Pride in caring for people drives Mr. Fixit

November 26, 2025

From left, Chris Beaver, Lee Reeves, Evan Chastain and Mark Keaton make up the Mr. Fixit team.

Fannin Co. Development Authority

 When Mark Keaton, owner of Mr. Fixit auto repair in Blue Ridge, reflects on his move to Fannin County in 2003, he has only one regret.

“I wish I had done it 10 years sooner,” he said.

Keaton said he had gotten fed up with traffic in Newnan, where his eight-mile daily commute took 45 minutes. It was an easy decision for him to relocate to the region where Shelley, his wife of 33 years, had grown up. 

“Now my daily commute is two-and-a-half minutes,” he said.

And while Keaton, an avid deer hunter and bass fisherman, enjoys the slower pace of living in Fannin County, there is nothing slow paced about the business at his shop. Keaton says Mr. Fixit has a customer base of 2,700.

“We feel like our customers are our friends and family,” he said. “We go to church with them, eat with them, and we gathered at the ballfields while our children were playing youth sports.”

Keaton’s goal is for  customers leave the shop 100 percent satisfied. “We’re not perfect,” he said, “but we will go above and beyond to make sure every customer is happy. We have always taken pride in how we care for the people who bring their cars to us.”

Among Keaton’s faithful customers are various out-of-state visitors, who will schedule their car maintenance for when they are in the area. Some come from as far as north Tennessee and Florida.

Mr. Fixit offers a wide array of repair and maintenance services, only declining to repair automatic transmissions and exhaust systems. 

Keaton has witnessed many changes in the auto repair business, which he began as a 16-year-old working in his father’s shop. Modern automobiles have far more advanced computer systems than the technology that put men on the moon. 

So, with more than 40 years of hands-on experience, what expert advice does Keaton offer for car owners seeking to protect their investment?

“Change the oil regularly,” he said. “It is the cheapest insurance you can buy,” he says. “And rotate your tires.”

Mr. Fixit, located at 1933 Old Highway 5, Blue Ridge, is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday.