Lauria Racing and Repair in Columbia Heights emphasizes personal service for your car and truck repair needs, notes owner RJ Lauria.

“We want to treat people differently at our shop,” Lauria said in a recent interview. “You’re not just a number sitting in a waiting room.”

Lauria has been working on cars since his teens. He spent most of his career as a master certified mechanic at Ford dealerships in the valley. He met his wife, Tessa, when he was 17 and got married when he was 18. Fixing rigs was a good way to make a living and support his young family, he noted.

“I always had a fetish for cars,” he said.

He left the dealership work a couple of years ago and then built a state-of-the-art shop on Berne Road which was completed last summer.

“We have the same level of diagnostics as a dealership,” he said.

Lauria works with two seasoned mechanics Colten Wiley and Jonathan Lovaas.

On the “racing” side the shop loves to work on any rig with power and specializes in diesels, though they have the tools and knowledge to fix any vehicle including electric and hybrid cars.

The business is a family-run operation. Tessa helps with the office and daughter Miranda with the website and social media.

The family are also avid archers and the shop serves as an indoor archery range for the Half Moon Highlanders 4-H club.

Miranda competes on the national collegiate level in archery sports as a student in the medical field at the University of Cumberlands in Kentucky.

The shop is located at 560 Berne Road, just past RBM Lumber on Highway 206 headed south. It’s visible from 206. Folks can get a free quote via the garage’s website at: https://lauriaracingrepairllc.business.site/