‘I just have a passion for helping people’: Integrity, customer service crucial to Affordable Auto success

MOSES LAKE — Affordable Auto Services has been in operation for just over five years in Moses Lake and has very quickly grown into a strong local business that serves throughout the Columbia Basin. Affordable Auto’s owner Brandon Burgess said he is proud to have grown the business into what it is today. 

“It’s not all about the best deal, who’s the cheapest guy,” said Burgess. “It’s about what you can offer, that you can stand behind your warranty and have the integrity to go along with that is really the deciding factor.” 

Affordable Auto Service was first established in 2006 by Lonnie Steimetz and operated as a hobby shop, said Burgess. The building itself has been around since 1947 and has been utilized as both a gas station and an auto repair shop over the years.  

“Riding by the shop when I was 12 years old on my bike, going to get air in my tire and back in the day these guys used to work on jet boats and hot rods and all that stuff out front,” he said. “I always wanted to be in that position or be in that location.” 

Burgess began his own automotive career in 2002 after he finished college and went to work for a transmission shop. He spent 11 years there before trying another career path but realized that path wasn’t his passion. 

 In November of 2020, he was walking past Affordable Auto and decided to come in to talk with Lonnie and asked if he could purchase the shop. By March 2021, the deal closed and Burgess was the owner of Affordable Auto. 

“It went from working for an employer at an auto repair shop to not doing it altogether and then being an owner of the auto repair shop,” he said. 

When he first became the owner, the shop had just two bays and two employees aside from Burgess himself. Within nine months, the shop expanded to four bays and four employees. 

In 2024, Affordable Auto expanded again when Burgess purchased property right across the street which added another three bays for servicing. At around the same time Burgess hired a diesel repairman, two more auto technicians and added towing options to expand their services. 

Burgess said the shop has remained steady since those additions, but in 2026 also added a tire and wheel division. 

“Now we have basically six techs and two girls up front in the office,” he said. 

The fast growth wasn’t always easy, he said since bringing in different styles of repairs and services brings new challenges in itself, each day.  

“You’re going to touch four times the amount of cars in a week, so you’ve got four times the amount of problems,” said Burgess. “There were some growing pains with that, but just overcoming it and learning differently how to handle that volume and the quality of craftsmanship and quality of work that you want to put out is definitely a learning curve.”  

Alongside service in Moses Lake, Affordable Auto also serves Ephrata, George, Mattawa, Othello, Quincy, Royal City and Warden. Burgess said with this area of coverage he has also tried to help out each customer to the fullest of his ability to ensure that when there is an issue with their vehicle, he can work to take the burden off their shoulders. 

“I’ve lent my personal truck to a customer that was on this family vacation, towing his boat to go to Mardon on their family reunion,” said Burgess. “Their truck breaks down and they don’t have anything to go launch their boat to enjoy their vacation so I leant my personal truck (so they could) go finish their vacation and not worry about their broke down car.” 

Each expansion to the shop has been working toward the goal of helping out as many people as they can. In this effort he works to understand each situation and work to find the best solution to help the customer. 

Having that positive reputation is very important to him as he works to build his business into the future and become more involved in the community. 

“You only get your name once, whether that’s your personal name or your business name,” said Burgess. “(If) you run one of them or both of them into the ground, you don’t have that to fall back on.” 

Building relations with the customers and the community has been very important to Burgess since he purchased the business and a huge part of why he enjoys his job. 

“We’re still a full-service gas station, so we still offer gas and that’s something that I like to sit back on is you get the regular gas customer that pulls up every week and gets gas and you go out there and have the five-minute conversation with them and ask how they’re doing and learn their story,” said Burgess. “And then just helping people, I have a passion for just helping people.” 

 Affordable Auto Services 

724 W Broadway Ave, Moses Lake 

Mon-Fri 7 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.  

509-472-8147 

Affordableautoservicewa.com

    Affordable Auto expanded the business in 2024 after purchasing another business across the street which added three additional bays for vehicles to be worked on.
 COURTESY PHOTO/BRANDON BURGESS   

    The Affordable Auto Services building with cars in the two pays and a full service gas station still operational in front.
 COURTESY PHOTO/BRANDON BURGESS