Gresham’s Honest-1 Auto Care Opens for Business Longtime Local Resident and Entrepreneur Opens Third PDX Location

Gresham, Oregon - Honest 1 Auto Care, the only national full-service auto repair and maintenance franchise that is 100 percent ESA® Certified Eco-Friendly, today announced the opening of its newest location at 1690 NE Division St. in Gresham, Oregon, located next to Popeye's and across the street from the Safeway grocery store.

Formerly Total Car Care, the shop has been totally remodeled and opened as the newest Honest-1 Auto Care and expanded to accommodate nearly 40 percent more servicing capacity. The auto repair and maintenance facility now features six full-service bays, and two Quick-Lube bays for oil changes. They have also added two new customer lounges to the facility, one for the Quick-Lube bays and one for the full-service auto care center that provides a children's play area, internet café, 42" flat screen and WiFi service for customer comfort and convenience.

As an opening special, the new Honest-1 Auto Care is offering $10 off any service and has made additional discounts available through coupons that can be found online. Shop hours are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday.

"Since opening our first location about two and a half years ago, we've built a great reputation with our customers," said Steve Grimes, owner of the new Honest-1 Auto Care Center. "We're recognized as the premier eco-friendly auto repair business in town, where our customers know their vehicle will be serviced under the supervision of an ASE Certified Master Technician who directs the work in the shop with the utmost of honesty and integrity."

The Gresham shop is the third Honest-1 store that Grimes owns. His two other stores are located at 20th & Stark in Portland and HWY 212 and 135th Ave. in Clackamas. In addition to being an entrepreneur, Grimes has been active in the military for 23 years and serves as a Lieutenant Colonel and Executive Officer for the 41st Brigade of the Army National Guard. Grimes had managed stores for two nationwide chains for 16 years prior to his Guard Unit being activated and deployed to Afghanistan for 12 Months in 2006-2007. While in Afghanistan he thought about starting his own business and upon returning home opened the Portland store in October 2007 followed by the Clackamas store two months later.

In an effort to give back to the community and the environment, Grimes said that Honest-1 is funding the planting of 100,000 (60,000 in 2010 and 40,000 in 2009) new trees through a partnership formed with American Forests. Locally, American Forests is helping Oregon Trout in the planting of thousands of new trees in the Deschutes 'River Basin' project to protect the native fish stocks and water quality of the Deschutes River basin.

Honest 1 Auto Care is also repairing the often negative perception the public has of auto maintenance and repair shops. With the brand's new color scheme, attractive in-store design, shop cleanliness and enhanced product lines, Honest-1 Auto Care has become a favorite car repair destination for the areas it serves.

"Honest-1 Auto Care provides me with a fantastic way to connect with my community," said Grimes. "From job creation and business development to cleaning up the image of auto repair and maintenance providers, Honest-1 Auto Care is poised to quickly become the Gresham area's "premier" auto service provider."

About Honest-1 Auto Care

Honest-1 Auto Care™ is the only national full-service auto repair and maintenance franchise chain that is 100 percent ESA® Certified Eco-Friendly Auto Care®. Honest-1 executes numerous eco-friendly actions companywide, including strict recycling of auto materials, pollution prevention, resource conservation and trademarked services such as ECO TuneUp® and ECO Oil Change. In addition to its high standards to be environmentally responsible, Honest-1 is committed to all-around quality customer service unprecedented in the auto repair and maintenance industry. Each Honest-1 staff member and technician is thoroughly trained to meet company-set standards, which are designed to make the maintenance process less intimidating for non-auto enthusiasts while providing upfront, honest service. With 22 locations throughout the U.S., Honest-1 centers are family-friendly, and are characterized by clean and upscale waiting areas, Internet cafes, children's play areas, comfortable chairs and couches, HDTV and complimentary beverage stations. Honest-1 plans to open 10 more locations nationwide in the next year.