Monica Yant Kinney: Female-friendly car guys are tuning up the charm

So let me tell you about the time I went to a South Philly auto body shop to buy a high-fashion handbag and left with a date to learn about batteries, belts, and brakes.

What, you didn't know Nigro's Auto Body sells eco-friendly Passchal purses, developed an "Accident Assistance" smartphone app, and offers classes on car basics taught by a mechanic with a degree in women's studies? It's hardly obvious looking at the place near 10th Street and Washington Avenue.

Aniello Nigro founded the shop in 1983 and built its name around precision restoration work. Among his appreciative fans? Dr. Frederick Simeone, the neurosurgeon who displays his race-car collection at a museum near the airport.

Aniello, an automotive artiste trained in Italy to forge fenders by hand, puzzles over some of the innovations cooked up by his enterprising 35-year-old son, Domenic.

"It's a new generation," Aniello shrugs as I eye hot-pink boxes of windshield-wiper blades whose proceeds go toward the fight against breast cancer. "He knows more than I used to."

Women hate to admit it, but most of us know squat about cars and can't be bothered to tend to them ourselves. I often fall for the upsell air filters at quickie oil-change places. I secretly love the fact that New Jersey law forbids me from pumping my own gas.

As a species, women put themselves at the mercy of a male-dominated industry. This was the world Domenic Nigro grew up in and thought he'd die in, until he had two daughters and an epiphany.

"It's not just about fixing cars anymore," he decided a year and a half ago. "It's about helping people."

Specifically, women, long intimidated by encounters involving their cars and their cash.

Domenic became a disciple of www.askpatty.com, a California company providing women with reliable automotive advice. Nationwide, 900 dealers and collision centers have completed the firm's program on how to attract, retain, and wow women customers. After online training and tests, Nigro's became the first body shop in Philadelphia to earn Ask Patty's "Certified Female Friendly" seal.

"I learned how to talk to, react to, and be more compassionate with my female customers," he shares. "Men who come here are focused on price. Women are more about, 'How do I feel about this person?' "

Nigro's had always offered a lifetime guarantee on its work. Following Ask Patty's lead, Domenic began supporting breast cancer charities and selling Passchal products, made with recycled tractor-trailer inner tubes and vegan leather.

"People thought I was crazy," the Temple grad says from his desk next to a rack of purses. "But it gives women a sense that I'm doing something different here."

(The bags are so fabulous that style-conscious men wander up the stairs into the office in search of the $239 briefcase, since Nigro's is the only place to get them in town.)

A father of three, Domenic winced after learning that nearly 75 percent of children's car seats are improperly installed. So he became a certified technician, partnered with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and now offers free inspections the first Tuesday of each month - a smart business move given the South Philly baby boom.

Next month, Nigro's will have Lori Johnson teach a women-only automotive class (www.ladiesstartyourengines.com). He's even allowing area Girl Scouts to use Nigro's to earn their car care badges.

Ask Patty CEO Jody DeVere gushes over how deeply Domenic embraced the vision, since "if you take great care of women, you're going to take care of men, because women ask for so much more."

Aniello Nigro approves of the moves, but admits he's still not sold on car guys pushing purses.

"They're OK for the environment," he says, "but not my thing."