Shop Profile: Hansville Repair

It’s a small village, but Hansville, Washington makes a grand first impression. As Hansville Road crests a hill and descends into town, a breathtaking panorama unfolds—Puget Sound, Whidbey Island, and distant Mount Baker stretched across the windshield like a masterpiece painted by nature. My destination is Hansville Repair, and I can’t help but think that someone in need of a brake job should be wary; past the shop, the next stop off the Kitsap Peninsula is salt water.

Hansville Repair is located 7.5 miles from the nearest traffic signal at the northern tip of the Kitsap peninsula in Washington state. Photo: Evan Griffey.

If you can make it here…

The shop is the first sign of civilization when you enter a “downtown” consisting of little more than five buildings, including a post office. Hansville Repair may be isolated—the closest stoplight is seven and a half miles away—but its holding area is filled to the gills with cars and trucks awaiting a crew of skilled technicians’ magic touch.

This location that’s literally the end of the road has been an auto repair outpost since 1954, when it started life as Hilliard’s Repair. After passing through several owners, Steven Otto, 38, bought the shop in 2023 from his father, Allen. Having worked at the shop for the last 20 years, the transition from tech to top dog was seamless.

It was the end of the day when I arrived and I expected the pace to be slow and steady, but the technicians here never downshift. There were engines on the floor and a buzz of activity filling the two-door, three-lift, 1,700-square-foot service area. Otto showed me to his “office,” basically a workstation holding a laptop and a boombox inaudible over the din of the shop noise.

I had to ask him the secret of Hansville Repair’s success. “We’re thriving because of a combination of good customers that have become generational customers, and a reputation for honesty that has been built over decades,” he responded.

Steven Otto, 38, bought the shop from his dad Allen in 2023 but has been working there since he was 18 years old. Photo: Evan Griffey.

Customer service, before and after the job is done, is what sets Hansville Repair apart from other shops. “There’s no ‘it’s not covered because of this,’” he says. “If we worked on that system, we take care of it. This business is really easy when everything goes right; you hand off the keys and move on. But when there’s a bump in the road and it goes wrong, how you handle yourself in those situations shows your shop’s true colors. Setting things straight is more important than turning a profit. Doing things right is better in the long term.”

He continued, “We’ve kept our customers. Actually, we don’t accept new clientele, which is very odd for the automotive repair world. I only take new clients from word-of-mouth recommendations of current customers.” With a Google Reviews rating of 4.9, it’s apparent that thousands of Kitsap Peninsula residents have decided, as the shop’s website declares, “what awaits at the end of the road is worth the drive.”

Moving to the quieter outside, we sit on a bench planter where the gas pumps of the old Hilliard’s Repair once stood. I’m reminded again of how isolated this shop really is and ask if getting parts is a problem.

“That’s tricky,” Otto says. “Around here, other than dealerships on the Peninsula, we only have three local auto parts stores that deliver to us—NAPA Westbay Auto Parts, O’Reilly, and Seattle Automotive. I would say that probably sixty to seventy percent of our parts are sourced from them. Besides them, we use online retailers for any of the hard-to-find things or if the local stuff is simply too expensive.” I wonder aloud if Dorman figures into his ordering patterns, and he’s quick to respond: “I order more Dorman® OE FIX® than proportionately anything else on the market. It’s all about value. You’re not just buying a replacement, you’re buying better. They research the reason a part has failed and, where possible, correct the OEM shortcoming.”

Evolving with the era

Otto says the march of technology has benefited his business in a multitude of ways. “Twenty or thirty years ago we used to get people saying, ‘You know, that’s expensive. I can do this myself.’ Back in the day, a lot of people kind of turned their own wrenches. In today’s cars, some of those old wrenches are obsolete. Modern cars have complicated systems, and they require very special equipment and proprietary tools that can price the DIYer out of the equation. The complexity of requiring multiple expensive computerized devices to understand and repair vehicles is also a DIY deterrent, which I guess is good for business.”

He adds, “Technology has always had a time-saving benefit to it. Sourcing parts is a prime example. I can look up all three of my major vendors at the same time, price-check them, find out where the parts are going to be located, and what time they’ll be at my door. 10 years ago, you couldn’t do that. 15 years ago you had to look in a catalog and make a phone call.”

Steven Otto is the lead tech and on the front lines wrenching every day. There is a second tech and a shop manager also pulling daily duty at the shop. Photo: Evan Griffey.

Positive vibes, positive results

Steven believes the upbeat energy within the shop helps project Hansville Repair’s character to customers. “Having a bad day can rub off,” he explains. “We’re naturally fun and lighthearted—I work with my three best friends. It’s the same as any shop—you get the occasional swearing outburst when you hit yourself with a hammer or strip a bolt. We work hard, and making it fun helps when we’re grinding.”

When I left Otto, the impact wrenches were still whizzing and rattling, the phone was still ringing, and it was clear that the shop’s success isn’t just about fixing cars—it’s about building trust, fostering relationships, and maintaining an unwavering commitment to honesty and quality. And that kind of dedication goes a long way in an isolated hamlet like Hansville—or anywhere else.