Shop Name: Schearer's Sales & Service, Inc
Owner: Thomas R. Schearer Jr.
Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania
Staff Size: 12
Shop Size: 7,000 square feet
Number of Bays: 8
Average Monthly Car Count: 225
Annual Revenue: $2.3 million ($2.95 projected for 2023)
Thomas Shearer started as a technician at age 23. He nearly quit the industry altogether after a bad experience as a dealership technician. That was before a meeting with an old boss, Ken Miller, whom he worked for as a teenager. Miller offered him the opportunity to work in the office instead of the shop, and years later, Shearer purchased Ken Miller Auto Sales, rebranding the shop in the process to the name it has today—Schearer's Sales & Service, Inc.
Step Into The Showroom
Since Shearer still sells cars, the front lobby looks like a showroom and features some of Shearer’s “toys” as he calls them. There’s a counter in front where his customer service representative is posted up and a pair of service advisors sit behind—one at a desk and another in an office next door.
Down the hall past the service office is the entrance to the shop and the parts room off to the right. Across the hall is a small technician's office.
“It’s a 6-by-6 office where we store all of the high-value diagnostic tools. We have a lot of OE equipment and diagnostic tooling. It’s a nice area for our technicians to talk. Whether it’s a customer or tech support, they can sit in a quiet area,” Shearer says.
A peek Inside Shop
The shop is sectioned off by work performed. There’s a truck bay in the front and to the left of that a flush-mount alignment lift. Off to the right is a tire mounting and balancing station followed by a row of six lifts down the right side.
“(The lifts) are all in-ground twin post lifts. Two new lifts are being installed right now; they just poured the concrete,” he says.
The shop has a distinct focus on European makes and Shearer’s technicians are highly-trained specialists in these vehicles.
“We have technicians who are trained/specialize in Mercedes, Porsche/Audi/VW and BMW/Mini/Jaguar/LandRover. We also have factory tooling for them: PIWIS III for Porsche, XENTRY for Mercedes, ISTA for BMW and ODIS for Audi/VW," Shearer says.
