For years, Patrick Shafer and Jerry McGarr ran their Pro Auto Group out of a trailer. But recently they built a new facility which includes a showroom for car sales and rentals.

Rent-A-Wreck now operates along side its sister company, Priceless Car and Truck Rental, in a consolidated facility that also houses U-Haul truck rentals, Wildfire Scooter sales, Pro Auto car sales, A-1 Self Storage and Pro Auto Machine and Service Shop. The new building now includes a showroom, detailing shop, customer lounge and other amenities.

"This change comes after many years of business in the Crown Point community," McGarr said. "We wanted our new facility to reflect the high quality of customer service we provide."

Rent-A-Wreck and Priceless rent new and used cars, vans and trucks. Used vehicles are typically two- to four-years-old. Every Rent-A-Wreck and Priceless vehicle is serviced and safety inspected before each rental.

"People sometimes get the wrong idea. Rent-A-Wreck is just a rental car company with a funny name," Shafer said. "Jerry has been in the service industry his entire life and his service department does all the servicing. We also provide a print-out and history of all auto maintenance performed on each vehicle."

They sell cars priced in the $5,000 to $15,000 range.

"In this economy, people are looking for value," Shafer said. "Business has been very good since our expansion."

Rentals in this area are typically to local people who have their cars in the shop or want to rent a car to go on vacation.

"We really offer customer service," Shafer said. "We have after-hours rentals and will deliver vehicles. We're the owners, on site, so we can be very flexible. We're local people, we live here and we try very hard to give extraordinary customer service."