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Page 1 of 3 "Exceeding customers expectations since 1985."
 | Brad's Deer Valley Collision Center, Phoenix, Arizona sits on 2-1/4 fenced acres.
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That is the mantra at Brad's Deer Valley Collision Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Owner Brad Beebe really enjoys the collision repair industry. He became interested in cars during high school and thought it might be an interesting career path. He found a body shop job in his home town of Depew, New York, just south of Buffalo. He began sweeping floors and washing cars. And the rest is history - a lifetime of hard work and success. Beebe worked his way up the ladder of technical and professional success. He first learned the art of a lead repair, where instead of plastic filler, real cars were repaired and rebuilt with lead. He moved around a little bit, always working at good jobs between Depew and Buffalo. He recalls with a twinkle a time when a dealership owner asked him to take over the body shop as a working manager. He suggested to Brad that he "skim" a little of everybody's estimate to pay his manager salary. Beebe, a young man, asked the owner of the dealership, "What if I don't cheat the guys, I don't cheat you, and we all make money?" And that is what he did. Go west, young man 
| | Hot pink love seat constructed out of the back end of a 1960s model Cadillac once was used in the office at Brad's Body Shop. |
In 1978, he pulled up stakes in New York and moved to Phoenix. He loved the open spaces and the big blue sky. Beebe speaks fondly of his experience at the Courtesy Chevrolet body shop, his first Phoenix job, largely due to shop manager Stan Larsen. He said "everyone" in Phoenix will remember Stan Larson. Beebe said all the technicians arrived at work early just to listen to Stan Larson's "legendary stories." After two years in the Valley of the Sun, he missed New York and went back. However, after a very short time in New York, Beebe realized that Phoenix had become his home. While working as a technician in Phoenix, Beebe began looking for a place of his own. He found a location and opened Brad's Body Shop the old fashioned way - doing everything himself. The shop had three open bays with no doors. He did all the work and took care of the customers. Two mornings a week he put a note on the door and would go into the community to market his business. His grandmother even helped him remodel his office. Soon, he was successful - successful enough to put doors on the bays. Moving on up And successful enough to open a second shop. One day, Beebe's real estate agent called to let him know that a property he had been admiring for ten years was available. So Beebe then expanded into two locations. The second Brad's Auto Body was triple the size of the first shop. The good reputation he had earned with his customers and the insurance community followed him to his second location. His hard work was paying off - maybe too well. It was difficult managing two very busy facilities, so he let the manager of the first location take over that business. |
