Leanne Blackborow

October, 2010

Fix Auto St-Hyacinthe

A One-of-a-Kind Autoshop for All Your Car Repair Needs

Sylvain Lamoureux and Alain Desmarais of Fix Auto St-Hyacinthe

What’s striking when you first enter the Fix Auto St-Hyacinthe, is how bright and clean it is. Even though this repair shop settled into its new location a full year ago on rue Cartier in St-Hyacinthe’s industrial sector, it still looks totally brand new.

“This is the image we want to project,” says Alain Desmarais, President of Fix Auto St-Hyacinthe. “We want it to be different from what might be expected from a traditional car repair shop.”

They’ve certainly hit the bull’s eye here. Of course, the spotless offices and comfortable waiting lounge are a nice touch, but what’s really impressive about the repair shop is the huge room dedicated to collision damage estimates. Here, lit with both natural and artificial lighting, the customer and the technician can clearly assess any damage to the car. “I wanted it to be brighter. No places to hide, no noise. Everything was thought through to make the process as transparent and satisfying as possible.”

Leading into the workshop, this vast room is also where the car is handed back to the customer, so that he can take the time to carefully examine the repairs that have been performed.

As for paint jobs, Fix Auto St-Hyacinthe has gone with Sherwin-Williams. “Their team is able to provide us with all the support we want,” adds Alain Desmarais. “When we made the switch to water-based paints, the Sherwin-Williams team gave us all the help we needed.”

Much More than Just a Car Repair Shop

Alain Desmarais’ business has been in constant progress since his father, Gaston Desmarais, started it in the 60s. In 1991, Fix Auto St-Hyacinthe expanded to better serve its customers. But, with a total of 4,180 m2 of workshop space, last year’s move was an even bigger change. Why all these improvements? Because Alain Desmarais wants to offer his customers an exceptional autoshop experience for their car repair needs.

In addition to paint and bodywork, the shop offers a complete range of aesthetic and mechanical services, from windshield replacement to wheel alignment. Why? So that customers can find everything they need under the same roof. At Fix Auto St-Hyacinthe, they can get all the work done in a one-stop-shop setting.

“We want loyal customers. We’re not just another car repair shop. We want to set the standard for car maintenance in St-Hyacinthe.”

In addition to his team of 20 qualified technicians and administrative workers, Alain Desmarais also has a great partner in the business, Sylvain Lamoureux. With much experience in the field, notably at Sherwin-Williams, Sylvain Lamoureux is an important asset to the company. “Alain and I share the same vision for the company,” says the new Director of Fix Auto St-Hyacinthe. “We want our customers to leave the shop thinking, ‘I couldn’t have gotten anything better, anywhere else.’”

Now that’s a winning formula indeed for a business that makes the right choices in order to stand out from the rest.