New mobile auto mechanic knuckles down to work

Jared Becker was new to Wrangell when he and his wife, Destiny, arrived from St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis, at the end of September. "We're Jehovah's Witnesses, so we like to help out with Bible education work," he said. "So that's what brought us here. We were just trying to find a way to sustain ourselves once we got here."

As he talked with residents over the next few months, he saw there was a need in town for auto repair services. "So, I decided to give it a try and see where it went."

With that in mind, Becker started his own mobile auto mechanic service called Busted Knuckles Auto, using the name of his old repair garage in Minnesota, posting flyers at places like City Market and IGA Supermarket.

"It's very new," he said. "I only really started the beginning of February, but so far it's going well as word has spread. It feels good to help people out."

Thus far, the repairs that Becker has done have been routine. "I'm really just kind of getting my feet wet," he said. "I'd like to get my hands on more complex stuff, but so far it's been more run of the mill."

He's still determining the range of his services. "I've done everything except internal transmission and body and glass work. I'm figuring out what my limits are being mobile as opposed to being in a shop. It's kind of full service for the most part. ... I avoid all bodywork. Outside of that, I'm pretty comfortable with most things."

Becker has worked on cars since he was a teenager; professionally he's been a mechanic for about eight years. "I worked primarily at a shop, but I also worked in my own garage, but as far as being mobile that's not something I've done until now."

The name came from an off-the-cuff remark he made when he was starting his own garage in Minnesota and trying to decide on what to call his business. He had planned to just use his own name, but his sister thought that was boring. "I said, 'What do you want me to do, call it "Busted Knuckles?"' and she said, 'Yeah, that's great!'"

While Becker hasn't ruled out eventually opening a brick-and-mortar garage or similar base of operations in town, for now being mobile keeps his expenses down. "It's not out of the question," he said. "It's not a goal at the moment."

For repair services or more information about Busted Knuckles Auto, call Becker at 763-688-0717 or email bustedknucklesauto24@gmail.com.