Referrals keep Hardy?s Truck |amp| Auto Parts rolling

Customers drive in from as far as Rolla, and merchandise gets shipped as far as Australia and Alaska. Yet Hardy's Truck & Auto Parts doesn't advertise or sell merchandise over the Internet.

"Over the years, people have learned that if they need a part, they can always find it here," said Hardy Carr.

Carr, who is 80, still works half days in the business he founded in 1960. When Carr first started the company, he specialized in selling used truck parts from salvaged vehicles. Over the years, however, he diversified, and today Hardy's Truck & Auto Parts sells both new and used car and truck parts as well as repaired and remanufactured engines, transmissions and rear ends.

Initially Carr did business out of a building on East McDaniel Street that he rented for $125 a month. Within a year, however, he grew tired of paying rent, so he moved operations to a building he constructed on West Chestnut Expressway.

The move placed Hardy's Auto & Truck Parts well off the beaten path, yet customers were willing to travel to what was then a rural and undeveloped area of Springfield so they could get the hard-to-find used auto and truck parts they needed.

As Carr's customer base grew, he began thinking about expanding. However, he disliked the thought of being in debt. So he came up with several innovative ways to finance his business' expansion.

When he decided to construct a new building, which would sell new auto and truck parts, he began bartering. Eventually, he traded a remanufactured truck engine for the cinder blocks he needed to form the walls. The building still needed a roof, however, so Carr got creative.

"We didn't have any money, but we did have a lot of wrecked trucks out here that I had salvaged, so we built the roof using truck frames," he said.

In 1971, Carr expanded again. He and his wife moved out of their house, which was located next door to the shop, and the house was converted into a machine shop, which Carr named 66 Machine Warehouse Inc.

The expansion allowed Carr to begin repairing and remanufacturing auto and truck en-gines. However, buying all of the tools and machinery needed to do that work was expensive. In the end, he took out a loan for $4,000. According to Carr, it was the first and only loan he's had during the 41 years he's been in business.

Separating the business into three parts has helped Carr attract customers. If a customer doesn't want to buy a new part, he can buy a used one. Cus-tomers also are given the option of having their engine repaired or remanufactured in-house.

Carr's son, Gary, who has been working in the family bus-iness for 40 years, supervises the company's staff of 14. Many of these workers have been with Hardy's Truck & Auto Supply for more than 20 years.

Many of the shop's customers also have longevity with the company. In fact, Gary Carr said that he now does business with the children and grandchildren of several long-time customers.

Hardy's Truck & Auto Supply also has well-established relationships with the 50-plus vendors that it uses. Its longevity has helped the shop build a large customer base.

Interestingly enough, the Carrs haven't relied on advertising to attract customers. In-stead, they've relied on referrals.

"I had a fellow call here the other day and tell me that he could teach me how to make my business more successful," Har-dy Carr said. "I just laughed at him. I've been in business for 41 years now. I think maybe I could teach him a thing or two."