Diane Dixon:
Marysville shop owner an auto educator

When her husband, a master automotive technician, decided to open his own maintenance and repair shop eight years ago, Diane Dixon “went along for the ride.”

Snohomish County Business Journal/ KIMBERLY HILDEN Diane Dixon, known as “The Lady Shop Owner Who is Taking the Scare Out of Auto Care,” holds quarterly women’s car-care clinics at her north Marysville shop, 3 D Automotive.

“I got involved because he doesn’t know how to market or do the numbers — the business side,” Dixon said of her mate, David.

Along the way, Dixon, a longtime equipment technician at Verizon, became passionate about educating people on the cost savings in maintenance.

“It’s so simple and cheap to do,” Dixon said. Like the ability to increase a car’s gas mileage by keeping the tires properly inflated or ensuring the life of a fuel pump by having the fuel filter replaced regularly and keeping the gas tank filled.

As a service consultant certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and a majority owner of 3 D Automotive, Dixon has the opportunity to share these tips and others with her clients as well as the community at large.

Dixon, known as “The Lady Shop Owner Who is Taking the Scare Out of Auto Care,” holds quarterly women’s car-care clinics at her north Marysville shop at 14219 Smokey Point Blvd. There, she discusses the art of communicating with auto technicians and demonstrates how to change a flat tire, connect battery jumper cables and check the car’s engine oil.

She also offers tips in monthly customer postcards, a recently developed newsletter and at trade shows, such as the Northwest Women’s Show in March, where Dixon greeted visitors to the ASE booth.

“I show up at all of these things that you wouldn’t expect,” said Dixon, who also participates in La-De-Biz and LeTip networking groups.

Besides getting the word out about proper car maintenance and marketing the shop’s services and customer rewards programs, Dixon also crunches the shop’s numbers — and makes sure those numbers are going in the right direction.

Indeed, 3 D Automotive has grown since it began in an 800-square-foot shop in downtown Marysville. Two years ago, the company moved into its current 5,000-square-foot facility, employing more than five full- and part-time employees, said Dixon, who taps the expertise of a business coach to ensure continued success.

But business is about more than the bottom line for Dixon, whose 3 D Automotive is known for giving back to the community.

For instance, their shop holds regular Smash & Bash events, where folks, for a small donation, can take a swing at a car destined for the junkyard. Past organizations benefiting from the Smash & Bash include Toys for Tots, the Arlington Boys & Girls Club and area food banks, Dixon said.

The shop also offers basic oil service for a $25 donation made out to the Humane Society at HappyPaws Farm, a no-kill animal shelter in north Snohomish County. It’s a cause that resonates with Dixon, whose own family includes rescued cat Buzz and dogs Mac and Duke.

And when she’s not caring for them, serving auto customers or crafting spreadsheets, she’s at Verizon, where she continues to work 40 hours a week.

It’s a busy life, but it has taught Dixon a thing or two about time management, she said. “You just learn that time is a very precious thing, and you need to prioritize.”

For more information on 3 D Automotive, call 360-658-8087 or go online to www.my3dauto.com.

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