Severn Auto Shop Celebrates 20 Years of Business Amid Economic Turmoil

Trust is the foundation that any relationship must be built on to survive, said Jack Bell, the owner of Severn's own Dorsey Transmission. And it's a core fundamental for the local business owner whose business is celebrating 20 years of success.

Trust is a core fundamental for Bell and one that keeps customer coming back year after year. 

“I’m not trying to make a $1 million off of one car,” Bell said. “We try to do the best job we can and just be honest with the customers. I’ve been on the other side, I’ve been that customer that has come into a shop that felt they were being ripped off, and I said, we didn’t want to be that shop.”

Celebrating their twentieth year servicing cars from their location at 908 Reece Road, Bell took over Dorsey Transmission in 2007 from former owner Richard Healey, who was Bell’s first automotive boss at a shop in Glen Burnie. Bell began working for Healey in 1984 and has been building transmissions ever since.

“I purchased the business right when the economy was tanking so to even get a loan was ridiculous,” said Bell. “Most banks wouldn’t even touch me, even though my credit is outstanding.”

Bell’s niche at Dorsey Transmission is re-building transmissions in-house, an art that is fading away according to Bell, and something he has done since the age of seventeen.

“One person is on that transmission and they can massage it,” Bell said. “You can tweak that transmission according to what the car needs or what the customer wants to fit their needs.”

Bell said since Severn is such a small community they try to give the customers many options for service.

“Now-a-days you can’t just do transmissions, you have to do general repair. Transmission is our bread and butter, but we try to do whatever comes in the door.”

During this economic downturn, business for Bell has been up and down, but fairly steady, and related a typical story for today’s society.

Over the last two years he noticed that around January and February they get a lot of quotes, but no immediate business. They were left thinking that the quote was too high, but then three or four months later the customers returned to get the work done when they had enough money. People were just parking their cars at home and getting by without.

Most of Bell’s business comes from within a 10 to15 mile radius and with a location just three miles from Fort Meade, they rely heavily on the military and BRAC residents.

It is his goal to treat everybody like he’s known them, like they’re friends, but sometimes that gets him in trouble because, “I kind of over-extend myself to some people.”

To help keep the customers price down Bell hasn’t raised his hourly rate of $85 since he has owned the shop, (a rate that is lower than most). He searches around for different prices on parts and gives options for transmission work.  

“We are not going to sell people what they don’t need,” Bell said. “We check everything so we have the right solution. A clear conscious makes a nice pillow."

"I’ve got to sleep at night.”