On July 4, Niverville’s council held a special meeting to consider a conditional use application for an automotive sales and detailing centre. Council voted unanimously in favour of granting a permit to 616 Auto and Sales.
The Winnipeg-based ownership team, Derek Lafrenais and Ciara Piwniuk, will be busy readying their new business over the coming weeks at 2-645 Pauls Street in the business park. The 1,200 square feet of space inside the commercial building will allow for a comfortable office area with plenty of additional room for auto detailing.
The lot in front will serve as a showroom for up to a dozen used vehicles to start. Using online sales and social media sites to advertise, the couple says half of their vehicles are often sold before they arrive in Manitoba.
“[The news] spreads like wildfire because the vehicles I bring in are rust-free,” says Lafrenais.
Lafrenais’s experience with vehicles is broad. He has expertise as a trained body man who also dabbles in mechanical repairs. Until recently, he worked at a similar business in the city until the couple decided to venture out on their own.
Their used car inventory comes primarily from British Columbia, where vehicles get little exposure to the kind of heavy salt usage our roads are treated to during the winter months. His top sellers are reliable commuter vehicles like the Ford Focus and Honda Civic, but he deals in pickup trucks and almost any vehicle a customer may be in the market for. If a customer has something specific in mind, he’ll try and source it.
All of the vehicles sold at 616 Auto and Sales will come with a complimentary one-year warranty, which includes the power train and some mechanical parts. Extended warranty options will be available, ranging from three months to four years.
In the coming weeks, Lafrenais and Piwniuk anticipate having signage in place and vehicles on the lot. Shoppers are welcome to browse through the inventory during and after hours.
“From our [past] experience, we always leave our vehicles unlocked,” Piwniuk says.
Locked doors on the lot, they say, is an invitation for vandalism and attempted break-ins.
While Lafrenais manages the car sales, Piwniuk will be the company’s primary detailer.
“I know how to get smoke odour out of vehicles and remove pet hair,” she says. “I can take the seats out of your car, so I can get under there really well. [I do] headlight polishing, so if you have hazy, yellowed headlights, I can literally sand that out and make them look crystal-clear again.”
Other services will include headlight replacement and fog light installation as well as the removal of paint scratches and scuffs through a polishing process.
While the couple lives with their children in south Winnipeg, their choice to put down business roots in Niverville was primarily thanks to the low cost of commercial rental space.
“We’ve lived in small towns before,” Piwniuk says. “We also have kids and being here might bring us to move here [someday].”
The couple is excited about adding something new to the retail and service offerings in Niverville. They’re hopeful that their business will attract outsiders to the outdoor showroom, too, helping to boost the economy for the everyone.
