Our History
The history of The Car Care Center ultimately began in a rundown shack behind a small rental house on the west side of Nashville, TN. My father, Paul Smith Sr., had opened other auto repair shops in the area over the proceeding years but was never able to make it sustainable. He was a great technician with a very high level of integrity but hadn't yet developed the business acumen necessary to keep things going. Each time he closed a business, he would take what he learned and would open a new shop.
In the fall of 1981, we moved to a small rental house on Charlotte Pk in West Nashville (just behind what is now Chick-Fil-A). Behind this house was a very small garage (really more of a shack). It was here that Paul's Garage was born. The garage had no doors and only had a dirt/gravel floor. During the winter my father would take my brother and I to K-Mart to gather old cardboard boxes. We would take these boxes home and my Father would staple them together to make a door for the garage so that he could stay warm. Although the work was hard and the hours were long, Paul's Garage began to grow.
In 1986, Paul had saved enough to feel comfortable renting a "real shop". Wanting to stay in the West Nashville area, he rented a large shop on the corner of Croley Dr. and Robertson Rd. He hired a few new mechanics and the business steadily grew. Paul's Garage developed a strong reputation for excellent service and quality. Though business was good, Paul Sr. felt led to move the business and his family out of the city and into a more rural area. The fall of 1989 began a new phase for the Smith Family. After months of looking for just the right location the decision to settle in Pegram was made. Property was purchased, a building erected, and Paul's Garage became The Car Care Center. The name "The Car Care Center" was quite accidental. While the new building was being built, Paul put a sign out front saying "Car Care Center Coming Soon!". Several local folks stopped and asked "When is the car care center going to be open?" It was then that Paul Sr. decided that the name was supposed to be changed from Paul's Garage to The Car Care Center.
From 1989 through 2015 Paul Sr built a strong business on the foundation of impeccable integrity and high-quality repairs. Paul Sr retired at the end of 2015 after nearly 40 years of ownership. I took over full ownership in January of 2016 with a determination to change the way people feel about auto repair. Honesty, integrity, clear communication, and the highest quality repairs are the bedrock foundation of how we operate. We back all of that up with an industry leading 3 year/36,000 mile Nationwide warranty on our repairs.
I live in Dickson, TN with my wife Amy and our six children Morgan, Eli, Josiah, Jesse. Ezra, and Havah. Once in a while you even see one of them running around the shop "working".
We look forward to serving you for years to come!
Paul Smith
The Car Care Center has been serving the areas of Pegram, Kingston Springs, Bellevue, and Nashville since 1989.