Our Shop History
1961 – Leon’s Mufflers & Brakes is founded by Leon and Elaine Warmuth and is located at 5th & Broadway in Eureka, CA behind the Morrow Drive-in (now Roy’s Auto Center).
1963 – The business moves to 15th & Broadway in Eureka, CA.
1966 – Leon’s moves to the corner of Broadway and Grant Street in Eureka, CA.
1973 – Hired Jim Fraiser, exhaust expert.
1977 – Leon and Elaine purchase the northeast corner at Broadway in Eureka, CA. This becomes the location of the shop until the end of 1992.
1993 – The shop is expanded and a new facility is built at 929 Broadway in Eureka, CA.
Leon and Elaine begin the process of transferring control of the business to the second generation.
2000 – Selected by The Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce as Best Small Business.
2001 – Leon’s Mufflers & Brakes employs 10 people.
The business enjoys a solid reputation as an automotive repair facility specializing in undercar products and services such as exhaust systems, shocks & struts, lube, oil and filter service, factory scheduled maintenance, and brake repairs.
2005 – Leon’s changes their name to Leon’s Car Care Center, expands their services to include automotive maintenance & repair and now employs 15 people.
2008 – A giant muffler is erected in front of the Leon’s Car Care Center location symbolizing the origins of the 47-year old company.
2011 – Celebrating our 50 year anniversary!
2016 – Voted “Best Muffler Shop” in the Times-Standard Best of the North Coast poll and voted “Best Auto Repair” in the North Coast Journal’s Best of Humboldt poll.
2017 – Carrie Sams, sister of General Manager, Dale Warmuth returns to Leon’s as Office Manager and Financial Director.
2017 – General Manager Dale Warmuth is honored by The Boys & Girls Club of Eureka as the 2017 Lance Madsen Champion for Youth.
2018 – The 3rd generation of Leon’s Car Care Center, Lucas Sams, becomes a co-owner of the 58 year old company.
2019 – Leon’s Car Care Center receives Gold Certified designation by NAPA Auto Group of Atlanta Georgia in recognition of Leon’s history of performance including customer satisfaction, employee certifications, training, cleanliness of facility, accessibility to customer-centered programs like NAPA’s Easy Pay credit and for maintaining a top-rated NAPA Auto Care Center for numerous successive years.
2019 – Leon’s is named a finalist in the AAA Top Shop Program. Simon Jones, VP of Automotive Repair Services for AAA said, “The 2018 Top Shop Program evaluated repair facilities on customer satisfaction, facility attractiveness, technician qualifications, social media & community reputation. There are 500 AAA approved auto facilities located in Northern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska. Leon’s Car Care Center scored in the top 20% of all 500 facilities!”
2020 – After nearly 60 years and baking millions of cookies, Mrs. Leon hangs up her cookie mitts. Jeannemarie, wife of General Manager Dale Warmuth takes on the giant task of making homemade cookies for the many customers of Leon’s Car Care Center. According to Warmuth, Mrs. Leon baked as many as 50 dozen cookies a week throughout her 60 year career.
2020 – Leon’s Car Care Center received the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of vehicle repair and service by means of voluntary testing and certification for automotive repair and service professionals. To be eligible for this recognition, a company must have 75% of its automotive professionals ASE certified. In addition, there must be a certified technician in each area of service offered. To remain in the program, a business must renew each year and confirm their professionals’ certification status. According to ASE President, Timothy Zilke, businesses that have earned the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence Recognition have gone the extra mile in support of their customers.
2020 – Leon’s receives several Best of Humboldt awards including Best Auto Repair in Humboldt County for the eighth time! Best Muffler Shop for the sixth time and they were nominated for Best Bathroom for the sixth time! In 2020 their shop foreman, David Pederson, was voted Best Auto Mechanic in Humboldt County.
2021 – Alignment services are added at Leon’s Car Care Center. According to Dale Warmuth, “After looking at the alignment systems that were available, we decided to invest in a Hunter HawkEye Elite Alignment System. Hunter is a well-known and respected brand in the industry. Since that time a few of our employees, including Paul Nelson, have completed the training and certification process.”