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Modern Automotive
Tony Foy
By
Diane Meeks |
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Despite
the many adversities of starting a new business, Modern
Automotive has flourished for three years, providing
mechanical and detailing services.
Tony Foy, owner of Modern Automotive, has been tearing
things apart and putting them back together since
he was just a child. Lawnmowers, bicycles, and even
cars were fair game. “I was just curious about
how things worked. Taking something apart and not
being able to put it back together, I've run into
that quite a few times,” Tony laughs. Now, he
gets paid to figure out how to put customer’s
cars back together.
A Toledo native, Tony graduated from high school in
1988, which was also a pivotal time in the automotive
industry. “Back in the late 80s, everything
started going to computers. That's when cars became
a little more difficult to work on,” Tony says.
During that time, Tony went to work for a dealership.
While he was working at the dealership, Tony pursued
an associate degree at Owens College. “It was
actually a special program they were running at the
time for General Motors, so I had to be sponsored
by a local dealer in order to get into that program.
I was going to school part time and working part time
at the dealership.”
Tony continued with that dealer even after he completed
his education. “Probably five years ago, I was
a mechanic still at the dealership. I guess I was
kind of burnt out with the dealer and wanted to see
if I could go out on my own and make it.”
Opening a business evokes lots of different emotions.
Tony felt one big emotion during that time: shock.
“The biggest surprise is the cost,” says
Tony. “To have an auto shop is very expensive
just because of the cost of the equipment. I basically
went and got a business loan for it that I'll be paying
on for the next 20 or 30 years.”
Tony points to a piece of equipment and adds, “That
scanner, that particular scanner costs $5,000, and
I have four of them. With a larger budget, a dealer
has the advantage there. They get all the specific
tools they need to work on a particular car. We don't
have that option. We have to purchase the specific
equipment. That adds up”
In addition to equipment, like lifts and tools, Tony
uses software to estimate jobs and keep current with
constantly changing automotive information. “It
also has information for us to work on particular
cars. It gives me step-by step procedures. You can't
possibly know everything. There's just too much information,
and there are too many vehicles out there. We like
to say they do it the same, but they do it different.”
Even with spending significant amounts of money on
equipment, Tony had to overcome bigger obstacles.
“The biggest adversity was just getting the
building. Anytime you build, there's a lot of adversity
you've got to get through. You've got to see several
different people, the water people, this people, that
people. They all have to be in cahoots. Sometimes,
they really do make it more difficult than they should
to get people to stay in Toledo.”
Despite the many adversities of starting a new business,
Modern Automotive has flourished for three years,
providing mechanical and detailing services. According
to Tony, they have some advantages over the dealerships.
“At the dealership, you don't always know who's
working on your car. I guess the biggest advantage
here is you're dealing with me one-on-one and a dealer
you're not.”
MODERN AUTOMOTIVE
Tony Foy, Owner
4801 Detroit Avenue
Toledo, Ohio 43612
Phone: 419-720-2790
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 Toledo
Business Review highlights the best
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