Take a drive down Watt Avenue, through the intersection of Q and Watt, and your eyes will be drawn to the line-up of classic and contemporary cars in various stages of restoration.
“Old school cars”, as Sam Hedgpeth, owner of the North Highlands Maaco refers to them, are definitely one of the shop’s specialties. People come from all over with their classic cars to have their work done here. They are confident that the work will be done with the utmost care and excellence.
“Enrique is the best,” boasts Hedgpeth of his employee who specializes in the art of auto body work. “Enrique is dedicated to old-school,” says Hedgpeth. “He is passionate about his work.” In fact, Sam regards all of his employees as strong, dedication and vital assets to the business, each filled with a passion for what they do. In speaking with Sam, I found out that Dave Clark is instrumental in keeping the business going. He truly cares about the people and the business. Rich Lundgren is the superior body guy – one of the finest in the area, and Ivan Martinez has a finely tuned skill of matching paints.
Speaking of passion, Sam Hedgpeth has it, heading this team of experts. The Maaco Paint and Collision shop is his third career, as he puts it. Sam’s loving wife, Alene, encouraged Sam to retire after he finished his position at UC Santa Cruz as Assistant Dean of the School of Engineering. It sounds like Sam thought about it for a moment – a brief moment – and moved on to purchase the Maaco in North Highlands three and a half years ago. “This is actually my third career,” reports Sam, as he recalls his first career as VP and CFO of several large Silicon Valley firms, then his position at UCSC.
Sam purchased the business and a home in North Highlands and stays here Monday through Friday, driving home to the Bay Area on the weekends to see his wife and his sons, when they are home from school. Sam, is in his senior year at UC Santa Barbara and Nick, is a sophomore at USC. Both are working towards their degrees in finance, following in the footsteps of both dad and mom, but they also have their dad’s love of fine automotive machinery. Sam has a ’68 Le Mans and Nick has a ’67 Mustang.
Sam is fervent about customer service. He is confident of the quality of work they do in all areas of body work and paint, and his goal is to keep customers coming back and making North Highlands Maaco a “family business”.
An independent survey was done to determine the quality and effectiveness of North Highlands Maaco and they received a 98% “happiness rating, meaning just under 100% of their customers are completely satisfied and would return to do business at this location again. In fact, Sam relays a story of a female customer, close to 80 years old who was in with a beautiful, almost new Honda for some repair and paint. After she picked up the car, she returned to the shop to show them a “haze” on the window. Upon looking at it, Sam noticed it was a bit of paint overspray. He said, “We’ll take care of it right away.” With jaw dropped, she said, “You will?” Ten minutes later her car was spotless. While the overspray is not a normal occurrence, the superior customer service definitely is.
Another additional stamp of approval is that the guys in the shop have brought their own vehicles in for repair and paint because they know the quality of work that is performed on every car that comes in. Sam has even committed to bring his ’63 Pontiac Bonneville in (which his dad purchased brand new and Sam received as a gift when he graduated from Cal) so it can experience some more cruising miles.
Be sure to stop by Maaco and meet Sam and the guys. The shop is located at 7215 Watt Avenue, North Highlands, CA 95660 and their phone number is (916) 334-5556.
Check out their website at www.sacautobodyshop.com to see samples of the work they have done and learn more about Sam and how he and his team can assist you.
Walking towards my car the other day, I noticed quite a few more dings and chips in the paint than I had realized. I drive a black car and absolutely love the way it shines (when it is clean and ding-free). Even under normal driving conditions and careful parking lot behavior, it’s a challenge to keep your car looking brand new after six years. While my car is in excellent condition engine-wise, it may be time for a make-over on the outside.