Sharron Roohan expressed her gratitude to Mark Niepokuj, owner of Auto Collision Solutions, before they went into the garage to take a look at her son’s vehicle.
Not only had he fixed the vehicle a few times, but offered Roohan an ear if she needed to talk to someone.
Her son, Keegan Rasmussen, decided after one semester at Central Michigan University it wasn’t for him and signed up to be in the army. Rasmussen told his mom to sell his 1999 Jeep Cherokee when he went to boot camp in August and said he probably wouldn’t need it when he got back from training.
The 2007 Notre Dame Prep graduate had the vehicle since he was in tenth grade and over the years it had dings and scratches.
‘He loved the car. He would let his friends write on the liner,? said Roohan explaining more about the jeep. ‘When that was full, they wrote on the console. It got to the point it was junked up but nostalgic.?
She tried selling it but couldn’t and decided to fix the Cherokee.
She received estimates from auto repair shops, but they told her it would be between $4-5,000. The cost would be too much for a vehicle worth less than the repairs.
She gave it one more shot and called Niepokuj at Auto Collision Solutions because he was local.
‘He is a real nice guy. Pleasant and genuine,? Roohan said about her first impression. ‘He looked at the car and said, ‘why do you want to fix it up??
‘I started crying and told him about my son and him going into the army.?
Niepokuj understood the importance of the vehicle and asked Roohan to walk around the Cherokee and point out what she wanted to fix.
After everything thing was picked out, he estimated $2,000.
Roohan said to make the changes and Auto Collision Solutions worked on it for a few months. ‘I cleaned up the inside, made it more respectable to drive and did some bodywork on it,? Niepokuj said about the work done on it.
‘It was beautiful,? she said after seeing it again. ‘You could tell he went out of his way.?
Her son arrived home from boot camp and was amazed to see the condition of his jeep.
‘He was thrilled beyond belief and so happy it was saved,? Roohan said.
Rasmussen took his vehicle to New York and left it with his wife when he was shipped to Afghanistan.
Roohan’s daughter-in-law was visiting when she got into an accident while driving the jeep in Pontiac.
The vehicle was towed to the nearest body shop and Roohan was given an estimate of $3,000 to fix a broken axle.
Since she had already put money into the jeep and knew the worth of the vehicle, she called Niepokuj again.
‘I asked him to take a look at it and see if it was worth fixing. Mark told me he would leave work right then and take a look at it and see if it was worth towing to his shop. He just did it with no problem,? Roohan explained.
‘She’s a repeat customer and I know times are tough,? he said explaining it wasn’t a problem to go and take a look at the vehicle.
He called her back a little later and eased her worries by saying it was worth fixing, what needed to be done, and gave her a less expensive estimate.
‘He’s not ripping me off,? Roohan said in amazement. ‘He knew how quickly we needed the jeep back because Keegan’s wife needed to get back to New York to start a job.
‘Mark went above and beyond. He is always upbeat. He’s just a good guy.?
After the repairs were finished Roohan received a call from Niepokuj. He wanted to make sure the jeep made it to New York, to check on Roohan and see how her son was doing.
At the time, Rasmussen had only been in Afganistan for three weeks.
‘I am still trying to get used to it,? said Roohan. ‘I keep thinking it’s going to get better. I get to talk to him and it helps?
Roohan has a great appreciation for what Niepokuj did for her and her son.
‘He listened to me and said to call if I needed anything. It touches me he would do that.?