JB Tire and Auto offers repairs and maintenance in Minerva

After years of working in the automotive repair industry, two Marine Corps veterans have opened a new repair shop in Minerva.

Nick Codispoti and Jordan Bollinger co-own JB Tire and Auto, located at 305 S. Market St., Suite A. The business officially opened Feb. 2 and offers a range of automotive repair and maintenance services.

Codispoti said the two first met while working together at a shop he previously owned in Navarre.

“I owned a shop up there for 11 years,” Codispoti said. “That’s how Bollinger and I met. He actually used to work for me.”

After stepping away from automotive work for a time, Codispoti said he returned to the field last year but found himself dissatisfied working for other shops.

“I was pretty unhappy having to turn wrenches for other shops,” Codispoti said. “Bollinger came home and found this spot for us to lease, and here we are.”

Both owners bring military experience to the business. Codispoti served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps and later spent about three and a half years in the National Guard. Bollinger served four years in the Marine Corps, where he worked on military trucks.

Both Codispoti and Bollinger are ASE-certified automotive technicians, a designation from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence that recognizes professional training and testing in the automotive repair industry.

Bollinger said his interest in automotive work started early.

“My dad is a motorcycle mechanic, and he has his own shop,” Bollinger said. “I grew up turning wrenches with him.”

Codispoti followed a different path before returning to automotive work. After leaving the Marines, he spent several years working in construction with his father’s custom home building business before eventually pursuing formal training in automotive repair.

Today, JB Tire and Auto handles a variety of services for domestic and import vehicles.

Codispoti said the shop offers oil changes, routine maintenance, fluid flushes, alignments, suspension and steering repairs and engine diagnostics. The shop also sells and installs tires, typically ordering them for same-day or next-day delivery.

In some cases, larger repairs such as engine or transmission replacements can also be completed.

While the shop does not specialize in high-end European vehicles or motorcycle repair, the owners said they aim to handle most common automotive issues drivers encounter.

So far, Codispoti said the shop has stayed steadily busy since opening Feb. 2.

“We’ve been staying busy,” he said. “We get some gaps on the schedule here and there, but a lot of people don’t know us yet.”

Much of the work coming through the shop so far has involved brake repairs, suspension work and tire service.

For both owners, customer satisfaction is a key focus.

“Customer satisfaction is my number one goal in all of this,” Codispoti said.

He said that focus influenced their decision to start a smaller shop.

“Being small, just him and I, we can give that attention and focus on what really needs to be important, the customer,” Codispoti said.

Bollinger said their goal is to provide honest repairs and avoid the practices he saw at some previous workplaces.

“We both worked for some people that really rip people off,” Bollinger said. “Giving people honest repairs is our goal.”

Another part of that approach involves showing customers exactly what is happening with their vehicles.

“We like to educate the customers about what their vehicle needs,” Codispoti said.

Rather than simply presenting a bill, Codispoti said he often brings customers into the shop to see worn or damaged parts for themselves.

“I don’t want to just call somebody and say bring us $1,800 and your car is fixed,” he said.

The shop currently operates with three service bays and is run solely by the two owners, though they hope to add employees in the future.

JB Tire and Auto is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The business can be reached at 234-406-6607.