St. Charles, Mo.-based Complete Car & RV Repair Center has been growing its RV business near St. Louis for the past several years and now includes 17 repair bays for RVs and large trucks.
The company’s roster of services includes RV paint and bodywork, engine and mechanical service, and interior restoration. In addition, Complete offers storage for 75 units and RV consignment sales so that patrons can have the family tow vehicles worked on at the same time for basic automotive repairs and bodywork. Plus, Complete offers a dog park and dump stations, as well as propane and potable water.
Operations Manager Kim Barks, who owns the business along with her father and Complete RV founder Bob Barks, told RVBUSINESS.com that business is booming.
“We continue to expand in service and sales,” Barks said. “We have our ‘winter birds’ coming through starting the season, and the ‘snowbirds’ will start coming back from the south soon. We are one of five repair shops in the area, but we are the only independently owned that does everything for RVs.”
She added that her crew does a lot of hitch installs and generator maintenance as well.
“People come here for repairs and service from as far away as Bowling Green, Ill., and Lake of the Ozarks for our service and repairs,” Barks said. “We just had a guy in here from Minnesota headed to Florida. We promote the business mostly on our website and social media. Our Facebook page is very active.”
She said her dad opened his first auto body repair shop in Dellwood, Mo., in 1973 and has more than 47 years of experience in the automotive industry. His focus of providing personal service with superior results set the foundation for their business today.
“He has built a loyal customer base,” she said, adding that she and her dad “are very close and work very well together.”
When Barks is not working, she is a camper herself and enjoys the outdoors with her four dogs. She runs and sponsors local awareness campaigns to keep dogs from being left in hot cars during the summer, as well as dog wash events to raise money for pet projects.
Additionally, classic car restoration has become a passion for Complete. “We are one of the two shops in Missouri registered with the Hagerty Auto Valuation — a car collectors standard for quality. He participates in regional shows with several classic cars he owns,” said Kim Barks.
The company also offers separate fleet repair and maintenance services for small and large commercial truck fleets. It is equipped with the space and personnel to provide routine vehicle maintenance and repairs to commercial fleets of all sizes, with vehicles ranging from small to large trucks.