Trent Van Emon
Kyle Allen
Co-Founders of GearSteady Garage. Two full-time operators who buy shops to run them, not to flip them.
Good Technicians
Deserve a Shop That Lasts.
We are not a private equity roll-up. We buy good independent shops and keep them.
Kyle and I both served in the military before going into business. Both taught us the same thing. The people doing the work know what they need. Our job is to listen and get it to them.
In our shops, that means you get the time to fix it right, you go home on Friday, and if your kid has a game, you go. Nobody gets yelled at for asking a question or pushed to skip a step to hit a number.
Too many good shops get sold to owners who cut the tool budget, pile on the car count, and lose their best tech in six months. We do the opposite. We put real systems behind the shop so the parts show up and the work flows.
Want a straight answer on pay before you commit to anything? Text me directly. I'd rather talk than collect another resume.
Why Work at GearSteady
Independent shops with real backing behind them. The neighborhood feel you want, with the systems and benefits most shops that size cannot offer.
Consistent, Competitive Pay
Compensation that holds up across every position and every location. No mystery math at the end of the week.
Medical, Dental & Vision
Real coverage for you and your family, the kind a lot of independent shops still cannot offer.
Paid Time Off
Time away that you actually get to take. Rest is part of doing good work, not a reward for surviving the month.
Training That Keeps Up
Access to professional development and ongoing technical training, because the vehicles are not getting simpler.
Tools and Systems, Handled
We invest in equipment, parts process, and shop workflow so your day is spent turning wrenches instead of chasing paperwork.
A Path That Goes Somewhere
Clear routes to lead tech, shop manager, and regional roles as GearSteady adds locations. We promote from the bays first.
We are Hiring at Every Skill Level
Whether you are two years in or twenty, there is a bay for you and a plan for what comes next.
Entry-Level Technicians
Fresh out of school or a year into the trade? Learn on real work, next to techs who are willing to teach instead of guarding what they know.
- Mentorship from senior techs on staff
- Paid technical training and certifications
- Benefits and PTO from the start
Mid-Level Technicians
You can diagnose, you can produce, and you are tired of doing it in a shop that keeps getting in your own way. This is the fix.
- Consistent pay and steady car count
- Parts process that does not stall your day
- Clear route to lead tech
Master & Lead Technicians
If you are the one everybody walks over to when the scan tool goes quiet, we want you setting the standard for the shop.
- Top of our pay range
- Real input on tools and shop process
- Leadership track as we add locations
Service Advisors and Shop Managers, Too
We are also hiring honest service advisors and managers who actually care about the team and the customer. If that is you, the same conversation applies.
Why Technicians Stay at GearSteady
Benefits get people in the door. This is the part that keeps them.
No Flat Rate
You are paid for the hours you work. A slow Tuesday or a dead January is the shop's problem to fix, and we fix it by keeping the bays full instead of cutting your check.
Right the First Time
We expect the job done right the first time, and we give you the time to do it. Diagnose it, fix it, road test it. Nobody here gets pushed to skip a step to hit a number.
Family First
The kid's game, the appointment, the thing you promised. Tell us and go. We will cover the bay. The techs who stay ten years are the ones who did not burn out in two.
No Weekends
Monday through Friday. Closed Saturday and Sunday, at every shop. That does not change when the board fills up, and Saturdays never become "voluntary."
Somebody to Ask
Stuck on a car? You have four shops' worth of techs to call, and nobody is grading you for asking. Everybody gets stuck on something eventually.
A Say in How It Runs
The techs already know what is broken. When the parts process is costing you hours or a tool would pay for itself in a month, say so. That conversation usually ends with the fix.
Where You Would Be Working
Four independent shops across Indiana, each one keeping its own name and its own customers. Pick a market to see what the work looks like there.
Two Shops, Two Sides of Town
Grewal's Automotive on the southeast side and Discount Auto Repair out east give you the widest mix of work in the group, plus the volume of a metro customer base.
What to expect here
Indianapolis is where a technician who can produce actually gets to. Steady car count, a customer base deep enough that the bays stay full through the slow months, and two established shops with reputations they earned the hard way. Outside of work you get a metro that stayed affordable: real neighborhoods, a food scene people drive in for, and a commute that is not the thing you dread most about the job.
Why techs land here
- Highest and steadiest volume in the group
- Broad mix of makes, models, and repair types
- Two locations, so there is room to move
- Metro amenities on an Indiana cost of living
The busiest market we run. If you want hours available and variety in the work, this is the one.
A Shop the Whole Town Already Trusts
Don & Joe's Auto Service has been the name people in Henry County give each other when something breaks. You are not building a reputation here. You are inheriting one.
What to expect here
New Castle sits about an hour east of Indianapolis, and it works the way small Indiana towns are supposed to. Housing you can actually afford, a short drive to the bay, and customers who know your name because you fixed their truck last spring. The work is steady repeat business rather than one-time walk-ins, which means you see the results of doing the job right.
Why the right tech fits here
- Decades of established local reputation
- Loyal repeat customers, not churn
- Low cost of living, short commute
- Small crew where your work is visible
Established, community-anchored, and close enough to Indy when you want it. 1729 S Main St, New Castle.
Generational Work, Backed by Real Systems
Newnum & Sons Garage is exactly what the name says. A family shop in western Indiana that people have handed down to their kids along with the truck.
What to expect here
Covington sits in Fountain County near the Illinois line, west of Indianapolis and south of Lafayette. It is farm country, which means real work: trucks that have to run Monday, fleet and farm vehicles alongside daily drivers, and customers who notice when you take care of them. The shop keeps its name and its way of doing things. What changes is the backing behind it.
Why techs who like variety fit here
- Family shop feel with corporate benefits
- Wide mix of light-duty, farm, and fleet work
- Lowest cost of living in the group
- Short drive to Lafayette and Danville, IL
A generational shop that kept its name. If you want to be known in the town you work in, this is it.
Talk Shop Before You Commit
Text Trent at (317) 593-2790. Tell him what you're fixing and what you're sick of. He'll take it from there.
No resume. No portal. No recruiter calling you six times.
Text (317) 593-2790Rather email? trent@gearsteadygarage.com. Rather call? Same number.
Straight answers
What's it actually like working with the crew?
Four shops, small crews, and techs who have been at their shop for years. Nobody is guarding what they know. If you are stuck on a car, you have four shops' worth of people to call, and nobody is grading you for asking.
What's the pay, really?
Hourly, consistent, and competitive for the market. No flat rate. Where you land depends on what you can diagnose and produce. Text Trent at (317) 593-2790 and he will give you a real number for your experience level before you decide anything.
Do I have to work weekends?
No. Monday through Friday. Closed Saturday and Sunday, at every location.
What tools do I need to bring?
Your hand tools and your box. The shop buys the shop's equipment: scanners, programming, lifts, specialty tools, information systems, and the subscriptions that go with them. You should not be financing the shop's diagnostic capability out of your paycheck.
You're buying more shops. Am I going to get sold out from under me?
We buy shops to keep them. There is no private equity behind us and no exit timeline. Every shop keeps its name, its customers, and its people. Growth means more shops in the group, and more room for the people already in it to move up.
Am I going to get shuffled between locations?
No. You are hired into one shop and that is where you work. If you ever want to move to another location, that is your call to make, and we will help make it happen.
I'm not ASE certified / not a master tech. Should I still reach out?
Yes. We hire at every skill level, and we pay for technical training and certifications. If you show up, want to learn, and care about doing the job right, text Trent.