Stockholm syndrome

Bad economy not bad for business

Like a well-made Volvo, Cegelka, 61, sees no need to plan for retirement. He did, however, quit being “the main mule in the team” and switched to managing the front desk about five years ago.

Initially, Cegelka found the transition from master grease monkey to clean-fingernails office manager stressful, but not because of the customers. He didn’t like facing up to the fact that the job had become “too demanding physically.” He still misses “the daily glory” of making cars run right again.

“A down economy is good for my business,” said Mike, who offers customers free cups of delicious individually-brewed coffee dispensed from a state-of-the art Keurig machine. He likes the Keurig set-up because there’s very little clean-up and it’s high-tech efficiency clearly makes both his customers and employees happy. He also gives away license plate frames emblazoned with the company’s name and phone number; if you live in the area, it’s hard to drive ten miles without spotting one.

Mike’s expects the next few weeks to be busy. Especially Swedish is likely to get swamped fixing cars damaged by flooding.

Tips on getting to 200,000 miles

If you want to keep your car in working order longer – and Mike agrees with many experts who say that in terms of odometer readings, 200k really is the new 100k for better-quality cars – frequent oil changes are a must.

“Every 5,000 miles, period. Don’t believe in 10,000,” said Mike.

His other top tip is to wash the undercarriage of your car every two weeks during the winter to ward off rust. Pressure washers work best.

Another little-known piece of insider advice gleaned from his 44 years of mechanic’s experience: the 1992 Volvo 240 is an unusually sturdy car.

Depending on the rust level and other key variables, Cegelka also favors most models of Saabs made between 1984 and 1992.

Cegelka personally owns two Saabs, a 2000 and a 2001, and a Chevy pickup truck. He also owns an 1953 firetruck which needs so much work Mike has pretty much given up on every finding the time to repair it.

These days, he spends his off days – Especially Swedish is closed on Sundays and Mondays – tending to personal errands such as food shopping, which he points out is actually easier to do on Mondays than Saturdays, when the rest of the working world is out doing same. There’s a decent brand of frozen sauerkraut pierogies at Adams Fairmarket Farms, Cegelka confides. He’s also now a grandfather – his daughter’s an only child who never showed any interest in becoming a mechanic – and he likes to make toys for her two children.

“I haven’t been on a vacation in years, it’s very difficult for me to leave, because then one of my mechanics has to man the front desk,” said Cegelka. “I have a canoe, but I’ve gone twice in eight years. I’m thinking I should put a motor on it.”

Cegelka says perhaps one day he’d consider selling Especially Swedish, if the right offer from the right sort of person comes along. But that seems a longshot. Mike says he’s a lot like his customers – he doesn’t want to let go of what he has.

My guess is that his employees will eventually make Cegelka an offer. They operate like a close and extremely functional family.

While I was on the premises, a Hispanic woman with little English and a minor tire problem dropped in needing something quickly fixed. Cegelka summoned the handsome and well-mannered Gary Quick, 41, a Long Island native who’s worked at Especially Swedish for six years. The issue was quickly resolved. Cegelka asked her for $10 for the repair, and surprisingly, she insisted on leaving $20.

“I was attentive to her needs,” said Quick. “We’re a dying breed.”