After nearly four decades in business, Matt’s Import Haven in Clinton is changing gears.
Come the end of this month, Matt and Vicky Hassrick are handing off the keys to another couple, Forrest and Kathy Wendt.
“I’m really happy that it’s going on after my retirement,” Matt said Wednesday, amid the hustle and bustle of a busy morning at the auto repair shop.
The transfer of ownership will happen just in time for the new year, which also happens to mark the 40th year of Matt’s Import Haven. Matt started the business back in 1986. The first shop, built by Matt, only had four bays, two of which were rented by a friend.
“Matt was the front office, the mechanic, the everything,” Vicky recalled.
She moved to Whidbey from New York City in 1990 and met Matt through mutual friends. The couple were soon married, and Vicky jumped right into the business, bringing their kids and dogs to work over the years.
Matt’s Import Haven steadily grew as time went on, and about 10 years ago, a large expansion brought the total number of bays up to eight and added a new office space.
In 2018, Forrest joined the business as a service manager, initially commuting from Lake Stevens for a few years before he and Kathy finally moved to Freeland with their family. Kathy is new to the automotive world, and grateful for Vicky’s support in helping her learn the ropes.
“We’ve worked so closely as a team for so long,” Forrest said. “It’s a big huge change, but really things aren’t going to change.”
In fact, the name will remain the same, a nod to the couple’s legacy and Matt’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Although, the business no longer provides repairs and services for just imported vehicles – Fords, Jeeps, Dodges and Cadillacs are all welcome, a somewhat recent change.
“Back in the day, you were supposed to specialize,” Vicky explained. “And then COVID hit and we then decided at that time that we needed to start expanding.”
If it’s been made in the last 20 years, there’s a good chance that your car can be serviced. The crew even works on electric vehicles such as Teslas. Owners of these types of cars often have the misconception that their vehicles don’t need anything. But while they don’t require the same kind of work as a gas-fueled car, there is some routine maintenance involved.
Things move at a slower pace on the island, something that came as a big shock to Forrest when he first started at Matt’s Import Haven. Accustomed to working at auto shops on the mainland, where you could look at a car in the morning, diagnose the issue, order parts and have it fixed by the afternoon, the reality of waiting longer for parts to make it across the water took some time to set in.
This past year has been especially challenging finding the right and quality parts, with tariffs in effect, causing the staff to look further away for them and usually paying more. Forrest said it used to be that they never had to look outside of the Puget Sound area for parts, but now they’re searching across the country.
Both Matt and Vicky highlighted how important it is to have a good staff who are skilled, knowledgeable and help create a close-knit, family-like atmosphere. They will all be staying on under the new ownership.
“The employees like we have do not grow on trees,” Matt said.
Customers come from as far away as Oak Harbor. While out driving around on Whidbey, Forrest has delighted in seeing cars he’s helped fix up, keeping them on the road.
Matt’s Import Haven has had its fair share of memorable moments over the years. In the beginning, a humorous mix-up caused the shop’s phone number to be unlisted. Matt kept getting calls at his home late at night, and he just didn’t get why.
“Finally someone said, ‘What are you, like this elitist shop with an unlisted phone number?’” Matt recalled.
The Nisqually earthquake in 2001 rattled one of the lifts so much that it was permanently bent and eventually had to be replaced.
During the solar eclipse in 2017, Vicky bought everyone on staff special glasses to watch it all together.
One time, Matt was trying to fix a BMW with a blown up engine. He ordered an engine from the BMW dealer, but it was the wrong one. The dealer sent over a second engine, which also didn’t fit.
“Two days later, on a FedEx truck, air freighted from Germany, came the correct engine,” Matt said, marveling at how much that must have cost. But in the end, surprisingly, it was the perfect fit.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, staff from Matt’s Import Haven drove out to homes and picked up cars to work on. Vicky even went grocery shopping for an elderly customer – now that’s service.
In retirement, Vicky is looking forward to traveling, spending time with the new grandbaby and volunteering for Mother Mentors.
“It’s an odd feeling to spend so much of your life working and doing things, and now onto the next stage,” she said.
Perhaps not quite ready to put down the wrench yet, Matt is hopeful the shop might need him to step in occasionally to help with a few projects.
“For me, it didn’t feel like a job,” he said. “It was just something I did and mostly enjoyed.”
(Photo by David Welton) The new and old owners of Matt’s Import Haven are flanked by the auto repair shop’s dedicated team of staff members.
(Photo by David Welton) Senior Technician Mark Glass gets under a car to work on it.
(Photo by David Welton) Senior Technician Alex Neal works on a customer’s car while Matt Hassrick looks on.
