Community means everything at Ball Auto

Among the bright new apartment buildings and busy light rail system reflecting constant growth in the heart of the Stadium District, Ball Auto remains a comforting reminder of simpler times. Some would say better times because what Ball Auto represents is something that can be hard to come by these days – a multi-generational family business where hard work and genuine respect for community have kept it strong for going on 80 years.

“There aren’t many full-service gas stations left. It’s a dying breed,” said co-owner Derek Barnett. “We have people that come in here and their parents came here, their grandparents came here, and their great-grandparents came here. Not only do you have a fourth-generation family running the business; we have third and fourth generations coming to our business.”

It was on April 1, 1946, when Ball Auto opened for business. Roland H. Ball (a.k.a. “Speed”), grandfather of Derek’s wife Lori, had come to Tacoma from North Dakota when he was a boy. He worked at downtown auto shops as a young man and went into partnership with a three-owner car dealership called Sanford Ball & Nash, according to Derek.

“That’s where he started – way back down on Broadway where all the car dealerships were. He always told me his was the first car dealership in Tacoma even though Titus Will Ford would tell you they were here before that. He said he was about six or eight months before them,” Derek said.

Roland then struck out on his own and opened Ball Auto. Drew Barnett, who started running the shop about four years ago with brother Mike, expressed pride in how great-grandfather Roland took a chance that paid off personally and professionally.

“My great-grandpa risked it all when he got that place,” Drew said. “He went out on his own and just did it himself with my grandpa and if you’re in business for 80 years, something is going right.”

Lori said her grandfather worked at Ball Auto until the day he passed away in 1997 at 95 years of age. Roland’s son Kirk Ball had started running the shop before his dad passed and when Kirk retired, Derek and Lori stepped up. Now Ball Auto is in the hands of their sons. Mike, 34, and Drew, 28, say there is no other place they’d rather be.

“The boys have made some genuinely good friendships here,” their dad said. “It’s fun to watch your kids evolve from what you did. They’ve always been here.”

He means that literally. Lori told of how she would take her sons with her to work at Ball Auto when they were wee ones, keeping an eye on them in their little bassinet or car seat right by her desk. She still handles all the daily bookkeeping and office support and as Derek staffs the shop every Saturday so that Mike and Drew can have the day off.

Before taking the reins at Ball Auto, Derek and Lori encouraged Mike and Drew both to explore other opportunities out in the world. Mike attended Bates Technical College to learn skills in firefighting. Still working parttime at Ball Auto, he found that his calling was there and not at school.

Derek and Lori Barnett (middle) are third generation owners of Ball Auto.

“That was really where I wanted to be. I tried for a year or so doing something different, but I always kept coming back to that,” Mike said. “Working with my grandpa and my dad, it was good to stay in the family business for me. I’ve always loved working there.”

Drew went to college and played baseball for two years, which he excelled at. Like his older brother, he too felt that undeniable bond working at the family business.

“I caught myself skipping classes and going to work,” he said. “I work a lot better with my hands, I like people and being around my family, so I knew that it was the spot for me.”

Family is everything at Ball Auto. This is infused into all aspects whether it’s work being done on a customer’s vehicle or taking a moment to chat with someone who came by to say hello, which happens frequently. When the Tacoma Weekly paid a visit last Saturday, a gentleman named Patrick stopped with his canine pals Willow and Carragh to visit with Derek. Patrick called Ball Auto a “benevolent time machine.”

“I tell my friends that when I walk in, I kind of expect to meet Jimmy Stewart. It’s a wonderful place,” he said. “I came down today to say hello and I have a question for Derek from a friend about a car. I usually have to wait in line because there are so many other people waiting to chat with him.”

And Derek is glad to see them, too – not seeing them as customers to bring more money in, but because that’s how he and the Ball family are. Perusing through Ball Auto reviews on Reddit tells the story of customers who are exceedingly satisfied with the service they receive just as they are charmed by the people who provide it.

“I can vouch for them being honest and kind people who take care of their community. A real, solid Tacoma family business,” stated on reviewer.

“I’ve been taking my cars to Ball for 15 years. They are very honest, good people,” says another. 

“Best mechanics I have ever dealt with,” wrote yet another. “I took my car in that had a power steering leak. The fix was going to cost around $1,000 and they explained why it wouldn’t be worth fixing. At the end of the day, they charged me nothing when another mechanic may have just advised me to fix it and took the cash.” 

This is how it has been at Ball Auto since the beginning. Everything is the same now as it was then – a full-service garage for repairs and maintenance (and offering a great deal on oil changes), a collection of quality used cars to sell, and gas pumps out front providing non-ethanol fuel for older makes of cars and other uses. It costs a little bit more, but customers who want this type of fuel know where to go for it.

It’s noteworthy, especially in Tacoma, for a family owned and operated business to be anticipating its 80^th anniversary. It’s just as notable that while the environs of Stadium District will continue to change, nothing will change at Ball Auto.

If you ask Derek, Lori, Mike and Drew what they attribute to Ball Auto’s longevity, they pretty much reply the same, showing that they are united in their high business ethics and down-to-earth approach to all people.

“It is honesty, integrity, fairness and good work – the best you can do,” Derek said. “We had a lady come in yesterday who drove all the way in from West Seattle just to get her oil changed. I’ve had customers come in from Enumclaw, Eastern Washington driving over the pass to come here… We don’t do a lot of advertising. It’s just word of mouth.”

Mike chalks it up to good old customer service. “We really give our all to the customers. We treat them like they’re family. We have a lot of respect for the community and where we work. We go the extra mile, and we don’t charge for that. Whenever I’m working on a car, it’s like it’s one of my family member’s car.”

Ball Auto is located at 116 N. Tacoma Ave. Learn more on Facebook or call (253) 272-3562.