We’ll meet a mechanic who is working on their own terms and enjoying his independence. He sets his hours, decides when he goes on holiday and answers to no one.

Paul from King Street Auto will chats about why he loves being a mechanic, working on classic cars, and why he decided to operate his workshop as a sole trader. 

About Paul: 

While enjoying a coffee on King Street nine years ago, Paul noticed that the space next to the café was up for lease. A successful and talented mechanic himself, Paul decided to start his own business, and launched King Street Auto in 1999.

A few years ago, Paul decided to downsize the company for several reasons. He wanted to be more in control of his hours, and wanted to lower his overheads. The answer was for him to sublease a portion of his space to another mechanic, who uses it to fix vespas and bikes.

He now runs his business as a sole trader, and works alone. He can now work on up to five cars at a time, and has built a reputation as a classic car specialist.

Paul did his auto mechanic apprenticeship straight out of school and spent several years working for other mechanics before launching King Street Auto in 1999 while in his late 20s.

He grew up in Marrickville and some of his strongest childhood memories are of the laneway behind his house being filled with various cars and bikes that the local bikies would fix. He made friends with them and paid attention, and thus his passion for mechanics was born.

In fact, he says that he finds the work therapeutic. He sees a lot of classic models come in, but has noticed their numbers begin to dwindle as the price of petrol continues to soar. He owns two classic cars himself: a 65 Toyota Corona, and a 1970 Valiant.

Paul loves what he does and is grateful that he did an apprenticeship himself. He’s happy that he’ll always have a trade to fall back on, and enjoys the fact that he is completely independent.