THE HISTORY OF PLATINUM

The History of Platinum Auto

The Start...

       Over the past several years, we have had multiple customers ask us how Platinum Auto came to be. Some actually assumed that were a franchise because of our logo and branding. Others just assume it is a family business that had been handed down over the years. Some may not ask at all, or never thought to ask... and some of you that have been with us from the start may or may not know the whole story. Either way, I am sure that most of you would not believe it if I told you that Platinum was started with $568 of Rolled Change! So, sit back and enjoy as we bring everyone up to speed on the history and steady growth of Platinum... and where it all began.
          Upon Graduation, after attending 4 years of Auto Technology at Cape Cod Technical Vocation High School in Harwich, I went on to work at a local Chrysler/Dodge dealership in Hyannis. It was not long before I had advanced into a rather good technician & became an ASE Certified Master Technician & Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep Gold Technician. During those Five years, I began to see the demand for a Good Quality Independent Service & Repair shop, to give customers an alternative to the dealer. It seemed that most of the independent repair shops at that time were not well versed in the technology side of newer vehicles. With vehicles more complex than ever rolling off the assembly line, those shops either simply refused to change with the times or could not afford the expensive test equipment and training to go along with it. Before long, I had quite an extensive number of personal customers that would come to a small warehouse bay that I rented with a few friends after high school. Originally, we rented the bay to work on our personal cars, but before I knew it, I had quite a large following of repeat customers & it was growing every day! I was working long hours, sometimes until 1 or 2 am, working full time at the dealer, then leaving there and going to my own small place at night and on weekends. It finally reached a point where I had 2 friends working with me part time and we still could not get all the work completed. I was burning the candle at both ends and I knew that a decision had to be made. I could no longer continue working those long hours... It was time for a change!
          I had just put a down payment on my first house, so money was tight, but reality was, I was 23 years old, I had no wife, no kids, no car payments... I had nothing to lose, besides a little money (which I had used for the down payment and furniture for the house). So, believe it or not, in April 1999, I gave my 2 weeks’ notice to the dealership, I rolled my change that I had been accumulating for the past couple of years and with $568 worth of rolled change, Platinum Auto was born! 

Moving on Up...

          3 Years Later… In addition to me, we had a full time technician to assist with repairs, we hired someone to help answer phones & schedule jobs and we implemented a few systems to help organize & become more efficient but we were quickly running out of room in the 1000 sq. ft. warehouse bay. Needless to say…… we had outgrown our current space.   
          Later that year, after approx. 3 ½ yrs. in business, we found a building in South Yarmouth that was within our budget. It needed some freshening up (to say the least!), but it would do the job…. So to Yarmouth we moved. We now had 3 service bays, 2 lifts, an adequate amount of parking & an office with a customer waiting area. We were moving on up!  

Perfect Timing...

       4 years later, things were going great, except for the fact that we were out of space again! Fortunately for us, the building next door & the 2 lots out back became available at just the right time & a deal was made. We now acquired our second building! This would allow us to offer a more comfortable waiting area for our customers, a more professional service counter, a small showroom to display some of the vehicle accessories that we have to offer and add 2 more service bays and much more needed parking. If we thought the first building needed some fixing up, we were in for a big surprise with this one!
       During this time, Bill Arseneaux and his brother Rick had decided to sell their family business, Bass River Sunoco, after approximately 40 years in business. It was perfect timing for both of us…. They needed a place to send their customers & we needed more equipment & more customers to ensure our success. Timing was everything!

Fast Forward to 2019...

          Fast forward to 2019, and here we are, our 20th year in business in Service and Repair and a thriving Sales and Rentals department.  We've outgrown our two buildings and have leased an additional building to keep up with the work flow. We now have 3 buildings, over an acre of land, with 7 service bays, ten lifts, 15 wonderful employees and thousands of great customers.  
The only thing we need now... is more space, but don’t worry, those plans are already underway...

 -Jay
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