Don't let this picture fool you. Rich DeGrandpre rarely stays in one place more than 30 seconds as he deftly multi-tasks at R & D Auto located on Varney Road just behind Antonia's pizza on lower Main Street. I don't know Rich very well even though we were neighbors in Freeport for just shy of one year. It wasn't that we didn't like the neighbors, we moved just over the Freeport line to Pownal so that our young kids could have more space to roam.
Rich and his right hand man Darrell seem to keep abreast of the wide range of cars that R & D services. Today when I stopped in to photograph Rich, he was trouble shooting a SUV that had radiator fluild oozing out that looked like a Starbuck's Frappachino!
Unlike other garages, when you stop in for your ailing car to be serviced, Rich will educate you about current issues he's dealing with on town council and bring you up to speed. He's also keen to know what you think as well. Rich's other job is Chairman of town council. When I dropped a car off for service the other day, Rich was out of the office handling some important political matters. When he's out of the shop, he has Darrell and three other very capable service technicians to handle the work load. Several months ago I had a conversation with a relatively new Freeporter at Merriconeag Waldorf High School. She and I were talking about car repair facilities in and around town. This person mentioned R&D as the place where she has her car serviced. I inquired how she selected R & D auto? Her reply revealed that she walked into a nearby NAPA auto parts store to ask for a recommendation for auto repair. The NAPA employee volunteered R & D in Freeport. For more information, call 865-3452.
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Last Saturday afternoon we found R&D Auto. I would say it was by accident but it was through Divine intervention. Myself and three other ladies had travelled from Nova Scotia, Canada for our annual Christmas shopping trip when we ran into some major troubles with the truck we were driving. Not knowing where to go for help we looked to our GPS which led us right to Rich's doorstep. He was closed for the day but he went beyond what any person would do. He saved us. He is an amazing, kind person. Words cannot express how we feel about the kind of person this man is. If you ever get the chance to have your car serviced here you are getting an amazing mechanic and an amazing person as well. Thank you Rich.
Knew him as a good customer 40 years ago...definately could not be trusted back then...
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