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Indy Performance Pro-Tire still performing after 30-plus years

Indy Performance Pro-Tire has been helping Fallbrook residents with their tire and auto repair needs for more than 30 years.

"I guess we made somebody happy," deadpanned owner Gary Shimer of his long and successful business run.

When Shimer first opened Indy Performance Pro-Tire in 1986, the Indianapolis native didn't think he'd be in the full service auto repair business.

"When we started out we were just going to do tires, brakes and front end, but you do what you need to do to keep the doors open, and we just started doing pretty much everything on the automobile," said Shimer. "That's what we've got a reputation for doing – we're general repair."

Considering Shimer has been able to "keep the doors open" for more than three decades, the team at Indy Performance Pro-Tire must be doing something right. What's the key?

"You just treat people fairly," said Shimer. "You're honest with them. You let them know that no matter what, you're going to be here. Mostly, it's just treating people the way they should be treated."

Indy Performance Pro-Tire is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. "A lot of people can only get their cars worked on on weekends," said Shimer of being open Saturdays.

The people working on cars at Indy Performance Pro-Tire have, combined, 155 years of automotive experience. Shimer and store manager Kevin Kluth both have 50 years experience, service technician Devin Broce has 25, and tire and lube technicians Ted Andrews and Eric Balanderan have 22 and eight, respectively.

"We've had the same crew for a long time," said Shimer, noting that Kluth has been with him for 15 years and the rest of the team for more than six years. "It makes it good because they're all pretty experienced guys, and we can accomplish a lot of work with a small amount of people."

Shimer said the crew values every car that comes into the shop.

"They care," said Shimer. "They're instructed – and they do it – to treat a car as if it were their own, regardless of whether it's a $150,000 Mercedes or a $500 pickup. It doesn't matter, everybody's car is their own personal possession and needs to be treated accordingly."

Indy Performance Pro-Tire's reputation for quality work is such that CPR Classic Restoration, a world-renowned Porsche restoration operation based in Fallbrook, sends cars to Shimer's shop.

"Some of those vehicles that they'll bring in here are several-hundred thousand dollar cars," said Shimer. "We set their alignment and suspension up for them."

Some members of the Fallbrook Vintage Car Club are also customers of Indy Performance Pro-Tire.

"We do a lot of the vintage cars in town," said Shimer. "In fact, there's a '67 Cadillac sitting out there undercover now that we're doing engine and brake work on. It's not that that is our forte, but we do stuff for the guys."

All of the cars worked on at Indy Performance Pro-Tire receive a safety check before being returned to their owners.

"Everything that is touched by one employee is safety checked by another employee before it leaves, whether it's me or one of the other guys," said Shimer. "If I go out and do something on a car, somebody else comes around behind me and checks what I did. We're not perfect, but we try to eliminate as much turmoil as we can. The guys all learn from one another and help each other out."

On the tire side of the business, Indy Performance Pro-Tire offers a wide variety.

"We offer all brands and we'll get you anything want," said Shimer, a certified dealer in Michelin, Yokohama, Cooper, Bridgestone and Firestone tires. "We stress a few of them here simply because we try to get an equal match between price and durability. We try to put together a combination of value and quality, and most people just go along with whatever we recommend."

Indy Performance Pro-Tire, originally located at 128 E. Mission Road, moved to 1367 South Mission Road in December 2006 when Shimer purchased a piece of property behind Club Paradise Fitness. Shimer said he plans to continue to provide quality service at a fair price for many years to come.

"I want people to know we're going to be here," said Shimer, adding that trust is the key to his business. "Not everybody is going to be happy with what they hear (about the problem with their vehicle), but we didn't create the issue with the car. All we can do is be here to fix it if they choose to do that.

"We'll give you the best scenario that we can see and then you choose what you want to do," continued Shimer. "We've had a lot of success, obviously. We've had a lot of people say a lot of nice things. Fortunately, it's been far more on that side than the other side."

In a town like Fallbrook, where word of mouth can be the best advertising, Indy Performance Pro-Tire's 30-plus years of doing business speaks for itself. To contact Shimer at Indy Performance Pro-Tire, call (760) 723-8473.

 

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