Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Stine.
Cody, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
When people see Cody’s Auto today, they see the tow trucks, the repair shop, our employees, and a business that’s continuing to grow. What they don’t see are the years of sacrifice, uncertainty, and the countless moments where we had to decide whether to keep going.
Long before we ever owned a business, Jenna and I made a commitment to our family. After our daughter was born in 2015, we worked opposite shifts for nearly four years so one of us could always be home with our kids. It wasn’t easy. There were plenty of days when it felt like we were two single parents passing each other in the driveway, but raising our children ourselves was important to us. We wanted to be the ones teaching them, supporting them, and helping them grow.
Working on vehicles has always been my passion. I started turning wrenches as a kid fixing lawn mowers, then moved on to cars as a teenager. Owning an auto repair shop had always been the dream, but realistically, we didn’t have the money to make something like that happen. When Jenna’s promotion moved her to day shift in 2020, I knew I didn’t want to go back to working nights for someone else. One day I asked her, “What if I started a towing company?” Neither of us knew exactly where it would lead, but we decided it was worth trying. We took out a personal loan of around $15,000 for a tow truck, business licensing, and the basics we needed to get started.
We officially opened our towing company in March 2020.
About two weeks later, COVID shut everything down.
To say the timing was bad would be an understatement. There were fewer cars on the road, which meant fewer towing calls. More than once I wondered if we had made a huge mistake. I seriously considered giving up. Thankfully, Jenna’s federal position was considered mission critical, so she continued working while I stayed home with the kids and kept building the business. She reminded me more than once that we weren’t failing—we were surviving. Looking back, those conversations probably kept me going more than she realizes.
As things slowly returned to normal, I focused on learning everything I could about the towing industry. I researched police rotations, talked with friends who had owned towing companies, and realized that impound work could completely change the business. Once we secured an impound lot and hired our first employee, I finally started believing we might actually make this work.
Then life threw another curveball.
While we were on vacation visiting friends in Myrtle Beach, we got the news that the owner of the repair shop where we rented our impound lot was closing his business. We quickly realized he didn’t own the property himself, which meant we were about to lose the lot that had become the backbone of our towing operation. My first thought was that everything we had built was about to disappear.
Instead, the shop owner offered us an opportunity to purchase the remaining assets of his business and work directly with the property owner to take over the lease. The problem was, I knew exactly how expensive it would be to run an auto repair shop. We weren’t financially prepared for it, and I was hesitant. Jenna looked at me and simply asked, “Do you think you can do it?” At that point, it felt like we had two choices: walk away from everything we had built or bet on ourselves one more time.
We chose to bet on ourselves.
In November 2022, Cody’s Auto officially opened its repair shop.
Those first several months were some of the hardest we’ve ever experienced. We spent countless hours cleaning, organizing, buying equipment, figuring out inventory, and simply trying to get the shop operational. While I focused on repairing vehicles and serving customers, Jenna worked a full-time federal career during the day before coming to the shop almost every evening and weekend. She built our office operations from the ground up, creating work orders, invoices, employee handbooks, HR processes, financial systems, and business strategies that helped us grow. She’ll tell you I’m good at fixing cars and she’s good at management, and honestly, she’s right.
Our first full year operating the repair shop ended with 60% profit growth. From 2023 to 2024, our credit card sales increased by 171.1%. Those numbers mean a lot, but what they really represent are years of long days, late nights, and refusing to quit when things got difficult.
Today, Cody’s Auto has grown into a full-service automotive repair and towing company with multiple tow trucks, eight service bays, seven employees, employee benefits, and plans to continue expanding. We’re proud to support our community through local school athletics, community events, car shows, and organizations throughout Winchester. Being recognized as a finalist by the Winchester Star for auto service and repairs has been an honor, but what I’m most proud of is the team we’ve built and the trust our customers place in us every day.
People often ask what the secret to our success has been. The truth is, there isn’t one. There were years of working seven days a week, interrupted family dinners because of emergency tow calls, missed evenings together, postponed vacations, and more sleepless nights than I can count. Our kids have practically grown up at the shop because this business has always been a family effort.
If our story proves anything, it’s that you don’t need perfect timing or unlimited resources to build something meaningful. You just need to be willing to keep moving forward when every setback tells you to quit. We didn’t build Cody’s Auto because everything went according to plan. We built it because every time life changed our plans, we found a way to adapt and keep going.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that every time we felt like we had found our footing, another challenge seemed to appear.
We opened our towing business in March 2020, only to have the world shut down two weeks later because of COVID. Just as the business began gaining momentum, we learned we were going to lose the impound lot that had become a major source of our revenue. Instead of closing our doors, we made the unexpected decision to take over an existing repair shop, despite not having the financial resources we had originally envisioned for opening one.
Beyond those major milestones, there were the day-to-day challenges that come with building a business from the ground up, working seven days a week, balancing full-time jobs while growing the company, learning how to manage employees, navigating cash flow, investing in equipment, and making difficult decisions with limited resources. There were plenty of sleepless nights and moments where we questioned whether we were making the right decisions.
Looking back, none of it was a smooth road, but each obstacle forced us to adapt, learn, and become a stronger business. Those challenges ultimately shaped who we are today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
At Cody’s Auto LLC, our mission has always been simple: provide honest, dependable automotive services at a fair price while treating every customer like family. We know vehicle repairs are rarely planned, and for many people they’re a financial burden. That’s why we’ve always believed our job isn’t to get rich off someone else’s bad day it’s to help them get safely back on the road without recommending unnecessary repairs or charging more than we feel is fair.
Today, we’re proud to offer full-service automotive repair, state inspections, towing and recovery services, roadside assistance, fleet maintenance, and more. Whether someone needs routine maintenance, emergency roadside help, or major vehicle repairs, our goal is to provide quality workmanship with transparency, integrity, and exceptional customer service.
What sets us apart is the way we approach every customer and every vehicle. We believe in taking the time to explain what’s needed, answering questions honestly, and building relationships instead of simply completing transactions. Much of our growth has come from repeat customers and word-of-mouth referrals, which means more to us than any advertising campaign ever could.
As we’ve grown, one of the things we’re most proud of is being able to give back to the community that has supported us from the beginning. We’re honored to sponsor local school sports teams, community events, car shows, and organizations throughout the Winchester area. Supporting our community isn’t just something we do it’s part of who we are.
When people think of Cody’s Auto, we hope they think of a business they can trust. We’ve built this company on hard work, honesty, and the belief that doing right by people will always matter more than making a quick profit. We know there are many places someone can take their vehicle, and we’re grateful every time a customer chooses us. That trust is something we’ll never take for granted.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
We owe so much of our success to our family and friends, whose encouragement and support have carried us through every stage of this journey. Most importantly, we’re incredibly grateful to our loyal customers who continue to trust us with their vehicles and recommend us to others. Their support has allowed us to grow, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://codysautollc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/codys.auto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CodysAutoLLC/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cody-stine-0b532225a
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@codysauto0
