Church garage fixes cars for those who can’t afford to
MARION TWP, Beaver Co. — In the six years Laura Nickel owned her 2014 Buick Encore, it was in the shop countless times, with more time spent in a mechanic’s garage than on the road during its last year or so.
It was a financially difficult time in the Beaver County resident’s life, but it could have been worse if the garage she took her car to charged full price. Thankfully for her, she only got charged for the parts the mechanic needed to fix her car, not for the labor that most garages also include in their invoices.
Even though Nickel was taking her vehicle to the Garage at Living Faith before it officially became a nonprofit, Nickel attributes the ministry with helping her stay financially balanced while her car was in ruin.
“(The garage) would always take the time to get the best deal off eBay. They would try to make it the most affordable for me,” she said. “They never charged me labor … I’m very grateful to them.”
The Garage at Living Faith is the car mechanic ministry that sprouted from Living Faith Church, a Christian church that sits right next to the garage in Marion Township, Beaver County.
Mark Sentell, one of the coordinators of the ministry, said the project started about six years ago. It wasn’t originally meant to ever become a nonprofit agency. It was just “a couple guys helping their neighbors and fixing cars,” he said.
But after the church started getting more and more requests for vehicle repair and maintenance help, the project had to adapt to keep up with the need. The Garage at Living Faith became a nonprofit about two years ago, which opened up opportunities for grants and fundraising. The certification brought about a few changes to the project, but it still exists to provide cheaper vehicle repair help to people who need it.
“Before, they were doing full engine changeouts, and now we’re doing smaller jobs and able to help more people,” Sentell said. “We’re running about 400 to 500 customers a year, with a team of about 40 people serving in different capacities.”
Although the garage from which the nonprofit operates looks small, it has most of the equipment necessary to perform the most common kinds of car maintenance, like tire replacement, brake jobs and figuring out why the dreaded “check engine light” is lit. The garage has three bays with hydraulic lifts to get vehicles in maintenance position, but it also has a waiting room, where clients can wait in comfort while their car is on the “operating table.”
Sentell said that while the garage can handle a good amount of engine issues and regular maintenance jobs, the most common reason people call is for help with oil changes and to get a pre-inspection check.
“We do pre-inspection — we’ll look them over for them so they know they’re not being taken advantage of,” said Doug Sheerer, one of the mechanics at the garage. “It’s usually low-budget, not a lot of money, single moms, a lot of hardship cases.”
Volunteers for the garage can spend long hours working on vehicles — the wait list for service is monthslong, according to Sentell. But the organization works based on the schedules of the volunteers, some of whom work full- or part-time jobs in addition to helping with the garage. Sentell said several volunteers who help are retired mechanics, Sheerer being a perfect example.
However, Sentell said the garage always needs volunteers. They don’t have to share the same faith or religion as the Catholic church from which the program stemmed from.
“When we have volunteers available we just open up a slot on the website,” Sentell said. “If someone knows how to change oil and they can do that every Wednesday at lunchtime.”
Kevin Shanahan is another volunteer mechanic at the garage. He is a retired engineer, and said that although he isn’t a mechanic by trade, he was able to learn the basics of car repair, and is happy to spend his free time helping people who may struggle with car troubles.
“Usually they’ll say, ‘My car’s doing this or that.’ The garage will say, ‘You need this doohickey,’” Shanahan said. “We diagnose it, find anything that might be wrong.”
Sentell said the garage ties in with the mission of Living Faith Church, in that it helps people who may be at a low point in their life. He said the garage has no income requirements for someone to apply for its services.
“We’re here to care for the person, as well as the car,” he said. “The lounge is set up so moms and their kids can come play and stay warm while volunteers are wrenching on their cars.”
Sentell said anyone of any faith can also book an appointment with the garage.
Sheerer said that even when people pay for the parts needed to repair their vehicle and throw in a donation to the nonprofit, it still may cost less than it would to get a fix at a for-profit mechanic.
“We get a lot of donations — it’s amazing,” Sheerer said. “A lot of people, if you have the money, they’ll donate a little extra to help the next person.”
Sentell also said he is surprised that there aren’t more nonprofits that share a mission with the Garage at Living Faith.
“I found about four places around the country that do something like this,” Sentell said.
Nickel agreed, and said the garage saved her at least thousands of dollars over her years driving her old Buick.
“I don’t think there’s any garage like them,” Nickel said.
For more information on the Garage at Living Faith, visit its website at livingfaithgarage.org. The website has information on how to donate or volunteer at the garage, and a page for prospective clients to book an appointment with the mechanics.
