Episodes

  • Horsepower Doesn’t Make You a Driver & Ownership Doesn’t Make You a Leader

    Horsepower Doesn’t Make You a Driver & Ownership Doesn’t Make You a Leader
    Jan 9 2026
    What happens when you put a real Corvette guy in the room… and let him talk?

    In this episode, Kevin sits down with Alan Johnson from Matick Chevrolet, one of the most dialed-in Corvette minds you’ll hear anywhere. This isn’t “car talk” for clicks. It’s a deep dive into what’s actually happening inside GM right now… and why so many dealerships are falling behind.

    They hit everything from the 3.0 Duramax being the best-kept secret in the truck world, to the reality behind the 6.2 uncertainty, to what really creates trust and consistency in a dealership: systems, talent development, and leadership that gives a damn.

    And then they go straight into the chaos that sparked this episode: the brake fluid war. If you’ve ever heard someone say “brake fluid is sealed, it doesn’t matter,” Alan is about to ruin your day...in the best way possible.

    This is the intersection of:
    -High-performance driving
    -Real-world dealership service operations
    -Maintenance that actually keeps people safe
    -And the uncomfortable truth about how the industry is being gutted by short-term thinking

    If you’re a technician, shop owner, advisor, service manager, or car nerd who actually wants to understand what’s real… this one hits hard.

    Here is how you can find Alan on social media:
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drivenwithalan
    Instagram: @drivenwithalan
    YouTube: @drivenwithAlan ​

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • Stopping the Race to zero...How New Shops Can Actually Win

    Stopping the Race to zero...How New Shops Can Actually Win
    Jan 2 2026
    This episode is for new shop owners, mobile mechanics, and anyone thinking about going out on their own.

    Kevin sits down with Ben Higgins, owner of The Wrench Wagon, for a real conversation about what actually happens when you transition from technician to business owner and why so many good techs fail once they open their own shop.

    This is not another episode bitching about flat rate, dealerships, or customers. This is about responsibility, pricing, leadership, and survival.

    Kevin breaks down why being busy does not mean you are profitable, how sympathy brain quietly destroys shops, and why undercharging feels generous but guarantees burnout. They talk openly about pricing mistakes, staffing realities, knowing your numbers, and the mental shift required to stop thinking like a tech and start thinking like an owner.

    If you are a mobile mechanic or a one man operation, this episode gives you clarity on what to take on, what to avoid, and how to build a business that actually supports your life instead of consuming it.

    This is mentorship most shop owners never get until they have already paid for it in lost money, stress, and regret.

    If you are early in your journey, this episode can save you years. If you are struggling right now, this episode will explain why and show you a path forward.

    Repair Shop Reckoning is not about bitching about the things that are. It is about ownership, leadership, and doing the hard things that keep shops alive. You have the power if you take the reponsibility!

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 hr and 37 mins
  • A Shop Christmas Special...Behind the Scenes With the Garrett Team

    A Shop Christmas Special...Behind the Scenes With the Garrett Team
    Dec 26 2025
    WARNING: This episode is not scripted, polished, and it sure as hell is not safe for soft ears...

    Welcome to the Christmas Special you always dreamed of. A behind the scenes look into shop life, recorded with the full Garrett Truck and Auto crew.

    The team come straight from the shop, with the doors open and the truth turned all the way up. No guests. No filters. Just the people who actually do the work sitting down and talking about what really happens when you are building a shop, a team, and a culture from the ground up.

    We start by doing something most shops never do publicly. Everyone around the table owns their screw ups. Real mistakes. Real consequences. From missed cotter pins and wrong parts to wiring nightmares, bad calls, and expensive lessons that stuck because they had to.

    This episode pulls back the curtain on what shop culture actually looks like when accountability is real. People get called out. People get corrected. People learn. And then they get better. That is the difference between yelling for ego and demanding excellence because lives, reputations, and paychecks depend on it.

    We dig into flat rate, leadership, policies and procedures, and why so many shops fail to take care of their people even when they think they are trying. You will hear why most owners are stuck, why technicians are pissed, and how bad systems create bad behavior on both sides of the counter.

    This is also a direct response to the internet narratives. The clips. The comments. The people who think shop culture can be judged from fifteen seconds on social media. So Kevin brought the team on to speak for themselves and explain what it is actually like to work here, why people stay, why people grow, and why the shop works.

    If you are a shop owner trying to build something real If you are a technician tired of broken systems If you care about doing the job right and going home proud

    This episode is for you.

    And this is only Part One of Two!

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    52 mins
  • Proof Flat Rate Is Broken & Why It Works For Us

    Proof Flat Rate Is Broken & Why It Works For Us
    Dec 19 2025
    In this episode of Repair Shop Reckoning: Race to Zero, Kevin and Jason go straight at the root problem most people keep dodging.

    Flat rate is brutal, but the real villain is wasted time caused by bad leadership, weak policies, and broken processes. When the parts department is late, when the advisor does not verify parts, when approvals drag, when meetings steal wrench time, when techs are forced to do unpaid DBIs and research, the technician eats it. Every single time.

    Kevin breaks it down in a way that is impossible to ignore, using simple math that hits you right in the paycheck. Ten minutes a day turns into thousands per year. Fifteen minutes here, twenty minutes there, and suddenly you are working for free while management stares at an “efficiency” report like it is your fault.

    Then it gets real with a story that nails the whole system.

    Kevin takes his team out for a big dinner and the restaurant absolutely melts down. Out of basic items. Orders coming late. Chaos in the kitchen. And the only person keeping the experience from turning into a full dumpster fire is the waiter, running his tail off trying to cover for everybody else’s incompetence.

    Now imagine that waiter is paid by survey.

    That is the dealership CSI nightmare in a nutshell. The tech can do everything right, fix the car, go above and beyond, and still get crushed because the coffee was bad, the snacks ran out, the wait was long, or someone else dropped the ball. A survey based on the whole experience would kill him even though he was the only one doing his job.

    If you are a shop owner, a manager, a service advisor, or a tech who is sick of getting robbed by inefficiency, this episode is for you.

    You will learn:
    1. Where flat rate time really disappears (and why it is almost never the technician’s fault)
    2. The policies and procedures that protect technician paychecks
    3. Why you cannot “fix efficiency” by stopping production with more meetings
    4. How leadership can build a support system so flat rate stops becoming unpaid labor
    5. Why techs have to start pushing back when the system is designed to drain them


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • Collision Industry Corruption Exposed: The Truth Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Hear

    Collision Industry Corruption Exposed: The Truth Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Hear
    Dec 12 2025
    Welcome to another episode of Repair Shop Reckoning! Buckle up, because this one is a straight punch to the throat of the collision industry.

    Kevin sits down with Jim Gray, partner at Motor City and a 40-year veteran of the collision world, to break down everything the insurance companies never want shop owners, techs, or customers to know. If you think you’ve heard Kevin talk shit before… this episode takes it up ten levels.

    Jim exposes how DRPs really work, why adjusters with zero hands-on experience dictate how trained techs “should” repair cars, and how insurance companies flat-out manipulate labor rates, parts sourcing, supplements, and customer claims to pad corporate profits. The stories in this episode are so insane you almost wouldn’t believe them, until you realize every shop in America has lived the same nightmare.

    This episode is not theory. It is not opinion.

    It is the lived reality of two shops who deal daily with:
    • Surprise inspections from adjusters who have never fixed a car in their life
    • DRP rules that punish shops for doing repairs the right way
    • Insurance companies writing garbage photo estimates, mailing checks directly to customers to avoid supplements, and then blaming shops for the chaos
    • Labor rates being CUT while tech shortages get worse
    • Adjusters arguing repairs without ever seeing the damn vehicle
    • “Profit calculators” that magically make your profit disappear
    • DRP scare tactics that manipulate customers into thinking independent shops are risky
    • Endless hours of unpaid admin work forced onto shops because insurance companies eliminated adjusters
    But this episode goes deeper into culture, leadership, and the bitch generation that cannot survive in a real shop environment. Jim and Kevin call out weak work ethics, victim mentalities, and the fantasy-land expectations younger techs walk in with.

    At the same time, they break down what REAL leadership looks like inside Motor City: structure, autonomy, accountability, standards, loyalty, and taking care of the guys who earn it. No fake praise. No trophies. Just grown-ass men doing real work for real money.

    If you run a shop, manage techs, work in the industry, or simply want the truth behind the bullshit this is the episode you send to everyone.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • From Beef to Breakthrough: Flat Rate Bad Leadership & Why Shops Are Bleeding Techs

    From Beef to Breakthrough: Flat Rate Bad Leadership & Why Shops Are Bleeding Techs
    Dec 8 2025
    This one started with a viral TikTok clip, a little heat, and a whole lot of misunderstanding but instead of hiding behind keyboards, we did what grown men are supposed to do when Kevin picked up the phone. And then invited them onto Repair Shop Reckoning.

    In this episode Kevin sits down with Mr MasterTech and Chris MF Craig two guys who had every reason to throw shots at each other online and we hash out what is really broken in this industry. No filters. No corporate polish. No pretending.

    We dig into the truth behind flat rate, dealership leadership failures, parts shortages, warranty disasters, and why both techs and shop owners feel like they are getting screwed from every direction. Dustin opens up about how he clawed his way from poverty to becoming one of the most skilled transmission guys around. Chris breaks down the advisor and technician disconnect that destroys shops from the inside. And Kevin tells the unvarnished truth about what it actually takes to lead a shop, protect your people, stay profitable, and not lose your damn mind.

    This conversation proves one thing Men with grit can disagree, debate, and still shake hands like professionals if they are not scared to talk face to face.

    And trust me. We go deeper, darker, and more real than anything the comments section has ever seen.

    Inside This Episode
    -The TikTok beef that turned into one of the best conversations we have ever had
    -Why dealership flat rate is broken beyond repair
    -What customers never admit and why it costs shops thousands
    -How bad leadership ruins technicians long before flat rate ever does
    -Real stories of comebacks, blown engines, sand dune idiots, and it was not me liars
    -Why independent shop owners must stay profitable to protect their people
    -The truth about warranty times, advisor pay plans, and manufacturer games
    -What real accountability and real culture actually look like

    If you are sick of corporate spin, fake influencers, and soft takes from people who have never held a wrench, this episode will hit you right between the eyes.

    Three men. One podcast. Zero bullshit. This is how you Change The Industry. One honest conversation at a time.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 min
  • Why Weak Men Quit: A Peak Inside Our Shop Culture

    Why Weak Men Quit: A Peak Inside Our Shop Culture
    Nov 28 2025
    This one is for the keyboard warriors and the men that are soft as tissue. The TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE...BUT FIRST IT WILL PISS YOU OFF. Or if you are our type of people it will make you laugh your ass off. We sure had a ton of fun recording it.

    In this episode Kevin brings in two of his own, Phil at the front counter and Jake the Marine turned mechanic, to pull the curtain back on what really happens inside their shop and why weak men do not last there very long.

    For everyone in the comments screaming toxic culture and bad boss because they saw a clip where Kevin said get your head out of your ass or watched the alignment guy walk out this is the answer. Not from internet experts but from the guys who actually work there every day.

    Phil and Jake talk about the constant stream of techs who oversell themselves in the interview then fold the first time someone calls them on their work. The front end specialist who could not set a steering wheel straight. The kid who said he could drive stick but could not get a truck onto a lift. The loop tech who ignored clear instruction and cracked a coolant filter then quit when it got hard.

    They break down what real accountability looks like in a shop that charges serious money and refuses to send junk out the door. You will hear the story of the loose tie rod that fell apart after a decline, how they owned it, paid the tow, fixed it right, and why you have to know your numbers and charge properly if you want to be able to stand behind your mistakes like that.

    You will also hear what real culture sounds like when you are not hiding behind HR talking points. Snowball fights in the lot. Pranks and sarcasm that fly in every direction. Busting each others chops and then dropping everything to help a coworker or a customer in a bind. They talk about the homeless guy sleeping in a customer bus, the lady with the mold filled coach and a short week in the hospital, the guy who paid dirt cheap for a liftgate and got exactly what he paid for.

    Underneath all the jokes is a simple message...

    Weak men quit because they cannot handle standards, can not handle correction, and can not handle the pressure of being responsible for heavy equipment rolling down the road. Strong men stay, grow, and laugh through the chaos because they know the difference between abuse and accountability.

    If you are a shop owner or a tech who is tired of being lectured about your tone by people who have never held a wrench this episode will feel like home. If you think reading a wiring diagram is toxic or believe every hurt feeling is a safety violation this episode will probably piss you off.

    Either way you will finally get a real peek inside their shop culture from the only people qualified to talk about it.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • The Brutal Reality Every Shop Owner Needs to Hear Right Now

    The Brutal Reality Every Shop Owner Needs to Hear Right Now
    Nov 21 2025
    Buckle up because this one comes in hot. Kevin sits down with Check Engine Chuck for a brutally honest, no filters allowed conversation about what is really happening inside repair shops today. And it hits every nerve in the industry.

    This episode does not just talk about soft techs or generational gaps. It digs into the harsh truth that most techs never see and most owners are too scared to say. From the pressure of being the one who has to make the final call, to the nonstop BS of inflated resumes, fake specialists, and new hires who collapse the first time you hold them accountable, Kevin and Chuck break it all wide open.

    They dive into why shop culture has gotten weak, why pride in the trade is disappearing, and why too many owners sabotage themselves by not trusting the systems they built. They talk real ownership, real responsibility, and the real difference between being tough and being toxic.

    This episode is a warning, a wake up call, and a punch in the mouth for anyone who needs to hear it. It is honest, it is raw, and it is exactly what the industry has been avoiding for far too long.

    Stories You Will Hear in This Episode:
    • Why owning a shop means the buck always stops with you
    • The truth about techs who claim they are specialists but cannot back it up
    • The collapse of shop culture when no one can take criticism
    • What accountability actually looks like in a real shop
    • Why pride and grit still matter more than certifications
    • How owners destroy their own businesses by overriding their systems
    • What separates the techs who survive from the ones who crumble
    • The real reason shops are struggling to find and keep good people


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/repair-shop-reckoning--6688688/support.
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    1 hr and 22 mins