ACWORTH AUTO CENTER CELEBRATES

Ken and Shannon Stahl have been busy preparing to celebrate a milestone; this month marks the 25th anniversary of KAMS Auto Service Center. What started as Ken’s one-man business in February 1998 has grown to a team of 14 that works at a 14-bay facility on Cobb Parkway in Acworth.

“We are family owned and truly mean it. We have employed a number of family members over the years, and currently our nephew, Blair, works as our diesel technician,” said Shannon Stahl, who is co-owner with husband Ken and handles the administrative work and marketing.

In fact, the business name reflects their emphasis on family:

Ken (father)

Austin (son)

Madison & Mackenzie (daughters)

Shannon (mother)

“Our focus on family also shows in our relationships with our customers,” Shannon said. “We take pride in having loyal customers who have chosen KAMS Auto as their trusted auto repair shop for many years and consider them part of our family.“

What’s New at KAMS

The latest improvements focus on accommodating customers’ busy lifestyles and health concerns. KAMS offers digital vehicle inspections and the option to communicate with service writers via text and email rather than in-person. Contactless payment, including by text, wraps up the transaction.

The addition of a dedicated diesel mechanic to the staff of ASE master certified technicians allows KAMS to service a variety of vehicle types.

In September 2021, in an effort to give back to the community, KAMS started fundraising each month for different local charities. Customers are encouraged to round up their invoice total; KAMS also donates a portion of their sales.

How It Started

As a boy growing up on a North Dakota farm, Ken worked on tractors and learned to repair many things out of necessity. Those skills, and his growing interest in anything with a motor, led him to restore a 1957 Chevrolet. When his parents moved the family to Cobb County in the late 1980s, Ken, who was in his early 20s, drove his car to their new home.

While living in North Dakota, Ken became an airframe technician. He had hoped to work for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, Inc. when he moved to Georgia, and while waiting for that opportunity, which never materialized, he obtained a commercial driver’s license to make money. He drove a truck for a commercial company, and, on the side, repaired cars for extra income.

Word of mouth kept the car repair requests coming. Eventually, he stopped driving a truck to focus full time on his growing car repair business in 1998. From the initial shop on Third Army Road in Acworth, the shop moved to a second location on Lake Acworth Drive before landing in the current spot on Cobb Parkway.

An Extensive Service Menu

KAMS offers an extensive list of repair and maintenance services; the shop is a certified NAPA AutoCare Center and a AAA-approved auto repair site. Although the staff has more than 60 years of combined experience, they continue working to further their education in the industry.

Services range from alignments to windshield repair. A complete list can be found on the company’s website, and for customer convenience, Enterprise