You can view a copy of Steven’s most up to date resume here.

Here at Test Drive Technologies we strive to be as clear and transparent as possible. We know there are some national auto inspection companies that send off your inspection to some inspector they have never met in person and likely you will not be able to meet or even talk with over the phone.  We want to let you know that Steven will be the inspector looking at your vehicle for you. Steven has over 15 years of automobile and heavy duty truck repair and auto body repair experience .

Steven Paul (left) stands on the running board of his Uncle Davids 1978 VW Beetle

Steven grew up in a local auto body shop pushing a broom as a young kid in payment he received 15 minutes of seat time in the stock car during tuning time that friends of the family raced at the local dirt track. As Steven’s skills and curiosity progressed he was soon sanding and smoothing out panels on cars that came through the shop under the supervision of the shop owner.  Steven wasn’t ever very good at painting so he soon got into writing estimates on the cars that came through the shop where his love of cars and estimate writing began.

Specialist Steven S. Paul, U.S. Army, Ft. Riley, Kansas

Soon after high school, Steven joined the United States Army as a heavy equipment mechanic where he served six years working on tanks, trucks, generators and rebuilding turbines for the M1A1 Abrams Tank where Steven was based at Fort Hood, Texas & Fort Riley, Kansas from where he did tours in Bosnia, Kuwait and Iraq.

After serving his country for six years, Steven took a simple preventive maintenance position with a mass transit company in Illinois where he honed his skills as a heavy equipment technician and applied them to today’s motorhomes and heavy duty trucks. Steven left this company as they were beginning to downsize and he soon found a better paying position with more advancement.

Steven was lucky enough to find a position at Beelman Truck Company who was looking to hire on a tire changer and preventive maintenance technician. Working the night shift and helping a team of four mechanics he was able to get the companies preventive maintenance caught back up in just 30 days. The shop foreman and maintenance director soon saw Steven’s abilities were far greater than just changing tires and oil and he was quickly promoted as a full mechanic where he was trained and became a certified heavy duty truck technician. Ranging from simple brake repairs to full on electrical system replacement the team at Beelman was able to reduce the companies maintenance budget by 25% through preventive maintenance and early system failure detection.  While working at his previous job Steven was introduced to TMT Maintenance Software. When this news got back around to the maintenance director Steven was picked to spearhead the direction of the systems installation and setup in the shop. Steven was soon promoted out of the shop and 100% responsible for maintaining and running the maintenance software which tracked repair cost, parts suppliers, breakdown events and warranty claims. Through the use of the TMT system Steven led a team of 14 parts managers across the Midwest and reduced the companies overall maintenance cost by another 20% while generating and tracking over $400,000 of warranty claims in the first year. Several things happened while Steven was employed at Beelman Truck Company including a turn over of Mack trucks into Peterbilts and Freightliners as well as updating the smaller vehicle fleet such as the service trucks and over 1000 dump bed trailers. It was an experience that Steven not only learned a lot from but also will never forget. Steven helped turn Beelman’s maintenance department into a 100% paper shop and turning it into a digital, computerized warranty revenue generating machine.

Steven in Gatlinburg, TN at Cars Exhibit

After helping Beelman achieve standards they had never seen, Steven felt it was time to get back to his roots of automobiles. He soon picked up a position as a lease return auto inspector that also performed used car dealer inventory audits in the St Louis area. After inspecting roughly 5000 cars over five years he was tired of constantly delivering bad news to lessees and wanted to start helping used car buyers know what they were buying beforehand as Steven noticed many leased cars had previous damage on them before they were ever leased out as new and used. Test Drive Technologies was then launched in July of 2009 as the first vehicle that was inspected was a 2002 Dodge Viper for a friend in Dallas, Texas that had been deemed a total loss and was pieced back together at an auto body shop in the St Louis area. The car displayed serious signs of substandard structural repair which was a big surprise to the buyer when they results were made available. At that exact point in Steven’s life he knew that he wanted to continue to help used car buyers, enthusiast and families avoid purchasing a vehicle with both mechanical and structural issues. In July of 2010 Test Drive Technologies teamed up with AutoMobile Technologies a software company that has developed ReconPro a platform that allows reconditioning and auto inspection companies standardize their system, write and track their condition reports. This has enabled Test Drive Technologies to develop the most detailed auto inspection checklist and easy to understand pre-purchase vehicle inspection report.

Steven & his Daughter Joelle at a Classic Car Museum

Since starting the engines at Test Drive Technologies Steven has inspected over 300 used cars, 80 classic cars, 45 luxury / high performance exotic cars,  100 heavy duty trucks, 30 RV’s and 10 watercraft and remains the only auto inspection company that lifts used cars and light trucks onsite. Test Drive Technologies has become the leader in mobile auto inspection services in St Louis.

Most Recently, Steven has accepted an offer to teach Automotive Technology for Vatterott Career College in Sunset Hills, Mo.  Steven helps train and instruct the newest and greatest inspiring automotive professionals in Engine Rebuilding, Engine Performance, Automotive Electrical Troubleshooting, Steering & Suspension, Brake Systems, Automotive Heating and Air Conditioning, Manual, Automatic Transmissions as well as Transaxles and Drivetrains. As the program continues to expand Steven will likely head-up the Diesel Technology Program in the coming years.