The shop
Two bays. One name on the sign. Same name on the phone.
Del Harkness bolted the sign over the doors in 1987. His daughter Rae runs the floor today, Red Seal ticket on the wall, torque wrench in hand most mornings.
JOB NO. 01Since 1987
The short version of a long story.
Del opened with one hoist, a parts account in Trail, and a rule he never wrote down because he never had to: say the number before you touch the car. Coppervale is a town of eight thousand. You get one reputation here, and it walks into the rink and the credit union ahead of you.
Rae apprenticed in this building, took her Red Seal in Kelowna, and came home. She bought the shop from Del in 2019 and wrote his rule onto every invoice: the estimate is the bill unless you hear her voice first. Del still comes in on tire weeks, mostly to point out everything Rae does better than he did, in a tone suggesting the opposite.
Two licensed technicians work the bays beside her. Between the three of them: forty-one years of Kootenay winters, gravel roads, deer strikes, and the Salmo-Creston in November.
JOB NO. 02The part nobody makes us do
What the law requires. What we do anyway.
BC has no law written specifically for auto repair shops. Ontario does. We hold ourselves to more than either, in writing, because a promise nobody forces is the only kind worth bragging about.
BC LAW
Written estimate
Not required by any repair-specific law
Parts warranty
No minimum set for repairs
Your old parts
No rule
If we ever disagree
Civil Resolution Tribunal handles disputes under $5,000
ONTARIO LAW
Written estimate
Estimate or agreed maximum; bill capped at 10% over
Parts warranty
90 days or 5,000 km minimum
Your old parts
Returned if you want them, limited exceptions
If we ever disagree
Provincial consumer protection process
HARKNESS
Written estimate
Always, before any work, and $0 over without a call
Parts warranty
12 months / 20,000 km on parts and labour, in writing
Your old parts
In a bag, in your trunk, every time, unasked
If we ever disagree
Rae's cell, and the CRT is your right either way
Legal facts per Consumer Protection BC and Ontario's consumer protection rules, checked August 2026. Nothing makes us do the third column. That is the point.
JOB NO. 03The bag
Your old parts: your trunk or our recycler.
Every part we replace goes into a kraft bag with a tag. Want the proof in your trunk? It rides home with you. Want it gone? Say the word and we recycle it properly, free, noted right on the invoice. Either way you see the part before it goes anywhere, and either way the choice is yours.
The other half of the same promise: Morning drop-offs get their estimate call, with photos, before 3 p.m. We call it the Three O'Clock Call, and the town sets its watch by it.
JOB NO. 04The ledger, not a carousel
What the town says, five stars at a time.
“Rae called before replacing a sensor I would never have seen, sent a photo, and the bill landed four dollars under the estimate. I have been driving thirty years and have never had that happen.”
“Phoned three shops about rear brakes. Only one had the number already on its website, and the bill matched it to the dollar. That is the whole reason they get the truck now too.”
“Drove the Salmo-Creston every week last winter on their word that the front end would hold. It held. The old ball joints were in a bag on my back seat with a tag on them.”
“Asked what the diagnostic fee was for and got walked through the scan readout line by line at the counter. Paid it happily. The fix was half what the dealer quoted.”
JOB NO. 05The third bay
Wrenching somewhere that posts its numbers?
Licensed technician
full time | $38-$46/hr by ticket | tool allowance
Flat rate plus guarantee, and Saturdays off because families exist. A serious apprentice gets the same bench.
Service advisor
full time | $26-$32/hr | the front counter
The voice of the Three O'Clock Call. You explain bills in plain English and keep every promise on this website.
Apply by resume to shop@harknessauto.ca, or drop it at the counter and shake hands while you are here. Every application gets a call back within the week, yes or no, because that is how we treat customers too.
Come meet the name on the sign.
1180 Smelter Road, Coppervale, BC, two blocks south of the Husky. Coffee is on from 7:45. Or start with the prices and book when you are ready.