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A Family Shop That Started in a Garage

River City Autohaus is what happens when a working mechanic, his family, and a small town decide the auto repair industry can do better.

Call (503) 867-0609

The River City Autohaus team working together on a BMW E30 track car outside the St. Helens shop

From Garage to Storefront

River City Autohaus is a new company, but the people running it are far from new to the trade. Shop manager Zack Watson previously owned Watson Motorsports, a separate shop, and that's where our technicians earned their experience. Years of it, much of it turning wrenches out of a big shop at Zack's own house. The work was good, word got around, and the operation outgrew the property.

When it came time to open a real brick-and-mortar shop, River City Autohaus opened down the hill in St. Helens, in the storefront at 124 Eilertson St.

That new business is built for what we do today: a river-town shop with a specialty in European vehicles. The "Autohaus" in the name is a promise, not a decoration. New company, same people, same standards, same handshake.

Meet the Family Behind the Shop

Zack Watson

Manager and lead technician. Zack runs the shop floor and handles everything from diagnostics to full engine builds, and he'd rather lose a sale than sell you a repair you don't need.

Teresa Bails

Owner. Teresa grew up around cars (her dad was big into racing), and today she runs the business side along with our community programs, including a free car care class for local women and kids.

Mercedes, age 10

Our unofficial director of marketing. The owner's oldest daughter makes business cards and staples them to invoices. There's almost always a kid at the shop. That's what family-run actually looks like.

We're a mom-and-pop shop on purpose. No service advisors working on commission, no corporate quotas. When you call, you're talking to the people whose name is on the building.

Why We Only Hire A-Level Technicians

In the auto repair trade, technicians are informally graded. A C-level tech handles the basics like oil changes, tires, and simple services. A B-level tech can execute repairs when someone else tells them what's broken: nut-and-bolt work, no diagnostics. An A-level tech can take a vehicle from "something's wrong" to "fixed" on their own. They diagnose the problem, then do the repair, on any system in the car.

A lot of shops run a big crew of B and C techs banging out volume. We deliberately stay small and staff only a few A-level technicians. It means the person who diagnoses your car is the person who fixes it, and the job gets done right the first time, because nobody's guessing.

Customers From Well Beyond Columbia County

Most of our business comes from word of mouth. In a small county, good word travels fast, and bad work catches up with you. That reputation now pulls customers from Portland, Longview, and across Oregon. We recently arranged transportation to get a finished customer's car all the way out to Idaho. When people drive past dozens of other shops to get here, we take that seriously.

Insurance & Warranty Work Welcome

We regularly work with insurance companies, third-party warranty administrators, and incidental claims. And here's something many drivers don't know: as the customer, you have the right to take your vehicle to any shop you choose. You are not required to use the shop your insurer or dealer suggests. If a repair might be claimable, we'll tell you so before you pay out of pocket.

Come Meet Us

Stop by the shop on Eilertson St, say hi to whichever kid is stapling business cards that day, and get a straight answer about your car.

Call (503) 867-0609