Gene Townsend

Gene Townsend is the owner of Gene Townsend Auto Body and Paint in El Cajon, California. Once the largest collision repair facility in San Diego and Orange Counties, Gene’s business continues to serve the needs of vehicle owners and California’s largest insurance companies.

Gene Townsend at Work

Gene began painting cars at the age of sixteen. He opened his first business in a rented garage in El Cajon in 1959. The first car he worked on was a 1957 station wagon. Gene’s custom paint job won the vehicle first prize in a local car show, launching Gene’s career as a custom paint specialist.

The Chevrolet Corvette, debuting in 1953, was Gene’s favorite car. Its fiberglass body required special handling which Gene quickly mastered. By the mid 1960’s Gene cornered the market on Corvette repairs as few dealerships knew how to fix them. Gene’s reputation grew as he began offering custom modifications to the popular sports cars. Owners drove from San Francisco and Las Vegas to have their vehicles painted, customized or restored by Gene.

After moving his business to San Diego and securing his first insurance repair referrals through Allstate, Gene returned to El Cajon in 1968, purchasing the closed body shop of a local Datsun dealership.

In the 1970’s Gene’s love of racing found him competing in the famous Baja 1000 off road race in Baja California, Mexico. In 1978 Gene, with his co-driver Don Paxton, won the Baja 1000 Class 2 Championship.

Gene has long been involved in the community and has given significant support to community youth programs. Gene designed auto body shops for local high schools. He supports the El Cajon Police D.A.R.E. program and Stoney’s Kids, a volunteer health and welfare organization for East County youth.

Through the years Gene’s reputation for honesty and integrity, coupled with his commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, have earned him industry recognition and hundreds of repeat customers.

Going strong after 52 years in business, Gene still operates El Cajon’s premier family owned auto body and paint shop.