Owner and founder Terri Fleck was inspired by her father, who was a lifelong automotive mechanic, and her work as a social worker, in which she consistently saw clients with issues fixing their cars or otherwise getting reliable transportation.
“It was a recurring theme,” Fleck said Monday. “‘How can I get my car fixed? I can’t afford that.’ So it’s always been in the back of my mind, like we need to do something about this.”
After doing some research, Fleck found that there were few, if any, offerings of this kind in the region, save for church or charity events and folks who would do some work on the weekends. After working with The Lift Garage in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Impact Garage was formed in 2021.
At first, Impact’s mechanics worked out of their own garages, and in space rented from other businesses. Beavercreek Christian Church purchased the property at Industrial Lane, renting it to Impact Garage, and the organization held a soft opening at the shop on Industrial Drive on Sept. 11.
Impact Garage serves both full-market retail customers and income-based customers, and offers factory-scheduled maintenance, oil changes, tire service, A/C, brakes, computer diagnostics and more. Technicians will also do free pre-purchase inspections for used vehicles.
“So many times (customers) are buying these cars because, ‘Oh, it’s a great price.’ Well, it’s that great price for a reason,” Fleck said. “Bring it to us, let us inspect it and if they say no, you don’t want to buy from them.”
Customers can get reduced fees on their car repairs based on certain requirements, including being employed 30 or more hours per week, and then based on 150% of the federal poverty line. Full qualification information is available at impactgarage.org.
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