About Us
WHY DID I CHOOSE AUTO PARTS ????
Well When I was a young girl I used to watch Charlies Angels I loved the cobra mustang that Farrah drove the show was ok but that car was life to me. Started my carreer at 17 yrs old working for a FORD dealership worked my way to a heavy truck parts person I worked the shop counter selling parts to the techs. I learned my stuff right from the source. I feeling I get when I can find something for someone is unmatchable by any other feeling. I have since then dedicated my life the be the go to girl for auto parts and performance. I have drag raced my car in the tv show pinks 2x's and loved everysecond. met some great people and going 10 seconds in a quarter mile what a ride!!!! TRUE MOTOR HEAD CHICK at heart now after owning FLEETWOOD AUTO PARTS for almost 10 years we are living the dream here in Fleetwood!!! Thanks to all of you who make my dreams possible we share the passion for speed and autos trucks boats atv utvs bikes hell anything to go ZOOM ZOOM yahoooooooo
CEO/President Michele Degler
_____________________________________________________________________________
The FAP and Safe&Sound Story
•Publisher: Network Magazine Vol. 4: Issue 2 summer 2009•
For Michele Degler, it was her fascination as a little girl with the "Charlie's Angels" TV show, specifically, the late Farrah Fawcett's sexy Mustang Cobra, that planted the seeds for her desire to pursue an eventual career in the automotive aftermarket. Stephanie Bice admittedly grew up with something to prove after her grandmother refused to purchase the Matchbox cars that she'd picked out, buying her Barbie dolls instead. Today, Degler and Bice are successful independent aftermarket business owners in
Degler, a Uni-Select USA customer, owns Fleetwood-Pa.-based Fleetwood Auto Parts. Her best customer-and best friend-is Bice, President/Co- owner of Safe&Sound Automotive in nearby Kutzown, Pa.
Degler started off as a cashier at a local Ford dealership before becoming the heavy-duty expediter for the business. While perusing catalogs one day she noticed the great price they were getting on Permatex gasket makers. I was thinking that I could sell Permatex outside our offerings to retail customers, so I started calling independent jobbers," she says.
Jim Grimm, the owner of Hyde Villa Auto Parts in
Grimm was so impressed that he called Degler two weeks later to discuss a partnership in taking over for a couple who owned Fleetwood Auto Parts. For Degler, that would mean the realization of a dream.
“I had been telling people for a long time that I wanted to own a parts store because I wanted to run the business like I believed customers really wanted; with friendly service and greeted by an owner and employees who knew your name and your car when you walked into the door. I felt that I could provide that personable, knowledgeable customer service that is lacking in so many areas of today’s retail.”
Naysayers told Degler for years the odds were against her but she was not to be denied-even if it meant calling off her engagement.
When my fiancé initially questioned my decision to buy a parts store, I told
“The store was my dream before I met him- In the end, he decided that I was cute enough that he was going to take me and the parts store- it was a package deal !"
Only fitting for a couple, who fell in love while repairing a fuel leak on
In 2000, Degler secured a $75,000 loan from a venture capitalist and took the plunge-she bought Fleetwood Auto Parts against the advice of friends and her parents. At the time, the store was doing $18,000 a month in sales. Within two years after Degler took over, that figure was up to $80,000 a month. By 2004, after it was evident that Michele's vision of Fleetwood Auto Parts was a proven, successful reality, her husband; Bryan Degler; quit his job to join his wife as co-owner of the business.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
HOME | Sales Ads | Parts Lookup | Online Store | Our Prefered Brands | Tech Numbers | Calndar of Events | Contact Us
