Matthew J. Allen, KTAR Car Guy, is a host of Bumper to Bumper Radio which airs every Saturday morning from 11 a.m. to noon on News Talk 92.3 FM KTAR in Phoenix, Arizona. Allen is also the owner of Virginia Auto Service, an award winning car repair shop located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Matt is an ASE Certified Master Technician.
Matt Allen’s Career in Car Repair
Matt Allen has loved working on cars for as long as he can remember. As a young man growing up in Phoenix he often hung out with the older kids in his neighborhood and watched them as they worked on their cars. When Matt’s family moved to the state of Virginia when Matt was a teenager he got his first job in an auto repair shop and it was then that he began to dream of owning his own auto repair shop some day.
Allen got to work with some of the best auto repair experts in the country as he took on an apprenticeship and other automotive-related jobs. Then in he early 90’s Allen got a job working for Porsche Motor Sport Factory Race Team-Kelly Moss Racing, working with drivers such as Price Cobb and Mauro Baldi. That was one of the highlights of his career.
In early 1994 Matt worked for what was then Camelback Porsche until it was bought out and he found himself without a job. He remembered his dream of owning an auto repair shop one day so he decided to look around. That’s when he found Virginia Auto Service for sale. Having lived in the state of Virginia when he first began to dream of owning his own auto repair shop, Matt couldn’t help but think that the opportunity to purchase “Virginia Auto Service” was a “sign from above.”
When Matt first saw Virginia Auto Service, it was falling apart. But he had a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish and he knew he could do it. Plus, it didn’t hurt that the purchase price of Virginia Auto Service was in line with his budget!
With the money he had saved and a little more that he had borrowed from his parents, Matt purchased Virginia Auto Service in November 1994 and started working on cleaning it up. The “new” Virginia Auto Service opened for business on January 5, 1995. Matt was only 24 years old.
In June 2004, Virginia Auto Service was set fire by an arsonist. Six out of nine service bays were destroyed, nearly putting Virginia Auto Service out of business. It took almost a year to complete the restoration of the business. The arsonist was never caught.
In May 2010, Virginia Auto Service was voted “Reader’s Choice: Best Auto Repair Shop in Phoenix” by readers of The Arizona Republic.
In December 2010, Virginia Auto Service was honored as a MotorAge Magazine’s Top Shop for their commitment to service and “back to basics” attitude. They were featured in the December 2010 issue of MotorAge Magazine.
Virginia Auto Service received the Impact Business of the Year Award in Response to Adversity by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce in 2011.
Allen is a volunteer Automotive Repair Advisory Committee Member for the Central, Northern, and Western Arizona Better Business Bureau (BBB) where he has served since 2000. He was the Chairman of the Committee in 2008 and 2009. Virginia Auto Service is A+ Rated and accredited by the Better Business Bureau.
Allen has also served as a Former Ford Lemon Law Arbitrator.
Matt is married to Edith, a pediatrician and has three daughters. In his spare time he likes scuba diving, traveling and spending time with his family.
Matt Allen is owner of Auto Repair Phoenix
