Owner - Tom BollettieriPart gearhead, part geek, former quality engineer, 100% authentic.
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Bringing 40+ years of hands-on experience to European and classic vehicle care.
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With more than four decades of professional automotive experience, ASE Master Technician certification since 1984, and an 18‑year diagnostic systems and quality engineering career with Jaguar Land Rover North America, Thomas Bollettieri has built a reputation for precise, engineering‑grade problem‑solving.
His background spans independent shops, dealership leadership roles, advanced diagnostics, electrical systems engineering, and OEM‑level quality assurance — a combination that gives BAAS clients a level of insight rarely found outside a manufacturer’s technical headquarters. |
Passion Becomes a ProfessionTom’s professional path began long before his first job. Born in the mid‑60s, he grew up as a classic member of Generation X and experienced the final chapter of the American car culture portrayed in American Graffiti, just before the fuel crisis of the 1970s reshaped everything. As a youth, he was drawn to anything mechanical or technical — the kind of kid who didn’t just "play" with cars. By age five he was building model kits, and by eight he was already understanding how slot cars worked. Annual traditions like watching the Indy 500 revealed early that machinery, preparation, and human judgment carry real consequences — and that in competition, results always matter. By high school, that curiosity had expanded into automotive technology, computer science, mechanical drawing, drafting, foundry work, and metal fabrication. Together, these experiences formed a deep technical foundation that would shape every stage of his career.
After graduating from Lincoln Technical Institute in the early 1980s, Tom spent 22 years as a service technician across trusted independent repair shops and franchised dealerships, for BMW, Porsche, Audi, Chrysler, and Land Rover brands. These early roles — from community‑based garages where long‑term client relationships mattered, to high‑volume dealership environments with demanding technical expectations — gave him a deep understanding of drivability, diagnostics, and electrical systems. Those skills would later prove essential as vehicle technology became increasingly complex. In 2001, seeking to bridge his mechanical expertise with the rapidly evolving digital side of automotive technology, Tom completed a 22‑month part‑time Software Developer Program at the Chubb Institute, graduating with honors. This formal training in programming, logic, and systems architecture became the catalyst for a major career transition: Jaguar Land Rover North America recruited him to join their Diagnostic Systems Support team. What followed was an 18‑year tenure at JLR’s North American Headquarters in Mahwah, NJ, where Tom supported diagnostic platforms, electrical engineering quality, vehicle networks, remote entry systems, ADAS technologies, infotainment, and connected‑car services. Working directly with engineers, suppliers, and global technical teams gave him a rare, inside‑out understanding of modern vehicle architecture — knowledge that few technicians ever acquire. In 2022, Tom founded BAAS with a simple philosophy: provide dealership‑level capability with the honesty, transparency, and personal accountability of an owner‑led specialist. His guiding principle — veritas lucro praestat (“truth before profit”) — reflects the standard he holds himself to every day. Today, Tom services and restores vehicles spanning more than 70 years of automotive technology, from carbureted classics to modern European platforms requiring advanced diagnostics and ADAS calibration. His goal is consistent across all of them: deliver reliable, thoughtful, high‑quality results, and treat every client relationship as a partnership. Expanded Skills And Value For Clients.Alongside his professional career, Tom has always pursued personal projects that pushed his technical abilities beyond everyday service work. In the mid‑1980s, he installed one of the first commercially available nitrous oxide systems on his big‑block Camaro — an early experiment in understanding power adders and managing engine durability. He later built a fully customized ’76 Alfa Romeo with Weber carburetors, big cams, high‑compression pistons, and carefully selected suspension upgrades. With an aspiration to move from autocross to closed‑circuit road racing, he eventually engineered a purpose‑built Ford Focus race car that required bespoke suspension geometry, brake‑system development, and creative problem‑solving at a time when few aftermarket solutions existed. While these projects were personal in nature, the lessons learned in fabrication, tuning, and systems integration continue to benefit BAAS clients seeking thoughtful, well‑engineered performance improvements.
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