About Art's Automotive in Longview, WA
Art's Automotive has been a locally owned business serving the Longview, WA, community since 1965. The business started life as Art's Electric and specialized in the repair and rebuilding of starters and alternators for trucks, marine vehicles, and industrial applications.
We moved Art's to our current 12,000 sq. ft. building at 1320 Industrial Way in 1995, thinking we would never be able to use all the space. WRONG! With seven technicians, three service writers, and all the equipment and support personnel needed to complete repairs, we have filled every square inch!
We only hire the best technicians the Longview area has to offer, and each staff member is expected and committed to either maintain their certification as a Master Technician or work towards it. We also routinely send our staff to attend further training courses and seminars to ensure that their skills remain at the cutting edge of the automotive industry.
Give us a call or request an appointment today!
Steve – President/General Manager
Steve has owned Art's since purchasing the business from his cousin Mike in 1991. Steve was practically raised in the business, accompanying his grandfather Art to the shop on Saturdays starting when he was about twelve years old. Since then he has worked in all areas of the shop, from sweeping the floors to rebuilding starters and alternators, and working at the front desk. He eventually moved into management in the late 80s and,in due course, became the owner.
Steve is a certified technician himself and he is personally involved in all day-to-day operations of the business. Steve has lived in Longview all his adult life, and enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and many outdoor activities.
He truly enjoys working with great customers, and great employees, and can’t think of anything else he would rather do!
Patrick – Store Manager
Patrick joined our team with Art's back in May 2012 as a Service Writer. He was promoted to our Store Manager in February 2018 - Congratulations Patrick! He came to Art's not long after retiring as a Senior Chief from the Navy where he served 24 years! He worked in the Engineering Department as a Marine Gas Turbine Technician. Thank you, Patrick, for your service! Originally from Longview, he is a graduate of Mark Morris High School, where he met and married his high school sweetheart, Cheryl.
Patrick is an avid car enthusiast, and in his spare time he enjoys working on hot rods and race cars and going to car shows. He also enjoys spending time with his family going camping and riding ATVs. Nowadays, Patrick and Cheryl spend most of their spare time happily occupied with their granddaughter, Kalei. Pat loves being a papa and doing papa duties!
Kevin – Rebuild Manager
Kevin has been with Art's for over 30 years! Wow! That's dedication! He started with Art's as a shop sweeper then snatched up the opportunity to apply his interest and knowledge in rebuilding and stepped into the Rebuild Department, dealing with starters and alternators. Shortly after, the Battery Department was added to his list of duties. Kevin is always looking forward to the challenge of hard-to-find or difficult-to-rebuild starters and alternators.
Kevin is a graduate of Kelso High School. He enjoys car shows, fishing, camping, spending time with friends and family, and watching football! You can usually find him with a garage full of family and friends on Sunday watching and cheering on the Seahawks. He and his wife Cheryl also enjoy spending time with their 3 grandchildren, Emery, Dawson, and Lainee.
Kevin likes to learn hands-on from others and is always willing to help customers. He says something unusual about himself is that he learned to type on an old fashioned, mechanical typewriter, something you don't see anymore!
Shelly – Office Manager
Shelly was born and raised in Tacoma Washington. She loved traveling the world as a military child, her favorite place being Germany. While there, she learned to speak German, but without someone to converse with regularly she says she's lost “her touch” and probably could only understand a few words now. She is a graduate of R.A. Long High School and, at one point, had an interest in nursing and began the nursing program at LCC. Shelly has been with Art's for twelve years and is responsible for all office-related functions from A/P, A/R, payroll, and HR, to name a few. She has what seems like a never-ending book of knowledge that comes with 30 plus years of experience!
Shelly and her husband Barry love to travel, go fishing, walking, hiking, and spend time with their son Nate, daughter Samantha, and granddaughter.
Angel – Certified Master Technician
Angel joined the Art's team in January 2013, after graduating with his AA in Automotive Technology from the Lower Columbia College Automotive Program. Angel is one of our Certified Master Technicians. He is a proud Monarch graduating from Mark Morris High School where he played soccer. During his sophomore year at MM, they won first place for League and first place for Districts, going on to States to take fourth for soccer! Angel moved here to Longview from Mexico City, where he was born, when he was eleven years old.
Angel is a car enthusiast, and he's continuously modifying and tuning his stable of high-performance sports cars. He attends local car drifting events in Toledo regularly.
Angel loves to spend time with his lovely wife Allison and their two beautiful daughters, Arielle and Lily.
Jeff – Rebuild Technician
Jeff has been with Art's since 2007. He was born in Weiser, Idaho and grew up in Ontario, Oregon. He took auto shop in high school and, after graduating from Ontario Sr. High, continued his education, earning his AA in Automotive Technology from the Arizona Automotive Institute. Jeff currently holds an ASE Master Technician Certification. He has been working on cars since high school and has been in the automotive industry for over 25 years. He has worked in a variety of shops, from dealerships to independents, as both a technician and Manager. Jeff brings a strong background in computer-controlled vehicles to the table, and he thoroughly enjoys diagnosing complex problems. He was happy to add another notch to his automotive knowledge belt with transferring to our Rebuild Department where he works on starters and alternators.
Jeff and his wife Jan live in Kelso and spend their free time cooking, fishing, working around the house, and tending to their orchard of fruit trees and berry bushes. They also enjoy spending time with their three grandchildren, Desi, Kirra, and Konnor.
Dakota – Certified Master Technician
Dakota was born and raised in Longview and is a graduate of Mark Morris High School. He went on to continue his education for Automotive Technology and graduated from Perry Technical Institute in Yakima. Dakota’s interest in the automotive field began when he was young, when he used to build hot rods and 4 x 4s with his dad at his grandfather's shop. Dakota has been with Art's since August 2015, and while he is the youngest technician here at Art's, he brings with him his savvy automotive passion, intuition, and his eagerness to resolve any issue that comes his way! He is a natural when it comes to automotive repair! Dakota is also a Certified Master Technician.
In his spare time, Dakota works on his race car and pick-up truck, and loves to go off-roading with his jeep! He also enjoys spending time with his family and girlfriend Trista.
Andy – Certified Master Technician
Andy was born in Spokane and, being a military child, he lived all over the western United States, including places such as Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico, to name a few. He is a graduate of Kelso High School. After high school, he attended LCC's Automotive Technology program. Andy started at Art's in February 2016 and is a Certified Master Technician.
In Andy's spare time he likes to go to car shows where he often enters his restored truck. He also enjoys watching NASCAR racing and cheering on the Seahawks and Mariners games! He tries to get to a Seahawks game or two each season. Most of all, he enjoys spending his days off with his wife Joanne and their granddaughter Isabel.
Richard – Porter
Richard is probably the busiest guy here! He is responsible not only for the safe pick up and delivery of parts and people, but he is the guy that performs the final vehicle check before it is delivered to you, our customer. This is an essential part of our service that not only ensures that it was repaired right the first time, but also makes certain that there are no safety issues that need attention before you pick up your car.
Richard was born in Portland, OR and grew up in Rainier, OR. After finishing high school, he joined the US Army in 1975, and retired in 1996.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE RICHARD!
Richard says that he has retired 3 times so far, but he loves working. He believes the more you work, the more active you are, the better your health will be! And just as important to Richard is helping others!
In his spare time, he stays busy at home doing wood working projects, such as picture frames, decks, lamps, and tables. He also stays busy helping others who need it with chores and projects around their houses too.
And, like many of our staff, he is a car guy. Richard has recently finished a long-time resto on his beautiful 1971 Mach 1 Mustang, and is currently rebuilding a 1953 Ford F3 1-ton truck!
In addition to all of the above, he likes to read, and spend time outdoors.