Auto care; the story of FPS Auto

By Timothy Albrite

The Auto BodyWork world has in recent years grown a great deal and seen new players, technology, expertise get footing in the country. One of the players making strides in the auto body work scene is FPS Auto Garage located in Nairobi’s Industrial Area.

Behind FPS Auto is a name and familiar face, Peter Ndung’u, who also goes by the name FPS.

Peter’s journey into vehicle body work in rather interesting and one too familiar. Driven by passion and keen on vehicle aesthetics, it was only right that he gave it a try and in the last 2 years, boasts and a success story and a flourishing business.

Driven by a combination of reasons, motor vehicles, not only in Kenya but worldwide, continue to increase in cost.

This, together with exposure to online car content has greatly driven the need for auto care in the country.

We now live in times where car owners are willing to go the extra mile to maintain their cars in prestige condition.

Mr. Ndung’u takes us through his journey and through it, we get to dwell deeper into auto care and the FPS venture that he today fully runs after leaving his corporate job.

“Cars have always been a matter of interest for me. They’ve always fascinated me and I’ve always wanted to venture into a car related business. As I grew older, my keen on vehicles inclined more into aesthetics and it quickly dawned on me that a clean, shiny and well maintained body was the itch I had. I always wanted to have a shiny and aesthetically pleasing car” says Peter

One thing he noticed was a gap in the body work space. Customers would either pay an arm and a leg to get great body work or save a coin at the expense of the quality of body work repairs and paint resprays.

He identified a middle ground where for slightly lower than over the top a cost, yet slightly more than the cost of low quality, a market existed.

In the wake of the Covid Pandemic, and just like the rest of the corporate world, Peter was working remotely and suffering from cabin fever, he would leave the house and spend time at a nearby body work garage trying to learn a thing or two.

One of his cars at the time was also in need of body work and this presented a learning opportunity; work on the car himself. Teaming up with a skilled friend, they brought the car back to as good as new.

This gave birth to the idea of going commercial and in August of 2021, FPS Auto was born.

FPS, like most ventures started, as a capital strained, open air body work shop. This however started to bear fruit and from the savings made from every satisfied customer, FPS moved into a 7000sqft facility in April of 2022. This is where FPS still stands

Initially focusing on dent removal and resprays, the venture has expanded to suit the growing market demand and now provides an array of services, on top of the initial services. These include Ceramic coating, Wrapping, PPF (Paint Protective Film), rim restoration just to name a few.

At the core of FPS’s mission remains the hunger for perfection and attention to detail.

Paint Correction.
The term Paint Correction is one that is loosely used in the body work space and for the most part, many continue to use it wrong.

Mr. Ndungu paints a valid picture of what paint correction is. Now picture this, a brand new car that sits out in the sun, barely driven. This is bound to have its paint damaged by environmental conditions such as the sun’s UV rays, tiny rock and leaf chips from winds, heat and even the rain.

Paint correction is the art of restoring a cars paint back to as good as new without respraying or extensive body work. This will entail swirl mark removal, water mark removal, rock chip treatment, interior detailing, wheel cleaning, polishing and for good measure, taking paint protective measures such as Ceramic Waxing, Ceramic Coating or PPF. It is a correction, not a repair.

You can reach FPS Auto/ Mr. Ndungu via the social media handles

IG: FPSAUTO
Twitter: FPSAutoNrb

Alternatively, you could visit FPS at their current premises located in Industrial Area, Nairobi, off Rd A.

A vehicle restoration process by FPS Auto