Location: 518 Main St. East Aurora, NY 14052
Hours: Mon - Fri | 8:30AM TO 5:30PM
Call Us! (716) 652-2940
Monday - Friday 8:30AM - 5:30PM
ABOUT US
In the fall of 1955, Bruce Putney, founder of Bruce's Automotive, was working for the company now known as Moog Aerospace. Moog was incredibly busy at the time, and required mandatory overtime—Bruce was on a stretch of working 90 days straight! Months earlier, however, he had requested time off in February to go to Daytona for speed week. But when it was time for him to take his vacation, Moog informed him that if he left he would be looking for a new job when he came back.
After an exchange of some unpleasant words, Bruce went on his vacation! And while out of town, he pondered his future. He had been working on cars since he was a kid, and was also actively involved in racing. A career in auto repair made sense, so when he returned to East Aurora, Bruce rented a one-bay garage, and started his own auto repair shop without even inquiring to see if he still had a job.
In the early 1980s, Brian Schofield met his wife-to-be, who happened to be Bruce’s daughter. For fun, Brian started working on his father-in-law’s race car while finishing his college degree in electronics. As graduation approached, Bruce told Brian that his education was where the automotive industry was going, and he thought Brian would be a good fit at the shop. Well, Brian turned him down flat, and told Bruce he wanted to find a real job! Ironically enough, he envisioned himself working at a place like Moog.
Fortunately for Brian, Bruce didn’t take offense to this rejection because, during this time, work was very scarce in East Aurora. A lot of large companies were leaving Buffalo area, and jobs were scarce. Brian was working at a fast-food franchise when Bruce approached him once again. Due to high local unemployment, a 16-week basic auto mechanics program became available. The deal was Bruce would pay for the school, and pay Brian to go to it. In exchange, Brian had to work after class at the shop and on Saturdays until he completed the program. They also agreed that Brian would work for Bruce for two years at an agreed rate. At that point, if it didn’t work out, the two would part as friends.
In the end, Bruce gave Brian the push he needed to be the best he could be, and provided him with all the training he would need to be successful. After 15 years under Bruce’s tutelage, Brian took over the shop, and the rest—as they say—is history, or in this case a continuation of history.