraw said he will focus on working hard to do what is best for his customers.
“Our most important goal is to correct the customer’s concern the first time around,” McGraw said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a Rolls Royce, an old muscle car, or a diesel truck. I will do what I can to help.”
The business officially opened Monday, April 4, and is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon. For more information, go to jmautomotive.net or find JM Automotive on Facebook.
