By Lynette Norris
Greene Publishing, Inc.
Thomas McCrary was born in Asheville, North Carolina, but his family moved to Madison when he was six, and McCrary grew up going to school at Greenville Elementary and Madison High. This was home to him until he was 30, when he moved back to Asheville, married Rebecca, his wife of ten years, and opened an auto repair shop, Auto and Diesel of Fletcher.
Now he has come home again to Madison. High taxes, high cost of living and a bad economy that was particularly acute in the Asheville area had made the business part increasingly difficult, but “mainly, I just wanted to come home,” he said.
With 20 years of experience in diesel engine repair, including farm equipment, heavy equipment and tractor trailers (“I can fix anything!”), and a specialty in the smaller Duramax, Powerstroke and Cummins engines (Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet), McCrary has opened up shop in a new location, 171 N.E. Rocky Ford Road, directly behind Kelley’s Body Shop. A wooden fence divides Madison Fleet Services from the back of Kelley’s business, and customers turning onto Rocky Ford Road just past Kelley’s will almost immediately see the sign for Madison Fleet Services on the left, marking the entrance in the tall wooden fence.
McCrary has been at this location about a month, but in that amount of time, he has hauled away over 30 tractor-trailer loads of junk cars and car parts, so the shop building at the back of the property is now actually visible and accessible. The area in front has been mowed and smoothed out, and the shop itself, once stacked to the ceiling with old cars and car parts has been cleared out and cleaned up, as well as undergoing some extensive renovations. A new ceiling has been put in, with the middle part raised several feet higher to accommodate any tractor-trailers brought in for repair. New wooden wall siding has been added, and new overhead light fixtures are almost completed.
While he has been busy getting his shop cleaned out and set up, he has also been doing some work for James Coleburn and Studstill’s. Now, he would like to let the folks of Madison and the surrounding area know that he is open and ready for business and confident that things will go well, and that he’ll be able to make a pretty decent living in Madison when satisfied customers start spreading the word.
He has all the diagnostic equipment necessary for the repair of the newer engines, and “I can beat the dealership prices by about a third most of the time.” He also offers roadside assistance 24/7.
If your diesel engine vehicle needs attention, give him a call at (850)464-8340.
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