CENTERVILLE —
A pair of friends’ plan for an automotive repair shop is coming to fruition after years in the making.
Tracy Vandermark, 33, and Casey Jones, 29, recently put up a sign for their new business, T-N-C Auto, located at 511 W. Pleasant (Highway 5) in Cincinnati. T-N-C Auto first opened in October 2010, but until now Vandermark and Jones were building the business up slowly through word-of-mouth.
Indeed, slow and steady has been the motto for this venture from the start. Vandermark said the two first talked about opening a business together as far back as 2003. The two met more than a decade ago through their common interest in cars, then attended the same automotive programs at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa. They said they got to know each other better when they both worked at Rubbermaid.
They graduated from IHCC in 2005 but put their business plans on hold. Vandermark found work as a mechanic while Jones worked in security at Hy-Vee in Chariton.
The delay was financial: Vandermark was committed to paying for the business’s costs up front.
“I always talked about it and always talked about it,” Vandermark said. “I got my taxes back one year and had just enough money to build this building.”
Vandermark built the building on his parents’ property in Cincinnati, a location he said has the advantages of being on the highway and drawing business from Missouri. Then the building sat empty for six or seven months while he saved money for concrete.
“That’s why it took so long to get it going,” Vandermark said. “I just try to pay for everything when I have the money.”
Meanwhile, Jones, who said he has done mechanic work since he was 12, developed a clientele.
“It kind of worked nice between the two of us because he had the money to build the building and I had business lined up and tools already bought,” Jones said.
T-N-C Auto specializes in automotive service repair and maintenance. Jones said they have up-to-date diagnostic equipment. Right now they do not have the capability to do transmission flushes or recharge a car’s air conditioning, but they plan to add those services in the future.
“The reason why we built everything out of pocket and did it the way we did was so that we can offer a more cost-effective service around here where we try to be fair to people,” Jones said.
Jones said they currently buy junk cars and may expand to selling cars in the future. They also offer towing services.
“We do everything from oil changes to motor swaps,” Vandermark said.
Vandermark said one of the two of them tries to be in the office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, though they do have to accommodate their work schedules. They both currently work at Orscheln.
Jones and Vandermark also occasionally step out to accommodate their children’s school and activity schedules. Vandermark and his wife, Tonya (Symmonds) Vandermark, have two children, Camren, 9 and Cadence, 3. Jones and his wife, Nichole (Carstens) Jones, have three children, Colton, 7, Levi, 2 and Elexie, 1.
T-N-C Auto can be reached at (641) 658-2534 or on Vandermark’s cell phone at (641) 895-6535.
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Tracy Vandermark, left, and Casey Jones, right, recently put up a sign for their new business, T-N-C Auto, on Highway 5 in Cincinnati. Photo by Brooke Sherrard/Daily Iowegian
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