(As seen in San Carlos Living Magazine)
What makes Toole’s Garage different is our people – Francisco, Luis, Rob, Dave, and Cameron.
Dave Toole, the owner, takes great care in selecting and developing his master technicians,
mechanics at the top of their game in training and experience. We rely on their skills to perform
the tricky diagnoses and the complex repairs sometimes necessary to get a car running
well. There are two paths in becoming a master technician. First, many talented automotive
technicians entered the profession at the side of another tech, learning and watching and
asking questions while picking up information and confidence along the way. In time, you can
get pretty good at working on cars if you learn the right techniques from a patient mentor.
Alternatively, other students enter our profession in a more academic way, enrolling in an
automotive technology program at a college or trade school, and studying engines,
transmissions, electrical systems, gearboxes and other systems while practicing in a training
shop.
At Toole’s Garage, we have three practicing master technicians, Francisco, Luis, and Rob.
Setting a high bar for the team is Dave, a master Honda technician himself. Shop Foreman
Francisco came to the profession through a trade school and quickly moved into Mitsubishi and
Honda dealers. He met Dave at Honda Hospital in San Mateo and followed him when Dave
opened Toole’s Garage. The two Honda gurus wanted a new kind of shop, with an
exceptional customer experience and a “career ladder” for great employees. Luis joined us
later, an Acura master technician, and Rob brought decades of Mercedes master-technician
skills.
Our masters have extensive training in Honda/Acura, Mercedes-Benz and hybrid powertrains,
and our line technicians come from Subaru, Toyota, Chrysler, Jaguar/Land Rover and multi-line
shops. Their collective experience is our “big brain” and it gets a workout every week as we
tackle passenger cars, diesel trucks, hot rods, classics and commercial vehicles. But it’s also a
great resource for up-and-coming technicians, so we make a place for an apprentice, Cameron,
on our crew.
Cameron came to Toole’s Garage as a student at Skyline College’s automotive technology
program and started as a shop helper. Through dedication, a great attitude and eager
inquisitiveness, he showed us he had more to offer, so we showed him the career ladder and
up he jumped!
Cam’s from Redwood City and grew up a tinkerer. His dad runs a hardware store, so he saw a
tool or two as a kid. Francisco noticed the sparkle when Cam started seeing the jobs at the shop
that he was learning about in school, and he wanted more of it. Through our apprenticeship,
Cam worked with each of our technicians and saw different approaches and many unique
talents. He prepared presentations for the other techs, and he asked question after question.
All of our techs participate in classroom and online coursework, and Cam excels there, too.
Cameron pulled the engine on his own car recently and worked on the head and valves after
hours, and he’ll soon have his Golf back on its feet. We’ve watched him grow into a good
technician and a hell of a nice coworker, and that makes this business all the more satisfying.
As a team, we set Toole’s apart from other automotive shops. Our standards are high because
your standards are high. To learn more about us visit, toolesgarage.com or just come by the
garage.