Photograph by Paul Myers

Jaguar Purrformance Center owner Rick Olson limited himself to servicing only two makes of car, but he knows those makes inside and out.

Specialized auto shop keeps its cars purring

By Shari Kaplan

In a town known for its namesake cats and its luxury cars, what could be a better name for a specialized automotive shop than Jaguar Purrformance Center?

Rick Olson thought it was a good match when he opened his shop--which also caters to Land Rovers--on University Avenue this spring, and he was right. Business is now as hot as the summer weather. "Non-stop" is how he describes it.

Olson, who lives in Los Gatos with his wife and two daughters, acknowledges that at first it may seem idealistic to run a clinic whose only patients are two expensive British automobiles. He says sometimes people still ask how he is able to make a living.

"Los Gatos and Saratoga are the Jaguar capitols of the area," he says with a knowing smile. "You can't even have lunch around here without seeing one.

"They're attractive, good quality cars. I've also noticed that among Jaguar owners, the majority of them really maintain their cars," he says of the significant investment in these machines. It's a similar case with Land Rovers.

Incidentally, Olson adds, the Ford Motor Company has owned Jaguar since 1990 and purchased Land Rover from BMW in 2000. This is common knowledge on the automotive circuit, he says, but not commonly known by the average person.

Olson was never just average when it came to repairing things. He says he was mechanically minded for as long as he can remember. "I always took things apart when I was a kid--TVs, lawnmowers, stuff like that," he recalls, chuckling.

"I worked on my mom's car when I was 13 or 14. I was always able to fix it," adds Olson, who got a job at a Sunnyvale gas station by the age of 16. He began pumping gas and later drove a tow truck and helped repair cars.

After graduating from Prospect High School, Olson enrolled at DeAnza College in Cupertino, where he successfully completed the auto tech program, which is among the best in California, he says. Additionally, he passed the tests necessary to earn a certificate from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence and a smog check license.

His first job in the auto repair industry was with a J.C. Penney's automotive center, where he worked his way up in a few years from "tire guy" to top technician. After that, he took a job at San Jose British Motors, where he began his affair with Britain's automotive beauties.

He opened his first Jaguar Purrformance Center in Sunnyvale in 1989, then moved it to Mountain View in 1992. He relocated to Los Gatos in April 2001, after the owner of Jaguar Unlimited, the former tenant at 608 University Ave., retired and closed the shop.

"Not to sound snobbish, but a lot of problems are actually caused by general purpose auto shops that might not do the right things. Also, when you're specialized, you get familiar with pattern failures," he says, referring to problems that may come up more often, or in specific ways, in cars from one manufacturer but not in another.

"It matters to me how I'm perceived. I hate bringing bad news to people," he adds. "Based on the times in my life when I wasn't the expert in something, I know what it's like to not understand something. I like to explain things."

Olson also says that in spite of the high-tech computers he uses to properly diagnose and repair problems, he also likes certain old-fashioned aspects of the business too--like checking and replacing a burned-out bulb for a taillight on a customer's car for free, or peeking into windshield wiper fluid reservoirs and filling them without being asked.

---

Jaguar Purrformance can be reached at 408.354.4445.

---

Monte Sereno tells developer to shrink plan, save trees

Carl Heintze: Birds in the City

Local home sale listings

Obituary: Francis Filer

Picture From the Past

Sports Briefs

Los Gatos Little League all-stars advance to Western Regionals

Little League 11-year-old all-stars claim Section 5 title

Pony League all-stars win section tournament

Annual Dammit Run returns August 18

Photo: The Club Yahoo! 12s