Solesbee receives auto industry award

For Greg Solesbee, owner of CARSTAR in Hayden, his journey from a young apprentice working in his family’s collision repair facility to the owner of a CARSTAR facility in Idaho is much like the 1967 Ford Fastback Mustang he started working on as a teen. It required years of painstaking work, the project was fueled by passion and it taught him valuable lessons. Today, Solesbee still has the Mustang, and has won numerous trophies for it at car shows. At the recent 2023 SEMA Show, he brought home a whole new kind of trophy – the Body Shop Business Single Shop Executive of the Year award.

“This is amazing and totally unexpected,” Solesbee said in a news release. “It means a lot to me. The history of what I’ve been trying to accomplish over my years in the business is paying off. I’m focused on doing good for the customer and putting them first. Like my dad said, ‘treat them like gold.’ To me this is one sign of being recognized that we are on the right path.”

The SEMA Show is organized by the Specialty Equipment Market Association, the trade organization representing the $44.6 billion automotive aftermarket industry.

Solesbee’s award, according to the release, recognizes a true collision repair visionary, someone who has experienced great success by being forward-thinking, overcoming challenges and persevering. Solesbee was selected based on experience, special achievements and involvement within the local community and collision repair industry.

Solesbee has been working in the collision repair industry for 25 years, beginning his career sweeping floors as a janitor for $1.25 an hour for his family’s collision repair business in Southern California. He bought a CARSTAR license in 2015 and soon was rapidly growing his business by fixing cars the right way, which has granted him word of mouth recognition in the community.

“We are so proud of Greg and his family for earning this award,” said Sabrina Thring, brand president, Collision, Driven Brands. “He brought incredible experience, repair expertise and a legacy of customer service to the CARSTAR family and continues to excel with his approach to putting customers first. We’re honored to count him among our CARSTAR franchise partners.”

Solesbee’s philosophy is “operate like a family, run like a business.” And he practices what he preaches as his son, Zachry, is a parts manager for the business and his second oldest son, Colin, assists with hands-on mechanical and diagnostics work. His two youngest children, Asher and Paisley, assist with janitorial work, lawn mowing and car washing at the shop.

Solesbee has served as a youth leader for the Boy Scouts for more than 20 years and has served as a volunteer with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He donates annually to the Auto Body Tech School at North Idaho College.