Going above and beyond: Husband and wife open community-focused car repair shop

Getting your car fixed can be scary, especially if you don’t have a regular mechanic. You may wonder if you’ll be treated fairly, if the job will be done right and if the mechanic will fully explain the repair.

That’s why two Birmingham entrepreneurs — the husband-and-wife team of Manuel Mota and Alexis Ginsburg — say they want to change the way people look at auto repair shops.

They opened Mota Autohaus — specializing in BMWs — in June 2018, in a building they purchased on Fifth Avenue South in the East Avondale and North Crestwood area. They say they work hard to earn the trust of their customers.

“We just go above and beyond,” Mota said. “I really do care about the customer. I try to give the best price. I try to give the best service and just be honest.”

The age, condition or value of a car doesn’t matter, according to Mota. “I treat every car the same way with the same respect, and the same goes for the customer,” he said.

The couple also want Mota Autohaus to be a clean, attractive place that makes a positive addition to the neighborhood. 

They’ve built a space in the shop for community members to host special events. “You need to nurture the community as much as the business,” Ginsburg said.

In fact, Mota and Ginsburg articulated such a strong vision for Mota Autohaus that they earned a place among five finalists in The Big Pitch in November 2018 — the annual “Shark Tank”-style business plan competition hosted by REV Birmingham.

Mota, originally from Puerto Rico, earned his bachelor’s degree in biology in 2006, took the MCAT and planned to become a doctor. But during college, he began working on cars and became interested in racing. And during his senior year, his “passion started shifting” away from medicine toward car repairs, Mota said.

“My last year in college, I learned more about racing than about biology,” he said. “I was thinking, ‘If I keep going to be a doctor, it will be more to make money than anything else.’”

Mota went to Orlando for training as a BMW mechanic and eventually became a level-one master technician, the highest certification available. He moved to Birmingham in 2009 and worked as a mechanic for most of the next decade before opening Mota Autohaus.

He met Ginsburg, a Magic City native, in 2009 after she moved back from Chicago, and they got married in 2012.

Like Mota, Ginsburg had been in pre-med — she earned a degree in science at Indiana University — but would find her own path as an entrepreneur. She went to Austin, Texas, and studied to become a certified pastry culinarian at Le Cordon Bleu, then opened her own wedding cake boutique in Birmingham, The Cakerie, which she still operates.

At Mota Autohaus, Ginsburg keeps the books and manages the shop. The shop is “very fair” on pricing repairs, she said.

Mota said he gives customers advance notice if he sees that their cars may need additional work later on.

“With every new customer, I will make a list,” Mota said. I might say, ‘‘You don’t need to repair all of this right now, but I want you to be aware that down the road you will.”

Mota also tries to communicate effectively with his customers. ”I take my time and explain every step of the process and why you need to do this repair,” he said.

Mota specializes in BMWs because he likes their performance, handling and racing heritage, and he hopes to build a solid niche in the tight-knit community of BMW owners in Birmingham.

“I want to be that place that when people say BMW, they think of me,” he said. “That’s my ultimate goal.”

In addition to managing the business, Ginsburg — who also built her own commercial kitchen — is managing the renovations at the shop.

The couple want the front waiting area, which has WiFi and a record player, to be inviting and comfortable.

“People can come in and have coffee or tea and relax,” Mota said.

And Ginsburg is excited about providing a small, affordable place for people to host events, which she thinks will fill a need. “It’s tough to find spaces,” she said.

Mota is also interested in finding a vendor to operate a coffee cart on the property during the morning rush hour.

The couple are happy with their location, according to Ginsburg. “We loved this building,” she said. “I see a vision here for the place. It can be so much more than just a car place.”

The couple recently replaced their garage doors on the front of the building and will have a mural painted on them.”That will be something nice for the neighborhood,” Ginsburg said. 

Mota and Ginsburg live in Mountain Brook with their two children, Madeline, age 5, and Nico, age 2.

“With two small kids, we’re hoping we make the right leap for them,” Ginsburg said. “We want to show them that you have to challenge yourself to do something you love and that sometimes it’s worth it.”

Both partners said they enjoy the business, especially meeting their customers. They also derive purpose and direction from the commitment they’ve made. “Every morning I wake up motivated because you need to make it happen,” Mota said.

“It’s easier waking up at 6 a.m. when you are doing something for yourself,” Ginsburg said.