AK Motorsports- TMB Members Only!

Good morning, friend!

Welcome to the Marietta Brew, the newsletter that gives you the inside scoop on the people that impact our community. Today, we are diving in to another local business spotlight! Our feature story writer, Erica Z. brings you this week’s exclusive interview. Here we go(See below for an additional note from the publisher)!

Spotlight on Family-Owned Marietta Auto Shop, AK Motorsports

Interview conducted by Erica Zendell for The Marietta Brew

We don't say, “We cannot do it.” We say, "Everything is possible in our shop.”

--Andriy Kernitski of AK Motorsports

Founded in the wake of the pandemic in May 2021, AK Motorsports has outlasted longtime repair shops and fellow COVID upstarts alike to become a beloved automotive servicing business in the Marietta community.

Approaching its four-year anniversary, the shop has doubled in size and reports a whopping 500 customers now with a near 90% return rate–including customers who aren’t local to Marietta. AK Motorsports commands loyalty that extends beyond state lines, with clients from Alabama and Florida who make AK Motorsports a pit stop on longer trips for fender rolling or oil checks. 

From routine maintenance to mysterious car trouble to custom car builds, there’s no automotive adventure too great or small for the AK Motorsports. 

In this month’s spotlight, The Marietta Brew sits down with the two of the founding members of AK Motorsports, Andriy Kernitski and Rachel Corby.  

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

The Start of AK Motorsport: “A Dream of a Family”

Erica Zendell (EZ): Tell me a little about the history of the shop. How did the business get started?

Andriy Kernitski (AK): It started as a dream of the family. 

Rachel Corby (RC): Andriy and his son, Key–the A and K of AK motorsports–they've dreamed of opening their own shop ever since Key was young. Key’s first word as a kid was “car.” 

When COVID happened, we had the time and the ability to look around for a place to start our own shop.

We got going in May 2021, taking care of everything from regular maintenance like brakes and oil changes, to "Help, my car's making this noise, I don't know what's going on," or "I've taken my car to four or five different shops and the dealership, and I still can't figure it out."

EZ: Andriy, how did you first become interested in cars or impart that love of cars to your son?

AK: I was born and grew up in the Soviet Union, in Ukraine. I grew up having to fix everything myself.

Cars were a luxury and not many people had them, but two years after I came back from the army, I got a car. We didn’t have repair shops and parts stores like you do in the US. I fixed cars myself, and Key always hung out with me. "Give me the tools," he'd say when he was two years old.

When we moved to the US in 1998, I still fixed cars, but never got into repair service work. I went to Rochester Institute of Technology, learned programming and then worked in IT from 2000 until 2021. When I retired from IT, we opened the garage.

Keeping Up with Changing Automotive Technology

EZ: I assume cars have changed a lot over the years. How do you continue to adapt service for cars as technology continues to change?

RC: In cars nowadays, everything is electronic. They keep you in your lane, vibrate to let you know when someone's in your blind spot. The increase in computer aspects of cars makes for new procedures for certain services. 

Because so many systems are talking to one another, an issue in one system may relate to others. That's where Key is amazing: he's able get the whole shop to understand how intricate these systems are and how they work. 

Our team takes courses and classes that keep us up to date with the newest systems, including courses where they'll go over the new EV cars and Teslas, so everyone in our shop is up to date and knowledgeable.

Andre: During our free time, or if we have a problem and we can't identify it in our system, there's a lot of information online. 

We often get cars from other shops who don't want to figure things out. Our team doesn’t leave any cars unsolved. We quickly use all available tools to do research and try to fix it, and in 100% of cases, it works. 

Customer Service Philosophy

EZ What sets AK Motorsports’ customer service apart?

RC: Being open with the customer, letting them know exactly what's going on with the vehicle, what it needs right away, and what can wait. 

A lot of places will push, "You need to get this, this, this, and this done." We don't do that. We're not here to take your money. We're here to make sure you're in a safe car, that you and your kids can get to school and back without worrying about something going wrong.

Honesty and timeliness are important. If I find out a part is taking longer to get to us, I'll reach out to the customer and let them know. I don't want them wondering, “What's taking so long?"

AK: We have some of the best communication. Everybody wants to know when their car will be ready, to get reminders about appointments. We provide customers with 40+ point inspections, pictures, videos where they can see critical issues and non-critical issues. We’ll communicate, "This is your repair path. These are the most critical issues, and the rest can wait."

RC: There have been times where a customer will be in a tight financial spot, and we’ll work with them. For example, Key will say, "I can wrap this wire with electrical tape and put a sleeve over it, and we can see if that'll hold until financially you're able to replace the connector." 

We try to run the shop how we would want someone to treat us. The guys are all into cars. If they brought their car somewhere, they'd want to know the person cared.

AK: When a car comes from another shop, they might say, "Replace this, this and this" - all the components–to fix a problem. First component might be $500, another $300, another $300, and another $500, so it will be $1,600 to replace all those components before the labor. 

Our guys take the extra time to test, measure, and look at everything before trying to sell a customer thousands of dollars of repairs. If you identify the problem properly, you might only need one component replaced. This is how you earn trust and save the customer money.

Car Maintenance Advice

EZ: What advice do you have for people to do to maintain their cars–regardless of the kind of car?

AK: You drink clean water, good coffee, you don't put junk in your body. It's the same with cars - you put the right lubes and coolant, and replace at the right times, and your engine will run a long time. A car is part of your life, especially here in Atlanta, So take care of your car if you want it to be more reliable and less expensive.

RC Air filters, cabin filters–some people never change them! When we pull them out and show customers how much dust they have, people don't realize that's what your engine is breathing. If you have asthma and struggle to breathe, you know how terrifying that is. It's the same with an engine.

EZ: What’s the best thing people should do for their cars that they tend to ignore?

RC: Regular oil changes. People don't realize that even if you don’t drive much, getting fresh oil and a fresh filter is important. When your car sits, all of those gaskets and seals and parts in the system still need to be lubricated with fresh, clean oil.

AK: Get the service. It's important to change oil, but also important to get an inspection–see if there are any leaks and if brakes and belts are wearing down. If the manufacturer requires changing the timing belt at 100,000 miles, it's better to do it. If the belt breaks, the engine is gone. Instead of a $15,000 engine repair, you can have a $1,500 service and keep the car. 

RC: If you hear a noise, don't turn the radio up. If you see a leak, don't ignore it. Bring it in, even if you can't get to it right away. It's better to know what's going on with your vehicle to be prepared. You can either start saving up or know what to look out for.

The Marietta Community

EZ: What makes you proud to be a Marietta business?

RC: I love this community. We wear our shop gear in the grocery store and people will come up and talk to us, like, "Oh, you work with cars. Do you know what this light means?" and show me a picture.

Having a place that you trust for whatever you need - for your hair, your nails, your car, your taxes - is so important. We've been trying to let people know that if you need a place you can talk to about your car, just give us a call. 

AK: It's good to be part of a great community, and it's good to contribute to it with a great business.

EZ: Are there any upcoming events or things you have planned with the shop?

RC: The guys are working on a few projects in the shop that we'll be able to bring to auto shows in the area. So much is going on with those cars. One of our techs is working on a [Toyota] Supra build right now that he'll be showing at Caffeine and Octane. 

One thing we'd love to set up is a workshop where we have Boy Scout or Girl Scout troops come and learn an oil change or how to check fluids on a vehicle. Ten, twenty years down the road, I don’t know what people are going to be doing for car repair if we’re not getting young minds interested in it.

AK Motorsports is located at 892 Jamerson Rd, Marietta, GA 30066. To book an appointment for automotive servicing or repairs, you can reach AK Motorsports at 770-779-8918

A Note From The Publisher:

Hello, Mariettans!
First, thank you so much for being a part of such an amazing community in the City of Marietta and for being a part of the Marietta Brew.

You may have noticed a difference in our publishing schedule since February. Currently, The Marietta Brew is in search of a new publisher for this local newsletter. This will help the publication go out more consistently as well as keep you as informed as possible!

If you (or someone you know) have an interest in aquiring and running The Marietta Brew, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Cheers!
Cole

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-The Marietta Brew

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