Five Questions with Bob Rourke

Bob Rourke, 72, can remember ditching high school at lunch time to go back to the gas station in Orange where he worked and pumped gas as a teenager. “I thought I was pulling a fast one on the teachers,” said Rourke, who has been repairing and servicing cars at the family-built S&R Automotive shop since 1983.

While his shop may share the border between West Orange and Orange, Rourke, a West Orange resident himself, has a cacophony of customers turned best friends to choose from.

After years of building friendships with people around the area, Rourke’s mechanic shop has become the local spot that many longtime residents choose to go to; a shop that is often recommended by one family to another.

"Years ago, I took my car to the dealership, and they told me it needed $1500 worth of work," said West Orange resident and customer Bob Vietrogoski.

"I got a second opinion from Bob and he told me it needed $0 worth of work. They do a great job at a great price. Plus the conversation with whoever's there is always stimulating." 

Whatever the problem may be, the door is always open, your car always gets fixed and you always get a good conversation out of it.

How did you start as a mechanic?

I started out doing repair in 1954 or ’55 at a gas station at Main and Jefferson Street in Orange. You get caught up in the interest and the desire. It was an interesting business. As you got older, you said, ‘I’m going to stay with it.’ I went in business in the 80s because things were lucrative. Now if you went in business, you couldn’t make it with the insurance and all the other issues. I’m at the twilight of my career—I can deal with it (laughs).

What’s the craziest moment(s) you have had while working on cars?

The craziest thing you had to deal with was the customers. The cars you can fix eventually. They start out with, ‘Please keep the car going until my kid gets out of high school.’ Then its, ‘My kid just got into college; can you keep it going another four years?’ After that, it’s, ‘My kid’s in pre-med; can you still keep the car going?’ But that’s usually one of the craziest things.

Why did you decide to stay in the West Orange/Orange area after all these years?

Just to pack up and take $1,000 worth of tools, it’s just impossible. My mother was living in West Orange and until she passed I couldn’t just move away, so you stay here. You make allegiances with other people that, if you moved away, you wouldn’t see them again. That would hurt.

What do you enjoy most about this business?

I enjoy a lot of the camaraderie with my customers. At this point, they’re not even my customers—they’re best friends. One of the guys said, ‘Why don’t you just charge $2,000 a year and have a club. Forget about the repair.’ But that’s part of it; I’m here at 7:00 am every day. I force myself to do it sometimes because as you get older, it gets tougher. It’s what you do.

You’re also an avid collector of historical items.

Native American artifacts are my weakness. If anyone would like to discuss things, contact me. I would love to compare notes, letters, if they’ve got stuff…I like to share a little bit.