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LAPLACE — Andrea Arguello and Francisco Lopez are the owners of Eagle Auto Body Shop LLC, a new automotive repair shop that opened last month at 108 Magnolia Drive in LaPlace.

Bodywork, dent repair, part replacement and paint jobs are among the services offered for automotive exteriors. Efficiency and quality of service are at the heart of the business, according to Arguello and Lopez.

Arguello is breaking barriers as a 24-year-old woman in a male-dominated field. She never imagined herself working in the automotive industry until she brought a wrecked car to a body shop in Kenner.

“That’s where I met my partner, Francisco Lopez. They were looking for someone to work at their office and run the administrative side,” Arguello said. “I worked with them for two years, and then we decided that we wanted to open a body shop in a new market.”

Arguello learned the ins and outs of running a business. While she started out knowing very little about cars, she quickly learned how to identify parts and how they come together. She’s also learning the process of painting exteriors to give old cars new life.

“I was not planning on doing this. I just grew to love learning everything about the vehicles. It came easy to me,” Arguello said.

Meanwhile, Lopez has more than 20 years of experience in bodywork, and opening Eagle Auto Body Shop gives him a chance to continue doing what he loves.

Lopez wakes up every morning ready for a new challenge. Every car and every job is different, and even though he’s done repairs for 20 years, there’s always opportunities to learn something new.

As a complete automotive services body shop, Eagle Auto Body Shop specializes in repairs on the exterior of a vehicle, including doors, bumpers, fenders, headlights and hoods. In addition to restoring vehicles with paint, Eagle Auto Body Shop can also perform custom work. One custom job included installing vertically rotating “scissor doors” on a Lamborghini.

Arguello explained that Eagle Auto Body Shop doesn’t do mechanic work, which deals with the engine, suspension and other aspects of the interior of the vehicle. However, if a customer is getting body work done in the shop and needs some supplemental mechanic work done, the Eagle team will coordinate with a specialist to get the job done in house.

“There are people who can come to us and do the work so our customers can have everything done at the same place. We try to help everyone,” Arguello said. “One of the cars we worked on needed a windshield changed. Since it was already going to be at the body shop, we were able to get a glass guy to come here and do it. We are very flexible with helping the customers get what they need.”

Arguello said Eagle Auto Body Shop is also happy to assist customers with insurance questions.

Business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, email eagleautobodyshop@gmail.com or call 504-470-7831. Eagle Auto Body Shop LLC is on Instagram at instagram.com/eagleautobodyshopllc