Sport Vehicles takes care of small engine repairs

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    With a knack for repairing small engines, Peter Ledger built his experience for 10 years at Peabody International before stepping out on his own.
    Ledger opened his own business, Sport Vehicles, on the Bangor Road in March of 1987 and found his niche in the market.
    “It’s a small community and I have always been good at working on small engines,” he said. “There are many franchise dealers and big box stores that sell new equipment, but without anyone to repair it. I do all of that.”
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Gloria Austin
HARD AT WORK — Peter Ledger, owner of Sport Vehicles, works on small engines such as lawn mowers, rototillers and more in his shop on the Bangor Road.
    Ledger enjoys the repair end of the industry, along with working closely with his customers.
    “We have a lot of steady clients,” he said. “Thank God we have so many great customers. A lot of customers sense when things are slow and bring things in to fill me in on those times to keep me busy. My customers help me out as best they can and I do the same for them.”
    Sport Vehicles is a parts and repair business, as evident by the inventory stocked along each wall of the shop.
    “We can supply most of the parts for any of the off-brand big box store machines,” explained Ledger. “If I don’t have it here, typically, I can get it overnight or within two days in most cases. If it is a back order, it may take longer.”
    Ledger, who works alone, is kept fairly busy by handling the equipment repair to the day-to-day store operations.
    “This is a great little business,” he said. “It’s been really good to me over the years, even though it has taken a lot of effort. I did not get any help other than when my Dad was around. He helped keep my head screwed on straight and thinking right.”
    In the summer, probably one of the fastest moving parts are blades for lawn mowers.
    “We sell 50 sets of blades a week or more,” Ledger said. “We do have a good inventory of lawn and garden parts and all of the fast-moving parts like spindles, belts and blades.”
    Sport Vehicles works on any small engines from lawn mowers, chainsaws and all hand-held products to ATVs, motorcycles, and scooters to snowmobiles and supplies all parts.
    “I repair all lawn and garden equipment,” said Ledger. “And, I specialize in Craftsman parts, which is probably the most popular tractor around. With motorcycles and such, I have tires, batteries and I service them all.”
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Gloria Austin
STOCKED — Peter Ledger’s Sport Vehicles shop on the Bangor Road is fully stocked with a variety of small engine repair needs.
    The Internet is playing a major role in the market today.
    “Internet part sales is very competitive,” said Ledger. “Prices need to be in line. You have to look at the list price and then see what it sells for on the Internet, and then come up with a charge for the part. However, I do a lot more volume than 20 years ago.”
    With people scaling-down financially, Ledger said the winter months have been slower.
    “We always seem to struggle,” he said. “The economy has slowed the winter products down so much that people don’t have the extra income to run snowmobiles like they did. They are expensive to maintain and operate.”
    But, Ledger noted he still does well in repairing snow blowers.
     “The lion share of our money used to be made in the winter, now it’s leveled off,” said Ledger to where “We do look forward to summer. It’s just different.”
    Sport Vehicles is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the summer months. In the winter, Ledger is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as Saturday 8 a.m. to noon.
    Though Ledger did not attend trade school or college, he is certified in the Briggs and Stratton schools, along with Tecumseh and Yamaha.
    “I can take care of all brands,” he said. “This has been a really good business.”
     Ledger is accepting new customers and he may be reached by calling 532-2771 or e-mailing sportvehicles@yahoo.com.