Auto shop miracle worker, and his vast menagerie, keep Costa Mesa drivers coming back
There are certain professions in which an honest individual is a rare find, including automobile repair, where some mechanics are known for taking their best guess and bringing your wallet along for the ride.
But in Costa Mesa, vehicle owners in the know have come to put their faith in a local miracle — Joe Miracle, to be precise, owner of Bay Auto Service — whose passion for cars is matched by his love of antiques, untold numbers of which are on display at the Newport Boulevard auto shop.
Customers waiting for a tune-up or oil change are welcome to peruse the vintage signs, Art Deco style lamps and treasures that hide in virtually every nook and cranny of the garage, where Miracle first came to work in the early ’80s and purchased from previous owner Gary Tiveron in 2005.
Some pieces reflect phases of Miracle’s collection obsession, which started in 1970 with glass fruit jars and morphed to include stoneware crockery, World War I-era “tramp art” and smoking memorabilia, like an electric-powered pot-metal head whose mouth lights your cigarette when you lift it.
“It keeps expanding — it never stops. Either you like it, or you don’t,” says the 70-year-old car whisperer, who sees the items as pieces of history. (Luckily, wife Robin agrees.)
Other items in the vast menagerie point to the man himself. A 1968 Daily Pilot article describes how a 16-year-old Miracle entered a roller-skating marathon that lasted for days and later earned him harsh words from his parents, who wondered where he’d gone.
Another clipping shows Miracle, age 18, receiving a “good guy” citation and modest reward from the Costa Mesa Police Department for calling in a service station break-in and remaining on scene to surveil the crook until the law arrived.
“I got a big, whopping $10,” he recalls with a chuckle, pointing out his mutton-chop sideburns.
Who wouldn’t want a mechanic who’s been officially recognized as a good guy? Bay Auto’s nearly 5-star rating on Yelp.com, and the reviews that accompany them, provide an answer.
Customers describe how Miracle kept them from forking out hundreds of dollars on unnecessary repairs, how his preternatural knowledge of the quirks of a particular make or model benefits the clientele.
Tony Dodero, spokesman for the city of Costa Mesa, became a customer three decades ago, when his 1983 Subaru Legacy began sputtering, and a mechanic near his then-home in Cypress recommended a new carburetor at a cost of $300.
On a recommendation from a co-worker, he took the car to Miracle, who knew Subarus had two fuel filters that sometimes acted up. The fix? $10.
“The other guy would have charged me $300, torn my whole car apart and still wouldn’t have fixed it,” Dodero recalled. “That’s when I knew I was a customer for life. I can’t even tell you how much he’s saved me over the years.”
Although Bay Auto’s bays are usually filled, including the spot permanently occupied by a 1924 Chevrolet Superior, Miracle remains humble about the secret to his success.
“It’s not magic, it’s real simple — I want to treat you the way I want to be treated,” he said. “If everybody just took a step back and treated people like they wanted to be treated, the world would be a totally different place.”
An unapologetic throwback to a bygone era, Miracle takes on vintage vehicles when others, reliant on diagnostic scanners, might throw up their hands. Wednesday afternoon, for example, found him working on a 1976 Bronco Sport in prime condition.
The vehicle was one year shy of being exempt from biennial smog checks and “was missing everything.” When its driver arrived, the shop owner broke the bad news: it needed a new transmission. Together, they peered under the hood as Miracle walked him through the process.
Having a special knowledge of beloved old Bessies that sputter their way into his shop doesn’t preclude the proprietor from being able to fix new vehicles. Late-model Hummers and Cadillacs are just as likely to pull in.
In fact, Miracle himself drives a 2010 Toyota Prius he completely reconditioned after buying it off a customer for $200. Although the woman was terminally ill, a dealership told her they wouldn’t fix the car because it wasn’t worth it and, instead, sold her a new one.
“I read everything about it, tore it apart and fixed it,” he said of the hybrid vehicle. “It does so many things. The first time I took it on a trip to an antique show, I drove from here to Clovis and back on 8 gallons of gas.”
Working alongside Miracle is Rob Rizzo, a 48-year-old Costa Mesa resident who first started tinkering on cars as a teenager. He’s been at Bay Auto for seven years and prefers working for independently owned shops because, as he sees it, they’re generally less seedy.
“The thing I admire about Joe is, if a customer comes in and is completely convinced something’s wrong with his truck but it’s not that, we’re not going to sell him the part he thinks is it,” he said. “But dealers, they’ll just take the whole salad bowl and throw it at the car.
“That’s why the customers come back [here],” he added.
And, for as long as they do, Miracle will assist them. Still, these days, thinking about the long arc of his life, he’s planning on paring down his collection, as he finds himself “getting to be an old duffer.”
“I look at it like this — I don’t own any of this stuff,” he surmises. “Because I’m not going to live forever. I’m just keeping it for someone else.”
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