Michael Tichy of Garwin recently opened up CarDoc, a full service auto repair shop, at the former location of Musgrave Motors on Highway 63 in Toledo. Tichy is pictured leaning against his 1966 Ford Galaxy hot rod he has been working to rebuild over the past few years. CarDoc officially opened on May 17 and is available Mon-Fri from 8-6 p.m. for any general auto repair or maintenance needs. Darvin Graham/News Chronicle

The automotive service landscape in Tama-Toledo got one garage stronger last month with the opening of CarDoc in Toledo. Owner Michael X. Tichy is beginning his career as an entrepreneur and full-time mechanic with his newly formed business that operates out of Galen Musgrave’s auto shop, the former location of Musgrave Motors on Highway 63 in Toledo.

Tichy operates the business alongside his father Michael J. Tichy. The two have been working on vehicles together since Michael, the younger, was little and growing up on the farm. Tichy is a Garwin native and a 2016 graduate of GMG High School.

Though the entire three-stall garage is occupied by CarDoc, Musgrave remains the owner of the building and makes himself available to Tichy as an experienced advisor when needs arise.

Musgrave, 66, began to scale back his business in 2018 when Brent Wilkerson signed on to rent a portion of the Musgrave Motors garage for his business Wilk’s Repair.

Wilkerson operated Wilk’s Repair for just over two years before exiting the business in March to work for a local contractor.

Growing up on a farm, Tichy absorbed a lot of mechanical knowledge and aptitude from his father and the machines and engines they would need to work on at home.

Tichy entered an automotive program at Des Moines Area Community College not long after high school and in August of 2020 completed an Associates in Applied Science degree in Automotive Mechanics Technology. Along with the degree came areas of Automotive Chasis and Power Train, Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair and Automotive Engines and Tune Up.

Although Tichy entered the DMACC program with a solid base of mechanical knowledge, he said the area he learned the most from while studying was working with automotive electrical systems.

Apart from advancing his post-secondary education, Tichy gained mechanical experience on the job working for his uncle Tracy Tichy’s business, Tichy Backhoe and Trenching as well as at Car-X Tire and Auto in Ankeny.

Tichy said he’s long dreamed of having his own shop and, after completing his training at DMACC, started to look around at options close to home.

It just so happened the day Musgrave posted a for rent sign out front of his garage, the Tichys were out driving around looking for a place to land their new business venture.

Almost as soon as the for rent sign went up, it came back down and CarDoc was on its way to opening day.

CarDoc officially opened for business on May 17 and Tichy said traffic has been steadily increasing over the first few weeks.

As Tichy gained more experience and invested into a career in auto maintenance, he said he’s come to appreciate the challenges of working on a wide variety of vehicles.

“I really enjoy the experience you get from working on different cars,” Tichy said. “There’s always something new to learn and it’s fun seeing how each car works a little different.”

Tichy said one of the benefits of partnering with his dad is that they bring different expertise in working with older and newer vehicle models.

Also, having two of them at the shop allows for an extra set of hands when needed and another person to man the shop while the other may be out test driving a vehicle or making a run to an auto parts store.

According to Tichy, the services provided at CarDoc will be similar in scope to what customers were used to at Musgrave Motors. CarDoc aims to provide speedy services with care and attention to detail.

Tichy said oil changes are a staple service of their business and that he recently developed an in-depth inspection check list that will be applied to every vehicle that comes in for an oil change, looking to prevent issues with things like brakes, signals, fluids, or batteries.

Prices for an oil change start at $20 plus the cost of oil and the oil filter. Tichy said he intends to keep his pricing competitive with larger retailers.

Services include, but are not limited to, oil changes, tune-ups, transmission work, suspensions, fluid and coolant flushing, tire balancing and repair, and A/C work.

The garage is able to service both domestic and foreign vehicles and can handle most vehicles up to the size of a pickup truck.

Tichy and his father work at the shop Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., though they both said they’ve been able and willing to stick around past their closing hour to make sure vehicles can be serviced on or ahead of schedule.

When he’s not busy under the hood of a car, Tichy enjoys playing with his dogs, fishing, trap shooting and playing Warzone during the weekends on Twitch. He currently lives in Clarinda, Iowa but is on the hunt for a place to move to, in or around the Tama-Toledo area.

Those driving by will notice a vintage red Ford Galaxy parked at the entrance greeting visitors coming into the parking lot. Michael J. purchased the 1966 Ford hot rod at an estate sale some years ago and he and Michael X. have worked on it as a project car while Michael X. was in college. The car stuck out to Michael J. as he remembers riding around in one several times as a kid. The Galaxy now sports a 390 big block engine and remains a project for the two when spare time comes available.

In the future, Tichy hopes to grow the CarDoc business with an eye toward expansion in the long term. For the time being, he hopes CarDoc can become a mainstay in the automotive service industry in Tama-Toledo by offering good quality service at an affordable price.

CarDoc is located at 107 N County Rd. (Highway 63) in Toledo and can be reached at 641-484-3358. Appointments can be made by phone or by stopping into the shop during business hours (Mon-Fri, 8-6). The shop is also on Facebook at CarDoc.