Free Alignment Check and $25.00 Off Alignment
Free alignment check with any scheduled service. IF your car happens to need alignment, we'll discount it by $25. Alignment total cost varies by vehicle.
Current 356 Registry Ad
View our current advertisement in 356 (PDF)
Click Here!
Current Excellence Ad
View our current advertisement in Excellence (PDF)
Click Here!
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Meet the Zims Autotechnik Staff
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| At Zims Autotechnik, we are proud to have assembled some of the finest automotive talent in the country. Many people apply to work at Zims, yet few are accepted. We hope you will take a moment to read about some of them. |
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Al Zim - Owner
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My affliction with cars began at an early age, and I have suffered through my entire adult life without being able to exorcize myself. As a teenager I succumbed to all stunts that were possible to do with my fathers Edsel, and then Ford Falcon. Late in my freshman year my parents gave me the car of my choice - a used 1959 Volvo PV544. There was only one sports car shop in Wilmington, Ohio but the owner was a nice guy and let me hang around the place until I began working for him. By the fall of 1962 I was allowed to service Porsche automobiles.
I continued working full time and going to school full time, graduating in the summer of 1964. I spent two years at Miami University (Ohio) obtaining a Masters Degree in Personnel Management. Even though the shop was 40 miles away I still managed to own two race cars, a homebuilt Formula V, a Porsche Speedster, the Volvo tow car and a Porsche powered VW.
 During the middle of August, 1966 my application for an advanced degree was accepted by North Texas State University (now The University of North Texas) The last week of August we left the east coast driving my “not so” rusty 1956 DeSoto towing the Volvo. Soon I purchased a 1962 356 Karmann Hard Top and a Speedster.
Completing my course work in June 1968, I was immediately hired by Tarrant County Junior College. We purchased a house with a large detached garage. I had space for a half dozen cars and soon the back yard was full. After joining PCA and SCCA, I became a member of Maverick region PCA.
In 1970 Ed Mayo, my college roommate and recent convert to Porsche, came down for Christmas. Within a year we were moonlighting. Our neighbors did not appreciate our car activities and with prodding from the city we moved to our first shop. In 1978 my father loaned me the money to purchase the land for our current shop. During the first week of September 1979 we moved in.
The 356 vehicles are still the love of my life. I own a 1957 and 1961 coupe. I also have a 1974 VW Thing, 3 older 911’s and two BMW motorcycles. Currently I am a Trustee for the 356 Registry, a 45 year member of Porsche Club of America, and help maintain our local 356 Tub Club.
It is important for me as a business owner to be at the business every day and easily available to our customers and employees.
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Bret Zim - Administrative
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Bret has been with us since 2004, taking care of all of the financial matters. Prior to working for us, Bret was a Neuroscience PhD Candidate at the University of North Texas, where he researched the electrophysiology and pharmacology of neuronal ensembles cultured on microelectrode arrays. He also serves as our de facto IT guy, keeping our computers and office equipment in top shape so the rest of us can focus on helping our clients. Bret is a dedicated soccer player and avid backcountry outdoorsman. |
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Wayne Hall - Service Manager
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Wayne was our Service Manager from 1991 to 2007 and returned in 2011. With over thirty years managing automotive repair businesses, Wayne has extensive experience and training in Porsche, BMW, Mercedes and GM. He is best known to our clients for his easygoing style and ablility to explain todays complex automobiles in plain language. However, in the professional repair community, he can talk tech with the best of them. He has received recognition for his colloboration on technical manuals and contributes to the technicians community forum. During his off time, Wayne enjoys "just about anything outside" hiking, biking, hunting or fishing. |
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Darren Caswell - Technician
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Darren has been with the company since 1984 and is our most experienced technician. He is a skilled diagnostician and performs all of our engine and transmission rebuilding. Not content to rely on his past accomplishments, Darren regularly attends continuing education courses to further his knowledge of today’s complex automobiles. He also serves as a peer advisor for several trade association information boards. In his spare time Darren enjoys camping and hunting. |
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Jeremy Mahon - Technician
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Jeremy, a Certified Airframe and Powerplant technican, was working as a Lexus dealer technician before joining the Zims family in 2005. Our best diagnostician, Jeremy frequently attends European automotive training seminars and schools to keep up with ever changing automotive technology. He also serves as a peer advisor in several automotive technician forums. In his spare time, Jeremy is an avid mountain bike and motorcycle enthusiast |
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Dennis Butts - Parts Manager
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Dennis has been with Zims since 1979. He maintains and controls our extensive parts inventory, coordinating the flow of parts from nearly four hundred different vendors. He has also developed several specialty parts solutions used by other vendors throughout our industry. His thirty-something years of experience are an incredible wealth of information for our clients and something no other parts vendor can match. In his off time, Dennis enjoys spending time with his family and working on his ’32 Ford High Boy. |
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Kirk Pruitt - Parts Department
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Kirk has been with Zims since 1981. The company was participating in a co-operative program with a local high school to provide real life work skills to students. He has come a long way since then; in addition to his duties in the parts department, Kirk maintains our online parts catalog and takes care of our national and international advertising campaigns. When not at work, Kirk enjoys spending time with his family and managing his over-35 baseball (hardball) team. |
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David Nikirk - Warehouse Manager
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David began his career with us in 1991, anchoring the warehouse until he moved out of state in 2003. When he moved back to the area in 2011, we jumped at the chance to once again secure his services. David is the backbone of the Parts Department, managing all incoming and outgoing shipments, kit assembly, fabrication and manufacturing behind the scenes.
A lifetime car enthusiast and father of three girls, David enjoys woodworking and camping during his free time.
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