About Us
The Early Years
In 1962, Ralph “Jap” McDonald started McDonald Auto Body from the same Independence location it is today. Vance Cunningham soon joined the business in 1963. The business steadily grew into a thriving auto body repair shop. Ralph made the decision to retire and hand over the reigns to Vance, who then purchased the shop in 1976. In 1998, Vance’s sons, Dan and Garry completed the ownership transition from their father. Currently, Dan Cunningham, with nearly 40 years of auto body repair experience, is the sole proprietor of McDonald Auto Body.
Jap McDonald began his career at a local Cadillac dealer, which greatly shaped his business philosophies which still hold true today. At McDonald Auto Body, he created the same high quality standards modeled at Cadillac. Not only did he want vehicles returned to the customer repaired and restored in perfect condition, but beautifully detailed as well.
Cunningham Family Continues the Tradition
Current owner, Dan Cunningham, learned Jap’s philosophy early and has strived to maintain it over the years.
Dan started his career in auto body repair at a young age. The Cunningham legacy began in the 1940’s with Dan’s grandfather, Lloyd Cunningham, who started an auto body repair shop.
Dan was 16 when he started his first job at the shop, where his duties included washing cars and whatever odd jobs that Jap and Vance found for him. Over the next several years, he learned everything about the business from the ground up. For nearly 40 years, Dan has devoted his entire focus to providing the best possible quality repair for his customers.