Fred's Auto in Mansfield Builds Tradition and Trust

Fred’s Auto in Mansfield started 60 years ago by former Mansfield cop Alfred Cataloni, and the tradition of the business has kept residents coming back.

Cataloni’s daughter and son in law currently own the shop out on Central Street, and they have David Lannan Jr. run it for them. Cataloni first opened the shop when he retired from the police force in 1953.

Lannan said he’s been working on cars since he was a kid with his father.

“I just kind of fell into helping him out in the driveway,” he said. “I can remember being there when I was three or four years old with my old man lying underneath the car and I’m there with my toy wrenches pretending to do what he’s doing.”

Lannan said he came to Mansfield about a year ago when the shop needed a new mechanic, and he said he fit right in.

“It’s nice because most shops you’ve got the guys actually in the shop and the guy who sites behind the counter,” he said. “The guys have to talk to the customer through the counter. Here there’s no middleman. Customer comes to me and describes what’s happening and I check it out to fix it. I tell them exactly what I’ve seen and what I’ve done as apposed to telling somebody else. It allows me to be personable and hands on.”

Lannan said Fred’s is a mainstay in Mansfield. He said he wants to keep up that reputation in his work.

“Customers in the town, you know they know us,” he said. “We’ve come to be trusted. We can do pretty much anything and if we can’t we send you to someone we trust that can handle it.”

Lannan said he’s worked on many different makes and models over the years, but his fondest memories come from working on a 1972 Chevy Stepside Pickup out in Washington state for a small independent mechanic shop.

“It belonged to a good friend of my old boss,” he said. “We basically pulled it out of the woods as a rust bucket and completely restored it. Everything about this truck was custom. I had hundreds of hours on that truck.”

Lannan said he came back from Washington State and started working in his hometown of Walpole, but it just wasn’t a good fit for him. He said he looked around for a long time before coming to Fred’s.

“I was looking for the best shop, not just some hole in the wall,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time and energy on my career. This was what I was looking for. Customers really trust us. You go to those chain places and they’re just trying to make money. I’m not trying to get rich I’m just trying to provide.”

Fred’s Auto is located on 334 Central St. and is open Mon - Fri, 7am - 7pm; Sat, 8am - 5pm; Sun, noon - 5pm