LONE HILL COLLISION CENTER: Where Quality and Affordability Collide

Jack and Mary at Lone Hill Collision Center will positively restore your car to pristine perfection.

One day in 2010, Jack Zeneian with resume in hand walked into the collision center at 1248 S. Lone Hill in Glendora looking for a job and walked out the owner.

“I thought they were looking for an estimator or a manager,” said Jack, who has more than 30 years’ experience in the collision repair business. I didn’t know they were looking to sell the place.”

The proposition of ownership appealed to him. “I was tired of working for somebody else or being over-qualified when I applied for a position. My boys (Christopher and Anthony) were approaching the right age and I couldn’t see sending my wife to work downtown, driving an hour and a half back each day.

“The timing was right to go through with the decision. If not now, when,” he wondered.

In effect, he used a higher decision to hire himself!

Since he arrived in America from his native Yerevan, Armenia, when he was 18, Jack has been an unflagging optimist. With the help of his wife Mary, also from Yerevan, whom he met when she was working as a Wells Fargo teller in the late 1980s, he learned perfect English and read as many self-help books and motivational tapes as he could get his hands on to live the American Dream. Before giving this reporter a tour of his immaculate shop, he had to share one such inspirational story:

One morning a chicken and pig were walking down the street when they passed a coffee shop advertising its ham and eggs special.

“Just once I’d like to see eggs get top billing,” the chicken complained. “Eggs and ham — or even eggs and bacon — would sound just as good.”

This suggestion unnerved the pig, which snorted, “All you have to do is lay an egg while I have to make the supreme sacrifice.

“Whereas, you’re merely involved, I am totally committed.”

The story illustrates Jack’s and Mary’s total commitment to providing their customers with superior quality and exceptional service. Indeed, the list of services they provide is impressive. They furnish free written estimates, work with all insurance companies, and provide lifetime warranties upon completion of repairs, which include everything from oil changes, tune-ups and alignments, to frame and structural repairs, to windshield and glass replacement, to upholstery repair and restoration.

Jack and son Christopher examine a car on the lot.

Most important, Jack, Mary and their staff are straight shooters; they’re not going to quote some artificial price to get your business. Quotes for tune-ups for two similar cars, each with 80,000 miles, can be completely different for good reason. “One owner,” Jack said, “might be bringing in their car for service for the first time while the other has kept up the car’s maintenance all along.

“Just drop the car off, we’ll take a look at it, and give you an estimate. There’s no obligation.”

Customers seem to like the way Lone Hill Collision Center operates. Jack and Mary point to a black notebook bulging with testimonials:

“From the moment we walked into Lone Hill Collision Center,” Clint and Louise Taylor wrote, “we found every member of your staff – you, Jack, Mary, Andrea – attentive, responsive, cheerful, and helpful. This appreciated reception was a precursor to exceptional service. You were straightforward in your estimates, fair in your prices, clear in providing options, and careful to communicate progress and any new information that emerged. You gained our trust – and future business should the need arise.”

 “Your motto of ‘Where Quality and Affordability Collide’ truly represents your business,” added Dan and Pam Henley of Glendora.

Meanwhile, Bob and Suzie Balkenhol wrote, “The repair on our vehicle was perfection! The vehicle was returned on time and in absolutely immaculate condition.”

Customers especially like the collision center’s convenient location on Lone Hill, just across the street from the bustling Glendora Mmarketplace and In N Out Burger.

The Lone Hill Center can match an existing paint with its computerized paint system.

In fact, the intoxicating smell of In N Out’s burgers and fries almost persuaded the couple to name their shop In N Out Auto Body before they returned to their senses and settled on the name Lone Hill Collision Center because of its Lone Hill address and proximity to the Lone Hill 210 freeway off ramp. The main office, located in the 22,000-square-foot center, looks like a giant cube or concrete castle. You can’t miss it.

“It’s a fantastic location in such a beautiful city,” said Mary, who also worked two decades as an investigator in Bank of America’s corporate security department where she said “there was never a dull moment.”

Switching from banking to banging out fenders, not to mention managing all the books and all the environmental regulations that auto body shops are subject to is also proving just as exciting and satisfying for Mary. She especially loves the family aspect of the business, working with her two children, Christopher, 20, and Anthony, 18, who have become young men as they learn their father’s craft and dedication to excellence.

“I get them for at least eight hours and day, and that’s special to Jack and me,” she said.

Perhaps, that’s what comes across most when you do business with Lone Hill Collision Center. You get a real sense of family. What you don’t get is the feeling you’re being hustled.

In exchange for being with his family and supporting a full-service shop full of auto detailers, painters, mechanics and frame and body specialists, Jack knows he has to work harder than ever. “This is a dream come true for me, but I have to make that dream happen every day,” he added.

With that admission, he couldn’t resist one last anecdote, inspired by an ancient African proverb:

 “Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle … when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.” 

One thing’s for sure: Jack, Mary and their family and professional crew will get your car up and running and back on the road, satisfaction guaranteed.

Lone Hill Collision Center is located at 1248 S. Lone Hill Ave. in Glendora, with hours from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Drop by any time or call (909) 394-3341 or visit the website at www.lonehillcollision.com for more information. Also, ask about their special brochure, which includes a helpful “In Case of Accident” section that you should keep in your glove compartment.