This Woman-Owned Auto Shop Will Change How You Think About Cars & Nails

If you’re a car owner, you probably know that you need to have its oil changed every three months or so — and that can be a total drag. There are few things more painstaking (not to mention boring) than sitting at the auto shop waiting for the job to be done. Thankfully, there's one shop in Pennsylvania called Girls Auto Clinic that is making sure you get the most out of your entire experience — and it's a lot more luxurious than you'd think.

In 2009, the founder of GAC, Patrice Banks, decided to open up shop because she was sick of male mechanics making her feel less superior when she would bring her car in for a tune-up. She also couldn't stand how it always felt like a time-suck. So, Banks got her degree in automotive technology, quit her engineering job, and decided to create a space that would make the hour-long service fly by — offering salon treatments to fill the time, according to Racked.

Banks opened up a salon and auto shop hybrid right outside of Philly and called it Girls Auto Clinic Repair Center and Clutch Beauty Bar. There, anyone who needs car work done can do so without an ounce of mansplaining — and get a manicure or pedicure in the process. The shop is even staffed with women Banks calls “SheCanics," who are there to help encourage and educate customers on everything car-related. The power isn’t necessarily in the OPI polish atop the counters (though that is a nice perk) or even the toolboxes dominating the auto clinic — it’s in the recreation of a traditionally male-dominated space. “I’m not an automotive company. I’m a female empowerment company," she told Racked. "By being our customer, you are helping in making history.”

A gender-bending space that gives us a fresh coat of nail polish, plus a fresh tank of oil? Talk about a double whammy.