At first, Sonny Childs comes across as your everyday, easy-going mechanic.
He’s not much of a talker but his love and passion for his work shows in his end product and endless string of satisfied customers.
Sonny is where skill and experience meet passion and humility.
His boss, Auto Extras owner Ian Kearley, sings his praises.
“[Sonny] totally thinks outside the box,” he said.
“I’ve never yet heard him say no.
“We get some left field jobs in our workshop, and he does some incredible things I’d never venture to do.”
Laid-back Sonny doesn’t see his work this way. He says he simply starts every job as a new challenge and rolls with the punches.
“If a job seems like a mission, I just start it and deal with each problem as it arises,” he said.
“Ian tells the customer ‘yes’ and I just need to make it happen.”
Coming up with creative solutions to impossible-to-solve problems is Sonny’s stock in trade after 20 years in the industry.
He can add almost anything to a vehicle, from hand controls and left-foot accelerators to wheelchair cranes and ramps.
Sonny said installing hand controls could be challenging and best left to an expert.
“A lot of hand control integration [indicators, lights and wipers] is sometimes difficult to install.
“I have to take a lot of the car apart, find the right connections, solder wires onto tiny circuit boards or fabricate a bracket so I can put something where it needs to go.’”
Auto Extras does not believe in a one-size-fits-all solution to customising vehicles.
“Every customer is unique and has different needs, so we need to be versatile and customise each job to suit,” Sonny said.
What sets Auto Extras apart is the time they take to understand each individual customer and their situation. It’s only through this process – by working with the customer – that the best possible solution can be made a reality.
Sonny said he loved his job because every day was different, and he helped people from all walks of life to move around in the easiest way possible.
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Sonny is just one of the amazing people who make up the Auto Extras family.
When you choose us, you’re not only receiving a state-of-the-art solution – you also receive the ongoing care and support that we pride ourselves on.
Contact us today so we can customise a vehicle that’s exactly suited to your personal needs.