March 2022 - 50

BIG TIME BOXES
The box
that keeps
on growing
Since PTEN's last chat with
Eric Muir, he's added around
10' of toolbox storage to his
previous 21' long setup.
By Emily Markham, Associate Editor
W
hen we last checked in
with Eric Muir in 2014,
he was the co-owner
of Brighton Auto Service with
a 21' long Mac Tools toolbox
setup. Now, Muir is the owner of
two automotive repair shops -
Brighton Auto Repair in Brighton,
MI and Whitmore Lake Auto
Repair in Whitmore Lake, MI. He's
also added about another 10'
of toolbox storage to his setup,
and that's not including the second
toolbox setup he has at the
Whitmore Lake shop.
THE START OF IT ALL
When Muir signed up for the vocational
automotive program in high school, he
initially took it as a " blow-off class, " and
then found he actually liked it enough to
make a career out of it. From there, he went
to the ITT Technical Institute and got
his degree, and then spent an additional
year at Indiana Purdue University before
moving back to Michigan to start working.
Muir now has an L1 Advanced Technician
certification, ASE Master Technician
certification, ASE Heavy Duty Truck
Master certification, and Michigan Master
Technician certification.
WHY MAC TOOLBOXES?
Muir's current Mac Tools toolbox setup
began to take shape about 25 years ago. At
Eric Muir
Shops: Brighton Auto Repair and
Whitmore Lake Auto Repair
Locations: Brighton, MI and
Whitmore Lake, MI
the time, Muir had talked to two different
tool dealers about purchasing a larger toolbox,
but the " no hassle " nature of the Mac
Tools distributor won him over in the end
and Muir's been buying toolboxes from him
ever since.
" He's my go-to guy, " Muir says.
So much so that when Muir heard the
tool dealer would be retiring in a year or so,
he decided to buy an additional triple bank
toolbox and triple bank hutch for his setup.
The tool dealer's retirement wasn't Muir's
only reason though, he also needed more
space to store his abundance of diagnostic
tools and equipment.
At the Brighton shop, Muir's setup is
around 32' long and consists of five side
cabinets, two hutches, one triple bank
upper toolbox, one triple bank lower toolbox,
and two double bank toolboxes, not
including the addition on the way. But that's
not all, with two shops, Muir also has a second
setup at Whitmore Lake. This setup
consists of two side cabinets and a double
bank toolbox.
Aside from his toolbox's size and many
storage options, Muir's favorite part of the
toolbox are the side cabinets. In each side
50 PTEN MARCH 2022 www.VehicleServicePros.com
cabinet, the technician has a bunch of pullout
drawers, each containing an individual
laptop or scan tool so Muir can easily pull
them out when needed. Moving inside
the toolbox, Muir notes his favorite tool is
" anything Autel " and says he has around 10
Autel scanners.
To keep his setup organized, Muir keeps
his most used tools toward the top and his
lesser-used tools, typically his specialty
tools, toward the bottom.
TIME FOR A CHANGE
About seven years ago, Muir decided it
was time to move on from Brighton Auto
Service. Though the ASE Master Tech
had spent 25 years of his career there, he
decided it was time to open his own shop.
A shop where he could focus on all the new
technology coming into the industry and
prepare himself for the future.
Five years after opening Brighton Auto
Repair, Muir opened a second shop in his
hometown, Whitmore Lake. Both shops
specialize in diagnostics and automotive
programming. Muir notes that they do
almost all the programming for most of the
repair facilities and body shops in town. He
jokes that they're the " last stop shop " if they
can't fix it, good luck!
Want to see more photos of Muir's box?
Visit: VehicleServicePros.com/21252146
Want to show off YOUR Big-Time Box?
For more information, email
Editor@VehicleServicePros.com.
http://www.VehicleServicePros.com/21252146 http://www.VehicleServicePros.com
March 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2022
