September 1, 2026

When a broken air conditioner left his three young children crying in the back of his van, Michael Kuba never imagined that frustrating day would eventually lead him to spend his free time fixing cars for families who cannot afford traditional repair shops.

Michael and his son, Matthew

Nearly 11 years ago, Kuba took his van to a mechanic after the AC stopped working. The estimate was almost $4,000.

For a family with three young children, waiting for the money to make the repair was not an option. So Kuba decided to figure it out himself.

He bought tools and parts, watched YouTube tutorials and taught himself how to repair the AC system through plenty of trial and error.

What started as a desperate attempt to help his own children eventually became The Junkie Garage, a nonprofit organization in Glendale, Arizona, dedicated to helping people keep their vehicles on the road without the enormous bills they might face at a traditional repair shop.

The idea is remarkably simple.

There are no income checks. No paperwork. No questions about someone's financial situation.

People make an appointment, bring the parts and refrigerant needed for the repair, and donate whatever they can afford for the labor.

"I don't ask you for your income. I don't ask you who you are, where you came from, or anything like that," Kuba said. "I just wanna help people get their cars working right."

The garage focuses on smaller jobs such as air conditioning repairs, brakes, suspension, batteries and alternators. Major engine and transmission repairs are outside its scope.

And the savings can be enormous.

Kuba says a typical air conditioning repair at a traditional shop can cost between $2,000 and $4,000. At The Junkie Garage, he says his average customer spends less than $300, including their donation.

But this isn't just a father doing the work alone.

His son, Matthew, has been working alongside him since he was just 8 years old. Now 16, Matthew has grown up learning the trade while helping people in his community.

"We help the community out, we work on their cars, and it means a lot to me," Matthew said. "It's an amazing bonding experience, and it gives me an opportunity most kids don't get."

For Michael, watching his son develop those skills has become one of the unexpected rewards of the entire project. And the lessons go far beyond fixing cars.

A foster parent brought him a Dodge Caravan. She was caring for three children with special needs and didn't even have enough money to purchase the parts needed for the repair.

So Kuba bought the parts himself.

By the time she returned, the vehicle was fixed.

"When she got there, I already had the car running," Kuba recalled. "When she walked up to the car and stuck her arm in, she literally just had an emotional breakdown, because she was finally going to have cold air for these children in the backseat."

Kuba says his dream is to eventually have a three or four-bay shop where volunteer technicians can join him and the organization can take on far more repairs.

He's hoping a few thousand people will support the organization through a $2.49 monthly Facebook subscription, which he believes could eventually allow him to leave his construction job and dedicate himself to helping people full time.

"There's too many people that need help, and you can't just give up because it doesn't always work," Kuba said.

Then he offered a simple philosophy that seems to explain exactly why he keeps doing it.

"If you have the ability to help people, just do it."

And that's exactly what this father and son are doing, one car at a time.