Big 3 Automotive

When four fast friends decided it was high time to bring their brand of superior service to the automotive repair industry, they kicked it into high gear—and they’ve been running in overdrive ever since.

By: Ken McEntee
Date: 02/05/2008
We can make anything go fast,” boast the performance hungry owners of Big 3 Automotive, in Hinckley.

Your money is the exception.

That’s because unlike many national chain repair shops, they don’t gouge their customers on parts and labor.

“Some places mark up their parts as much as 200 percent,” insists Rick Trunkett, one of the shop’s four owners. And, adds Derrick Waller, the labor cost at Big 3 Automotive is a flat $65 per hour for most normal jobs—that’s $10 to $20 less than the average garage, and way less than what dealerships charge.

“We want to keep it affordable for our customers,” Derrick explains. “We’re already getting paid for doing our hobbies. We don’t need to overcharge people on top of it. I can’t guarantee that we’re always the cheapest, but we probably are.”

This foursome has history. They’ve tooled around on cars together, gone to high school and college together, and now share a shop. When time permits, they race a ’72 Duster and an ’86 Mustang, each of which can shoot from zero to 135 miles per hour in just over 10 seconds.

“We’re the shop the racing teams are going to,” Derrick says.

That means they can handle the brake job on your Explorer.

Along with Rick and Derrick, Chuck Stefanski and Bob Hess are as tight as the steering on a new Acura. All Brunswick natives, they met in the auto repair program at the Medina County Career Center.

“We did a lot of side jobs together while we were in school,” Chuck recalls. “We loved working on cars.”

The conglomeration continued at the University of Northwest Ohio, where the guys earned Associates Degrees in Applied Science for high performance auto repair.

“We all lived in a house with a big garage,” Bob says. “We became the neighborhood mechanics. We kept getting more and more side jobs.”

When they graduated in 2006, their next move was a no-brainer. They opened a 3,000 square foot shop in Brunswick, but quickly outgrew it. Their new location, in the Opportunities Industrial Park, off 130th Street in Hinckley, has almost 6,000 square feet of space.

While specializing in high performance work, the big four at Big 3 will take on just about any repair job, large or small—including welding and fabricating of just about any type of metal.

“About the only thing we don’t do is body work,” Chuck says.

They especially enjoy major jobs like engine and transmission rebuilds and replacements. Their Jasper replacements include a national three-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

“A lot of people will junk their car because it costs too much to get everything fixed,” Chuck says. “Before you junk it or trade it in, at least call us first. You may be surprised how little it will cost to keep it going.”

And they don’t replace things that don’t need to be fixed.

“We’ll be honest with you,” Chuck insists. “We’ll bring you back and show you exactly what needs to be done and how necessary it is to replace something. We won’t compromise safety, but we’re not going to run up the bill on you. If you are on a budget we’ll tell you what you need to have fixed and what you can hold off on.”

And when you bring your car to Big 3, you’ll always deal with the owners—Chuck, Bob, Derrick and Rick do all of the work themselves. Needless to say, they all are ASE certified.

For your convenience they have flexible hours. “We’re open 9 to 5 Monday through Saturday, but we accommodate people’s special needs,” Derrick says. “If you need to work at night or on Sunday, call us and we’ll give you personal service.”

Big 3 Automotive is located at 1669 W.130th Street, Unit 408, in Hinckley’s Opportunities Industrial Park. Call the guys at 330-220-FAST (3278). For more information, check out their Website at www.big3racing.net.

Email This Story To A Friend

Your Friend's Email Address:

Your Name:

Your Email Address: