Finney Auto Body gets new owners in Fairfield

FAIRFIELD - Finney Auto Body in Fairfield has new ownership as Wilson Finney, the prior owner, decided to call it a career after 42 years.

Finney sold the business to Larry and Paula Angstead, both of whom were raised in Fairfield and have lived here most of their lives. The couple took possession on Nov. 1, and they said business has been good.

'The first month has gone well,” Larry said.

'We've been really busy,” Paula added.

The Angsteads said they're not planning major changes to the auto body shop. They've kept the company's five employees. Larry suggested they might do a little remodeling and upgrade some of the equipment, but the basics will remain the same.

'We'll make some cosmetic changes,” Paula said.

'And update the office as well as streamline a few things,” Larry said.

The pandemic has caused people to drive less, since they're opting to stay home instead of risk catching the virus in a crowd. Paula said she expected business to be slow as a result, but that hasn't panned out.

'We don't seem to be seeing a loss in business [from the pandemic],” Paula said. 'Part of that might be that it's deer season,” referring to the fact that deer collisions cause an uptick in auto body repairs this time of year.

Running an auto body shop is a new venture for the Angsteads. They farm and raise hogs, and since 1992 they've managed rental apartments and houses. Paula also works as a substitute teacher. Finney and the Angsteads have been good friends for many years, and the couple has always taken their vehicles to his shop.

Larry said he 'poked” Wilson about selling the business to him many times over the years, and about five years ago, Wilson indicated he might be ready to make it happen. Ultimately, Wilson decided against retirement at that time, but this past April he contacted the Angsteads to say he was ready to sell.

'He wanted to sell it to somebody he knew who could keep it going,” Larry said.

Why did the Angsteads want to buy the business? They knew it had a good reputation and that Finney and his employees did quality work. Plus they wanted a new challenge. They hadn't done anything quite like this before, and were eager to give it a shot.

The Angsteads have four children: Brody, a senior at Fairfield High School; Natalie, who just graduated from Iowa State University in May and has moved home to study radiation technology at Indian Hills Community College; Allison, an event planner in Des Moines; and Logan, who also just graduated from Iowa State University and has accepted a job with United Contractors as a field engineer and estimator.

Wilson Finney

Finney grew up in Eldon and attended Cardinal Community School. He joined the U.S. Navy out of high school and served from 1964-1967 on a destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam. He worked as a boiler man, providing steam for the ship. His ship assisted with shore bombardments for the Marines.

After he was discharged from the Navy, Finney was involved in an automobile accident where 'I banged my car up,” he recalled. His dad worked with cars, and always had tools lying around that Finney picked up. He was able to fix his car back to its original form. Before long, people started asking him to work on their cars, so he did.

'It was sort of self-taught body work,” he said.

Finney worked for an ammunition plant in Burlington and worked for various car dealers and body shops over the years. He worked for Rockwell International in Fairfield. He was laid off from his job, but a co-worker who painted the company's drive and steering shafts gave his 60-day notice. The purchase manager contacted Finney and asked if he'd like to take over that job, because the purchase manager knew that Finney painted cars in his garage. Finney agreed and became a sublet contractor for Rockwell.

In 1978, Finney started his own business, Finney Paint. It was located in a building near Reiff Grain on the north side of Fairfield. A man named Mike Koerselman did auto body work, and asked Finney if he wanted to go into business together, with Finney handling paint, and Koerselman handling the body shop. The business spent just one year on the north side of town before moving to 22nd Street where it is now. In short order, Finney hired three more technicians to work at the business.

Koerselman became the business manager. He stayed on for many years until his retirement five years ago. Three years ago, Finney decided to close the paint shop and focus on the body shop. He's been winding down his involvement with the business and decided someone with 'younger blood” should take the reins.

Now that he's retired, Finney plans to spend his days fishing, hunting and 'kicking back.” He said he'll probably go on hunting trips to states like Utah and Texas just like he has before.