Reliance Auto Repair co-owners Brooke Callahan and Cory Mullins stand in front of their new shop at 106 River Road in Edgecomb. The business recently moved from Wiscasset. (Jessica Clifford photo)
Brooke Callahan and Cory Mullins have reopened Reliance Auto Repair at 106 River Road in Edgecomb after selling the shop’s original building in Wiscasset early last year.
Reliance Auto Repair is a family-owned and operated shop. Brooke Callahan’s father, Thomas Callahan, owned and operated the business for 35 years until he passed away in 2015.
“My dad passed away of cancer and we decided to keep it running together,” Brooke Callahan said.
They decided to sell the other location and build the garage on the same property as their house.
“That was also part of my dad’s dream – he wanted to build a garage here on the property,” she said. “Everything came together.”
Mullins, who does most of the mechanical work, has 15 years of experience. He attended both Central Maine Community College and Universal Technical Institute in Florida for automotive studies and furthered his education as a mechanic with the U.S. Navy’s Seabees.
Reliance Auto Repair services cars, tractors, and trailers. In addition, Mullins does odd jobs like landscaping, splitting firewood, and building.
“We don’t just pick one category and stay in it,” Mullins said.
The owners have frequently been asked if they have their state inspection license and stickers. They now have both.
The shop has a labor rate of $55 per hour and follows the Chilton’s Labor Guide for how long each job should take. Mullins said he bases the cost of a job by the guide, not by how long it actually takes him to do the work.
For example, if the guide says it should take one hour to do a brake job, but Chilton is unfamiliar with the brakes and it takes him three hours, “I’m still only charging the customer one hour,” Mullins said. “That way it’s fair for everybody.”
The shop is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday, however, the owners are willing to be flexible and work with customers’ schedules. The shop asks customers to knock on the garage door if there for business. Appointments are preferred.
To make an appointment, call Mullins’ cellphone at 208-9650.
