For Michael Kuba, learning to repair cars wasn’t something he planned to do for a living—or even a hobby he had dreamed about.
It started with a problem many parents can understand.
His family’s van had stopped producing cold air, and with three young children riding in the back, the Arizona heat quickly became unbearable. When Kuba took the vehicle to a repair shop, he was confronted with an estimate approaching $4,000.
That price forced him to make a choice.
Instead of handing over money he didn’t have, Kuba decided to learn the repair himself. He purchased equipment, found instructional videos online and began figuring out the job piece by piece.
It worked.
But Kuba didn’t stop after getting his own van back on the road.
Over time, his newly acquired mechanical skills turned into The Junkie Garage, a nonprofit operation in Glendale that helps vehicle owners deal with repairs without taking on the kind of bills that can overwhelm a household budget.
The approach is deliberately simple.
Someone who needs help schedules a repair, supplies the necessary parts and refrigerant, and contributes what they can toward the work. There is no financial screening process requiring customers to document their income or explain why they need assistance.
That distinction matters to Kuba.
He believes someone shouldn’t have to expose their personal financial situation just to get help keeping a vehicle running.
The garage handles many everyday repairs, including brakes, suspension problems, batteries, alternators and air conditioning. Jobs involving major engine or transmission failures are generally beyond what the operation takes on.
For customers facing a large repair estimate, the difference in cost can be significant. Kuba says air conditioning work that might cost several thousand dollars at a commercial repair facility can often be completed at his garage for a few hundred dollars when parts and the customer’s contribution are included.
There’s another important part of the story: Kuba isn’t doing it alone.
His son Matthew began spending time in the garage with him when he was only 8. At 16, he has grown into a young mechanic who has spent years learning alongside his father.
For the teenager, the garage has become both a classroom and a way to contribute to the community. He has learned practical skills that aren’t typically taught in school while getting to work directly with his father.
One family they helped showed just how much a vehicle repair can mean.
A foster parent arrived with a Dodge Caravan while caring for three children with special needs. She needed the van’s air conditioning repaired but didn’t have enough money to purchase the required parts.
Rather than turn her away, Kuba covered the cost himself.
When she came back and discovered the vehicle was ready, the moment became emotional. The repair wasn’t simply about restoring an air conditioner. It meant the children could travel in a more comfortable environment during Arizona’s intense heat.
Those experiences have convinced Kuba that the garage could become much larger.
He hopes eventually to operate a facility with several bays and enough volunteer mechanics to handle more vehicles and reach more families. He is also looking for supporters who can contribute a small amount each month.
For Kuba, the ultimate goal isn’t simply to build a successful garage. He wants to create something that allows ordinary people to keep their transportation—and, in many cases, their daily lives—from falling apart because of one expensive repair.
What began with a father trying to solve an uncomfortable problem for his own children has now become an ongoing effort to make basic auto repairs more accessible to people who might otherwise have nowhere to turn.
