Blend Quality Service with Expert Advice

When the ambitious, young Fred Sonsini, an Italian immigrant, set up his automotive repair business in 1982 in Plymouth Meeting, PA, - Fred Sonsini Imported Luxury and Sports Car Center - he had but a "simple" recipe in mind for achieving business success. Sell "quality" service and repair for vehicles about which he knew best - high-end European cars. Little did Sonsini realize then that this "simple" recipe also called for some of his most deep-seated cultural values on which he was raised.

"As it turned out, for me it was more than about simply making money," said Sonsini. "I was more ambitious than that. It was about providing quality service and expert advice to a community based on my knowledge and skills. It was about helping motorists have a good driving experience as part of their quality of life. And it was about earning people's respect and treating them with respect and giving back 200 percent."

Sonsini runs a six-bay shop with three technicians who specialize in repairing Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, Porsche, Jaguar, Volvo, Audi, Acura and other import nameplates. He also employs two office staff who handle the administrative and customer service aspects of his business.

Servicing European cars, Sonsini said, has been an advantage as far as profitability is concerned but it also means that the vehicles driven by the average consumer (which are greater in number) are rarely, if ever, ...