Our Story
If you’ve ever been into Auto Evaluators, you’ve most likely met Mark and Pat Dirsa. A dynamic duo, some would say!! These two met when they were teenagers. It didn’t take long for them to figure out they wanted to spend their life together. That was in 1981 when Mark pulled up next to Pat at the gas station in his super cool 1969 Nova. She later found out that he had completely restored and rebuilt it himself. There weren’t any you tube tutorials back then, just a guy who loved cars who was driven to learn everything he could about the auto industry.
It was only a couple years later that they bought and sold their first car. And that was just the beginning. It started as a small side gig, family and friends knew how knowledgeable Mark was about cars. They would ask him questions and ask him to work on their cars when he had free time. They would call him before buying a vehicle asking him to check it out and let them know if it was a good choice. That continued to grow till cars lined the street of their home, Mark working out of a small garage, and Pat doing paperwork at the dining room table after the kids went to bed, all while still working their other jobs. They had a dream and they were determined to watch it happen.
In 1994 Mark and Pat invested in their very own brick and mortar store, and Auto Evaluators was born. It was a small garage off South Lindbergh where Pat worked in the office while Mark and another guy worked in the garage. It was a dream come true; two people who knew what they were good at, knew how to use their natural skills, and both had one goal.
“Our goal has always been for our community to have a place to care for their vehicles, a place they trust will do the best work for them and their family. Car businesses have gotten a bad reputation over the years. They are stereotypically known for taking advantage of people. I really hated that stigma! No business should be that way and we wanted to change that. We believe in leading only with honesty (maybe too much, LOL) and fairness. We understand the value of a dollar and we understand that people rely on their vehicle every day to get them from place to place, and home again. We get it! Everyone wants to drive a reliable and affordable vehicle and have a place they can trust to take care of it for them. Auto Evaluators is that place!” -PAT
Business grew quickly which led them to expand that location, not once but twice!
Exactly 10 years later, the third expansion happened when they purchased their current location on Watson Road.
“When we originally found this location, we knew it could be exactly what we were looking for. Then we found out there was already a contract on it. We were disappointed to say the least, but we knew that it would happen when the time was right. So we hoped and we prayed, and to our surprise the other contract fell through. 7721 Watson has been the home of Auto Evaluators ever since.” -PAT
When you come to Auto Evaluators, you’re not walking into a big franchise business. You will see Mark and Pat working with their team. You will see a professional staff who is consistently learning what’s new in order to bring you the very best services and products. Mark and Pat are firm believers in continuing education. They understand that the automotive industry is constantly changing and they strive to be on top of that. From taking their entire team off for training to being at the forefront of the green energy movement, they are always thinking and moving ahead.
“From the time I was a little boy, it’s always been his driving force to learn as much as he could about the auto industry” -MARK
26 years in business is just a number, but to Mark and Pat it’s 26 years of hard work and countless hours building the business that it is today. It will exceed your expectations in every way, because that’s just who they are at Auto Evaluators.
“This business is our treasure and our team is part of our family. Its our passion to serve our customers, and their family and friends with the same level of excellence we have been providing for the last 26 years. And we sleep good at night because we know that our team does it’s very best to give EVERY customer a great experience.” -MARK AND PAT
And if you were around prior to 2018, you would usually see their greeter, a 5-lb Chihuahua named Finch. Finch loved people and everyone loved Finch. Workers would feed him at lunch time, delivery people would bring him treats, and customers would ask if he was going to be there when they made appointments. He would sit on their lap and keep them company while they were waiting for their car.
Finch and Pat were a certified therapy team, so when they weren’t at work they would be visiting with children at the hospital and a local residential care facility. Mark and Pat strongly believe in giving back. For many years they have supported young athletes at the Metro Edge Figure Skating Club and they are the founding sponsor of Nutcracker on Ice at the Webster Groves Ice Arena. They support donation drives for Crisis Nursery, Toys for Tots, and the Alzheimers Association. They are active in their local church, participate in charity walks, and volunteer at a local homeless shelter.
