It only took a few decades, but Greg Pehlivanis’s dream came true in Alexandria.
Since 1995, the small team at Greg’s Automotive Service (3507 Mount Vernon Avenue) has fixed all manner of automobiles. But don’t worry. Even as Greg himself is stepping back and leaving operations to his son, Dino, the old troubleshooter says he’s still coming in to fix the odd car now and again.
Transfixed by machines since getting his first bicycle, Greg grew up in a small town in northern Greece, starting work after school as a helper to a mechanic when he was 14.
“I was lucky,” Greg says. “I was the second kid in town to get a bicycle, but they were expensive. My father couldn’t just go and buy more bicycles, so I had to learn how to repair it.”
Greg started to make money as a mechanic at the age of 17, and worked an auto shop as he went to night school for post-secondary mechanic and electrician degrees. After a required stint in the army, and with help from his farmer parents, he got a taste of the U.S. by visiting his sister, who moved to the area. In 1982, Greg launched a roadside assistance service, and not long after that, he opened his first auto repair shop in Greece.
In 1987, Greg and his wife moved to the U.S. He ended up going to night school to learn English and spent years working as the manager at a number of nearby auto shops.
“The first year was hard,” he said. “I didn’t speak English and was trying to work for somebody to see what kind engines there were here, because I had no idea about American cars. I specialized in foreign cars.”
In 1995, Greg bought the former auto shop where he would spend the next three decades of his life.
“Cars are better now,” Greg says. “I used to see some customers five times a year for an oil change, or to get their spark plugs changed every 20,000 miles. Now you have some cars that only get an oil change once a year and a new spark plug every 100,000 miles.”
Dino, now 26, started working as a helper in the shop as a young kid — just the same way his father started.
Dino says he wants to eventually rebrand the independent shop and open several smaller locations. With a small teams of mechanics with access to the same technology as car dealerships, he also says customers save money at his shop.
“We know some dealers that charge up to $300 an hour,” Dino said. “We’re more in the range between $150 to $200 an hour.”
Greg lives in Burke with his wife Maria.
“Time passes, and my dreams came true,” Greg said. “Now it’s time for him (Dino) to dream. I have two good kids who are healthy. That’s the most important thing. My dream was to have a good family, and I’m happy.”
