Tracy
Folk
Shop Foreman
The Fixer.
Tracy Folk calls himself the fixer. "I fix everything!" is his exact line — and after 40 years in the automotive industry, he's earned the right to it.
He started in this business on January 2, 1985, fresh out of high school. First job: lot attendant at a local dealership. Not long after, he was changing oil on the lube rack. Then training as a heavy line technician. Forty years of work on every system on the car, every system that's failed on the car, and a lot of the systems nobody else could figure out. The fixer didn't come from a title. He came from doing the work.
Tracy joined Bob Stall in October 2018 and plans to finish his career here. The reason is simple: it's family-owned, the company takes care of its people, and the people take care of the company. After 40 years across the industry, he's seen what dealership cultures can be. Bob Stall is the one he chose.
As Shop Foreman, Tracy is the technician the technicians go to. Certified ASE Master, with many hours of GM training, and a four-decade track record of solving the problems most people can't.
"I fix everything."
— Tracy Folk, Shop ForemanIt's Tracy's full answer to "what are you known for at the dealership?" Forty years of fixes — from the easy ones to the ones every other tech had given up on — back up the claim. Customers benefit downstream: a service drive where the hard problems actually get solved, not punted to the next visit.
Forty Years In. ASE Master Certified.
"I plan to finish my career here."
— Tracy Folk, on Bob Stall after 40 years in the trade
Tracy isn't a Shop Foreman who learned the trade from a desk. He came up through every position in a shop — lot attendant in 1985, then the lube rack, then heavy line technician, then foreman. ASE Master certified with extensive GM training, he's the kind of expert dealerships build around. The problems other shops can't diagnose are the ones he tends to crack.
Certifications & Training
- Certified ASE Master Technician
- Many hours of GM training
- 40 years in the automotive industry (since Jan 2, 1985)
- With Bob Stall since October 2018
What He's Known For
- "The fixer" — solves what other techs can't
- Diagnostic depth — finds the root cause, not the symptom
- Heavy line technician background
- Point person for the technicians on the floor
Career Arc
- Lot attendant (1985)
- Oil change / lube rack technician
- Heavy line technician training
- ASE Master Certified
- Shop Foreman — plans to finish his career at Bob Stall
What You Get When Tracy's in the Shop.
Tracy doesn't run the shop from behind a counter. When something isn't adding up on a customer's vehicle — a noise that won't repeat in the bay, a feel that's hard to describe, an intermittent fault that won't show up on the diagnostic — he'll get in the car himself. Test drives with customers when nobody else can pin down the problem. That's how he runs the floor.
"He's always here when we need an expert."
That's how the rest of the Bob Stall team describes him. When a diagnostic doesn't match the symptom, when a technician has hit a wall on a job, when a customer needs an answer that requires someone with four decades of experience to find — Tracy shows up. ASE Master certified, GM-trained, and willing to ride along on a test drive himself if that's what it takes to track the problem down.
Bob Stall is a family-owned dealership, and the same care extends to the shop floor. Tracy plans to finish his career here for the same reason most long-tenured team members give: the way the company treats its people. Customers feel that on the other side of the service counter — in the time spent on diagnostics, the explanations given before work starts, and the repairs that last.
Scripps Ranch. San Diego Lifer.
Tracy lives in Scripps Ranch — a community he describes as central to everything and, more importantly, the place that feels like home. San Diego has been his home for most of his life.
The exception was a five-year stretch in upstate New York when he and his wife relocated to care for her mother. The 2008 financial crash refocused things, and they came back to San Diego. Tracy says it the way someone says it when they mean it: this is home, and it always will be.
What he loves about San Diego is what most natives love: the weather. When customers ask him for a recommendation, he sends them to Casa Machado — the Mexican restaurant tucked next to Montgomery Field. The view is a working airfield, the runways visible from the table. The food is great Mexican. Worth the drive.
Working out of La Mesa keeps Tracy a short freeway run from Scripps Ranch and centrally located for service customers across San Diego County.
Favorite Local Spot
- Casa Machado — Mexican food + airfield view at Montgomery Field
Where He's Based
- Lives in Scripps Ranch
- San Diegan most of his life (5-year detour for family in NY)
- Came back to SD in 2008 and never left again
- Works in La Mesa — central San Diego County
Sports. Games. A Volt in the Driveway.
Outside of work, Tracy plays video games and watches sports. Two things you wouldn't necessarily guess about a 40-year wrench guy — but four decades on his feet under cars makes a couch and a controller look pretty appealing.
His wife drives a 2018 Chevrolet Volt — which means Tracy gets the lived experience of running a Chevy hybrid at home as well as servicing them at the shop. That's a useful combination when customers come in asking how their electrified GM is actually going to age over time.
And the thing he wants customers to know? In his own words: "I am here to help — so please ask for it." Forty years in, that's not a tagline. It's a standing offer.
- - 40 years in automotive — since January 2, 1985
- - Started as a lot attendant, became ASE Master Tech
- - Certified ASE Master Technician — many hours of GM training
- - San Diego lifer — Scripps Ranch resident
- - 5-year detour to upstate NY to care for family
- - Plans to finish his career at Bob Stall
- - Sports fan + gamer when off the clock
Bring It By Bob Stall Service
Got a check engine light no one's solved? A noise you can't pin down? A routine service question? Tracy's the right call. Forty years on the wrench, ASE Master certified, and one of those rare technicians who treats every car like a problem worth solving.
Tracy Folk is the Shop Foreman at Bob Stall Chevrolet, located at 7601 Alvarado Road, La Mesa, CA 91942. A Certified ASE Master Technician with 40 years in the automotive industry, Tracy started his career on January 2, 1985 as a lot attendant and worked his way up through every position in the shop — lube rack, heavy line technician, and now Shop Foreman. With many hours of GM-specific training, he serves as the diagnostic point person for the Bob Stall service drive — the technician the technicians come to when a problem requires deeper expertise. Tracy regularly rides along on test drives with customers when intermittent or hard-to-pin-down issues can't be reproduced in the bay. A San Diego lifer based in Scripps Ranch, Tracy has been with Bob Stall since October 2018 and plans to finish his career here. He serves service customers across La Mesa, Scripps Ranch, San Diego, El Cajon, Santee, Chula Vista, and the surrounding region. Call 619-460-1311 to reach the Bob Stall service department.