At Assurance Auto in Kalispell, Brady Moore is changing the transmission fluid on an old Chevy Blazer. He shifts the metal pan to catch the old dark brown fluid. It’s supposed to be bright cherry red.
"Lately, we’ve been powering through a little bit more now that we have two techs. Back when it was just me, it was about a car or two a day,” Moore says.
Assurance Auto does simple maintenance like oil changes, but it also takes on bigger jobs that can cost hundreds of dollars in labor alone. But this shop is a nonprofit and only charges its customers for parts.
Moore likes the work because he’s only incentivized to repair what’s broken, not upsell customers.
“It’s a lot nicer to work for a company that — I don’t want to say has a soul — but is there to help the community rather than just fill their own pocket," he says.
The shop is only able to do this work because of donations.
Dondwani Baines is the spokesperson for Assurance. He remembers one man who didn’t know he’d only be charged for parts.
“I remember him looking kind of shocked that it was just only $65," Baines says. "What he ended up doing is he paid $100. So, of course, $65 went toward his invoice and the rest of it went toward a donation for someone else.”
Donations like that helped Sissy MisCampbell keep her 2004 Toyota Camry on the road.
“I needed shocks for the rear end and evidently I needed struts,” she says.
She checked around town, but labor alone would have cost close to $1,000, which she couldn’t afford on a fixed income. It would have meant some hard choices.
“Probably not pay a bill or two, or something, or ask for help from the family if I had to. The labor was just horrifying.”
She says Assurance did more than just fix her car. It helped her remain financially secure during uncertain economic times.
