By Alex Robinson
For many women (and men), the art of car mechanics is a foreign language, but Audra Fordin is hoping to change that.
The fourth generation owner of Great Bear Auto Repair in Flushing has set herself on a mission to empower women to become comfortable with auto maintenance.
Fordin first got interested in cars when she was 8 years old. Her father started bringing her to do filing work at the family business as soon as she knew her ABCs.
“I wanted to hang out with my dad who was always working, so he took me to work,” she said. “When I was big enough to pick up the pliers, I was on cars.”
She eventually took over the shop, at 164-16 Sanford Ave. in Flushing, which had been operated over the years by her Uncle Sidney and grandfathers Larry and Oscar.
Fordin started a non-profit out of the repair shop in 2009 called Women Auto Know, which offers free monthly DIY repair workshops to women. Out of that, she launched an online version of the tutorials that teach basic car maintenance through webinars and DVDs. The online service costs $189 and includes glove-box guides and an interactive course.
Her tutorials include instruction about how to change a tire, how to check for under the hood problems and wind shield wiper maintenance.
“It answers all the questions people have been asking me throughout my career,” she said. “Not everyone wants to be a mechanic, but people want to know they’re getting what they need at a fair price.”
Fordin said she wants to make car maintenance something that’s comfortable and easy. She explains the way a car works as if it were a human body.
“It puts it into perspective,” she said. “You use your lungs when you breath air. Your car also breaths air and if your air filter is dirty, it would be like someone having an asthma attack.”
Her workshops are open to both men and women, but her mantra is to increase the dwindling number of females in her industry.
Fordin hopes that by educating women about cars, she will also be able to smooth over the relationship between customers and car mechanics. If people know more about their automobiles, they will understand whether they are getting a fair price for services they’re receiving, Fordin said.
The Women Auto Know tutorials are also available via a smart phone app so that it can be accessed on the go.
“No woman should feel stranded on the side of the road ever,” she said. “Now through peer-to-peer support and community feedback they’re able to find a shop that will not take advantage of them.”
Fordin also offers donation auto repairs for single mothers who cannot afford to have their cars serviced.
“It’s wonderful to be able to do that,” she said. “We do auto service donations, but I’m not Oprah.”
Last year she won New York’s Small Business of the Year Award as well as the first Female Service Shop Owner of the Year Award.
Reach reporter Alex Robinson by e-mail at arobinson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
