Who is your mechanic? What can we tell you about the man or woman that goes to work each day ready to maintain and/or fix your vehicle?
One common trait among technicians is an innate desire to understand how things work and solve mysteries. Knowing what’s wrong isn’t as valuable as knowing why a particular system in a vehicle isn’t working properly. This is the orientation that facilitates expert diagnosis, which is the first step in a complete repair.
Good mechanics are also lifelong learners, which is why all of our technicians attend continuing education classes and strive to earn third-party certifications such as ASE Master Technician.
Let’s start with Dana Haglin. Like so many mechanics, Dana had an early love of cars. In fact, he still has a car he bought while in high school (it’s an Austin Healey)! Dana has a music performance degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder, but ultimately decided to open his own automotive repair shop.
Fernando Flores, originally from Texas, not only has a music performance degree, he also has an associate’s degree in Automotive Repair. His love of car repair came from watching and helping as his father kept up the family vehicles. Fernando is a Master Technician with many years of experience. Interesting fact: Fernando is tri-lingual; English, Spanish and French.
Steve Zadel, also a Master Technician, has the most experience in the shop (after Dana), and he proudly notes he rebuilt his first engine at age 12. In other words, he’s a mechanic’s mechanic. Steve has taught auto repair at a post-secondary, vocational school in the metro area for a time, but prefers fixing to teaching, which we consider a win for our shop and our customers.
Tyler Zadel pretty much grew up in and around the shop. (Hint: Tyler and Steve have the same last name.) As a youngster, Tyler was given the chance to assist with a classic Chevrolet Camaro restoration, and was hooked from that moment. Tyler started out and paid his dues by changing oil and soon discovered he had a knack for diagnosis and repair. If there is a chef among the bunch here at Haglin Automotive, Tyler is the guy.
Josh Whitmon is from Wisconsin, and doesn’t have a “here’s the moment I decided to be a mechanic” story. Instead, he says he grew up working on anything and everything mechanical because that’s the midwestern ethic. If it needed fixing, it got fixed. Josh spends many days on the slopes in the winter, and is an avid off-roader in the warmer months.
Colorado native, Donavan Grant, began his career as a mechanic in the most natural way: His first car was, let’s just say, challenged. That ensured Donavan got a lot of practice, and he pretty much never stopped: a career was born. Donavan attended a major automotive technical college and has been on the job ever since. These days he’s a Subaru driver, avid video game player, and the newest member of the Haglin Team.