About us

A little about Pete & Nita

We are Pete & Nita Harksell, owners of Pete’s Auto Repair, LLC. We both have deep roots in Whatcom County with our great-grandparents settling in the county in 1888-89. We both are graduates of Ferndale High School with Nita going on to the Bellingham Technical College in the field of office and accounting and Pete went to the GM School in Tigard, Oregon. We were married in 1978 and have one grown son, Peter III who acquired his dads love for cars. Peter moved to Simi Valley, California in February 2006 when he went to work at his dream job. Peter is married to Shelby and they have one son, Peter IV.  He is working with Steve Strope of Pure Vision building one of a kind 60’s and 70’s hotrods which Peter calls ‘functional art’. You can see the cars and learn more about Pure Vision at www.purevisiondesign.com.

Pete’s dad, Pete Sr., leased the Exxon service station a half mile south of our current location in 1969 and Pete started working for him at the age of 11, pushing a broom, washing windows, and pumping gas.  While in high school, he worked evenings and weekends pumping gas and doing some mechanical work. After attending the GM school, Pete became the head mechanic at the service station.

Pete in 1983

In 1991, Pete Sr. built the shop where we are currently located. The business opened on July 1, 1991 with Pete and Nita purchasing the business and leasing the building on January 1, 1992.

Pete has attended many classes throughout the years and is an ASE Certified Master Technician, he is also ASE Certified as a Parts Specialist and a Service Consultant.   In 2014 Pete graduated from the Automotive Management Institution as an Accredited Automotive Manager.

We currently employ three full time techniciasn and two service advisors.

Accomplishments and Awards

Pete in 1963

Pete was selected as the 2016 NAPA Regional ASE Technician of the Year, an award he also received  in 1999 and 2014, and placed in the top ten nationally.   As a AAA approved shop since 1991, Pete’s Auto Repair is proud to have received the AAA Top Shop Award every year since 2008.   Pete’s Auto Repair was honored to be voted the Member of the Year for 2016 by the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce.  We were also selected in 2009 as the Business of the Year.  We have also been honored to receive the Business of the Month award in July 2011, July 2013, February 2016.  In 2015 we were awarded the Spirit of Ferndale Award.   In 2010 and 2014 Pete was selected as Kiwanian of the Year from the Ferndale Kiwanis.   In January 2015, Pete and Nita were awarded the ASA Northwest Member of the Year award, this was the first time this prestigious award has been presented to a couple.

Policies and Promise

Pete 2nd from right, with his sister, father and 3 brothers
July 1st, 1991

We promise to treat each customer fairly and honestly, we will not high pressure you. However, we will let you know if we see anything on your vehicle that will need repaired, how soon it should be done and how much it will cost, but of course the decision is up to you. We are not the cheapest shop in the county nor are we the most expensive. Our rates are what we need to hire and keep top quality technicians and to have the up-to-date equipment that allows us to diagnose and repair your vehicles properly.

We hope that you will give us all the information needed to properly repair your vehicles, i.e. “My vehicle dies at stop signs when it is cold but it runs fine when warmed up. It has a high idle when I start it and stays that way for about five minutes.” This detailed information will help us repair your vehicle properly the first time. Please politely let us know if the repair did not fix the problem or if you feel something is not right so we may rectify it. This also lets us know if our technicians are doing their work correctly—if we don’t hear anything, we assume all is well!

Thank you again for checking out Pete’s Auto Repair website. We hope this is the start of a long term relationship with you and that you will become one of our long term customers.

Sincerely,
Nita & Pete Harksell, Jr.

Contact us

Monday – Friday
Shop Hours: 8am-4:30pm
Office Hours: 7:30am-5pm
Key Drop Service Available