They keep it all in the family at Dean & Daughters’ Repair Shop in Estevan. Only, “family” to the owners and employees at this friendly local business includes most of southeast Saskatchewan – and whoever happens to be passing through and requires a bit of help.
“Right now we have someone from California who’d been up in Yukon, and they have car trouble,” says Marnie Wilson. “We do a lot of that sort of work, for people who are travelling through town. When they come in, we try to do everything we can to help them as quickly as we can. You don’t like to see someone stuck without their vehicle.”
Wilson, whose husband, Dean, operates Dean & Daughters’, adds that affordability is also front of mind at the shop – especially these days.
“People are spending lots of money on all kinds of things. Everything costs more,” she reflects. “So we try to work as cost-efficiently as we can for them, and as quickly as we can, so they can get to where they need to be.”
Before opening his own business in 2002, Dean spent 15 years in another local shop. In other words, he has more than 37 years’ experience in the automotive repair industry. There isn’t much he hasn’t seen, although he and his four mechanics make sure to keep up to date on the latest technology.
For example, Dean & Daughters’ has both a Ford and GM scanner, allowing them to do the sort of programming work that’s typically performed by dealerships. They also specialize in diesel engines, automatic transmissions, standard transmissions, transfer cases and differentials.
“We do some things that other shops don’t,” says Wilson. “We do air conditioning work that other places might not do – both on older and newer vehicles.”
Dean and his mechanics are happy to take on any vehicle, from small cars to trucks like the F550 and Dodge 5500.
“We do a bit of everything,” Wilson says. “We do commercial work, business work and personal work. Dean does most of the diagnostic stuff, but all our mechanics work really well together.”
As their name suggests, Dean & Daughters’ also welcomes the occasional contributions of the Wilson’s three daughters: Amanda, Ashley and Megan. They’re all grown up and have careers of their own, but they still like to pop by the shop from time to time and are always read to pick up the phone or help a customer with their needs.
The Wilsons also like to treat all their customers, whether local folks or people travelling through town, as part of their family. And in that spirit, they try to give back to the community however they can. The shop has donated to kids hockey, curling, gymnastics, bike rallies, golf tournaments and many fundraisers in the community.
“We always try to do a few of these things each year to help support the community,” says Wilson. “We get a lot of support from the community, and everyone’s very good to us. So we try to give back a little bit here and there when we can.”
"All of us at Dean & Daughters' would like to thank all our customers for supporting local and supporting our small business."
Located at 116 SK-47 in Estevan, Dean & Daughters’ Repair Shop is open Monday to Friday, from 8am to 5pm. They’re closed for about an hour over lunch. The shop can be reached by calling (306) 634-6114, and additional information can be found on their website.