Published October 2005

Central Body Works
in fifth decade of growth

Snohomish County Business Journal/JOHN WOLCOTT Central Body Works is managed by the third generation of the original family, Mike Hagen (right), shown with his father, Steve, whose father-in-law began the business in 1958.

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

Central Body Works in downtown Everett, at 1310 Pacific Ave., has the distinction of being a three-generation, family-owned vehicle repair business with a history that stretches back to 1958.

Mike Hagen manages the business today, though his father, Steve, is still regularly active in the business. It was Steve’s father-in-law, Roy Thorsen, who started the business nearly 50 years ago.

From 1958 to 1967 the business operated from the top two floors of what is now The Everett Clinic’s day-surgery center at Pacific and Rucker avenues. Then the business expanded across the intersection into a building once occupied by Klein Ford.

In 1972, the business moved again, this time just across the alley to a new building built specifically as an auto collision repair shop. In the early 1980s, Steve Hagen and his brother-in-law, Rob Thorsen, bought the business. In 1997, Steve bought out Thorsen’s share of the business.

Today, the business has evolved from a classic Studebaker and Buick body shop into a high-technology collision repair business that handles nearly every type of domestic and foreign vehicle. With its 12,000-square-foot facility, Central Body Works is one of the largest and best-established collision centers in the Pacific Northwest.

“We’re certified by numerous insurance companies — including State Farm, Farmers, Pemco, Safeco, the Grange and USAA — as a ‘direct repair’ business, meaning we can service claims faster for our customers, who are primarily coming to us for insurance work,” Steve Hagen said.

Mike Hagen said they sometimes have as many as 50 to 60 cars in the repair process at one time, with some of them parked on nearby lots. Repairs average about five days, including some that are done in a day and others that may be worked on as long as a month, depending on the amount of damage and the availability of parts.

With 26 work stalls, the 15 employees in the business, including Mike and Steve Hagen, keep cars moving as fast as they can, knowing customers are always inconvenienced without their vehicles. That’s one reason they recently invested several hundred thousands of dollars in three paint booths to triple their painting facilities. As many as five to six vehicles a day roll out of the shop, ready for owners to pick them up.

Despite the high volume of work, the Hagens maintain quality service, Mike Hagen said. An independent survey company that contacts all customers after their work is done reports regularly to them on the results. Satisfaction levels hover around 98 percent to 100 percent, with 60 percent to 70 percent of their customers returning the survey cards, Mike Hagen said.

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