A New Chapter, Built on a Trusted Foundation
Versatile Automotive is the next chapter of Discount Mufflers & Brakes. The name is new, but these Pensacola shops have been serving local drivers for decades. Today, we're expanding that legacy with full-service automotive care & repair, modern diagnostics and a customer-first approach at our Cervantes Street and Navy Boulevard locations.
The story began in 1994, when Judy and John Denman established the business that became Discount Mufflers & Brakes. Over the next three decades, they built two Pensacola shops, lasting customer relationships and a reputation rooted in local automotive service. When Fernando and Stephanie Núñez purchased the business, they did so with respect for what came before them—and a vision for what these shops could become. Versatile Automotive carries that legacy forward while expanding beyond its muffler and brake heritage into comprehensive automotive care, diagnostics, repair and preventive maintenance.
A legacy passed forward.
Judy & John Denman with Stephanie & Fernando Núñez · October 2026
Long before Versatile Automotive, cars were already woven into Fernando and Stephanie Núñez's lives. They met as teenagers in Clarksville, Tennessee—Stephanie was 16 and Nando was 17—and remained friends for approximately 17 years before eventually becoming a couple. Cars were part of that friendship from the beginning. Nando drove and customized cars including a Mazda Miata and a lime-green Nissan 350Z named Coquí. Stephanie had her own enthusiasm for cars, including a Honda Prelude she called Penelope the Prelude.
Over the years, their shared interest included modified cars, performance vehicles, sport bikes, road trips and multiple trips together to Import Alliance. In 2010, when Stephanie was 19, she wanted to buy a manual Acura TSX but didn't yet know how to drive stick. Nando gave her a two-day crash course using his Nissan 350Z and a friend's manual Honda Accord. She bought the TSX, naming it Tyson the TSX.
Their careers ultimately took very different directions. Nando spent more than two decades building an unusually broad automotive career across transmission work, independent repair, dealership service, diesel, fleet operations, specialized vehicles, diagnostics, international operations and shop leadership. Stephanie built her career in organizational leadership, healthcare and education administration, counseling, mediation and entrepreneurship. Years later, those two paths unexpectedly came together in Versatile Automotive. Two different careers. One shared passion. A business built together.
Stephanie & Nando with Coquí · August 2010
Long before Versatile Automotive, cars were already part of our story.
Nando's interest in how things worked started long before automotive repair became his career. As a kid, he was the type to take apart radios, televisions and bicycles simply to understand what was inside.
He started working on vehicles as a teenager, including a 1995 GMC Sonoma that had belonged to his father and remains with him today.
After losing his father, Nando found an important mentor in a neighbor named Abel, an experienced mechanic who became a paternal figure and helped deepen Nando's understanding of automotive work, including transmissions.
Nando also credits his automotive instructor Darryl as an important influence in his technical development.
By 2004, that early curiosity had become a profession.
The moment the opportunity became real.
John Denman and Fernando “Nando” Núñez at the purchase-offer signing · September 2026
Nando had wanted to own an automotive shop for years.
The experience was there. The right opportunity wasn't.
That changed in August 2026.
While attending an automotive industry conference, Nando found himself thinking seriously about what the next chapter of his career could look like. Before the conference was even over, he began searching for automotive businesses and shop opportunities.
That's when he discovered Discount Mufflers & Brakes.
What initially looked like an opportunity to purchase an established automotive business turned out to include two longtime Pensacola locations and an owner who cared deeply about what would happen to his customers after he stepped away.
For more than three decades, John and Judy Denman built relationships with Pensacola drivers that extended across generations. Some families who trusted the shops years ago now have younger generations bringing in their own vehicles.
Preserving that trust matters to the Núñez family.
The opportunity moved quickly. What began as Nando finally exploring the dream of owning a shop became an opportunity to carry forward two established neighborhood businesses while building something new around them.
The name reflects the career behind the company.
Nando's automotive experience has never fit neatly into one category.
Over more than 20 years, his work has included transmission repair, independent automotive repair, dealership service, gasoline and diesel vehicles, mobile fleet service, specialized vehicles, generators, large equipment, international fleet operations, diagnostics and shop leadership.
He's worked across very different vehicles, systems and environments—and developed a particular appreciation for the difficult problems other people may not be eager to take on.
Complex diagnostics, electrical concerns, dashboard work, imports and JDM vehicles are the kinds of challenges he genuinely enjoys.
That range of experience is what made "Versatile" fit.
But versatility at this company isn't intended to mean simply doing more things. It means understanding how systems work, adapting to the problem in front of you and continuing to learn.
Different vehicles. Different systems. Different problems. One disciplined approach.
At Versatile, we truly are versatile.
Fernando Nando Núñez helping a community member with a motorized mobility chair.
Nando's approach to technician management is shaped by more than two decades of working as a technician, mechanic, lead mechanic and shop foreman—including firsthand experience with how technicians can be treated, or not treated, in the industry.
Those experiences shaped how he wants Versatile Automotive to treat, support, communicate with and hold its team accountable. His goal is to give technicians more ownership over their productivity and day-to-day management while minimizing unnecessary layers of middle management.
It's a philosophy built on respect for the people doing the work—not just the work itself.
2004–2010
Where It Started · Puerto Rico & Tennessee
Nando began working professionally in the automotive industry in 2004 at SR Transmission in Juncos, Puerto Rico. After moving to Tennessee, he continued developing his hands-on experience at Ringgold Automotive in Clarksville before moving into dealership and national automotive-service environments. In 2010, he worked as an Automotive Technician at a Ford & Lincoln dealership in Clarksville and also worked for Sears Auto Center, where he progressed from Automotive Technician I to Automotive Technician II. Those early years gave him experience across transmission work, independent automotive repair, dealership service and high-volume automotive care.
2011–2016
Fleet, Military-Base & Mobile Service Experience
Nando's career then expanded beyond traditional automotive shops. Beginning in 2011, he worked as an LBE Mechanic with Akima LLC at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. In 2014, he also deployed to Afghanistan as an IOV Mechanic with Lockheed Martin before returning to Eglin with Akima. From 2015 to 2016, he worked as a Mobile Service Technician with Dickinson Fleet Services in Pensacola, expanding his experience in fleet maintenance and field-based vehicle service. This period helped build the foundation for the fleet-readiness, field-repair and operational work that would become a major part of the next stage of his career.
Working at Eglin Air Force Base does not mean Nando served in the military. He has always been a civilian automotive professional.
2016–2021
Diesel, Dealership & International Fleet Operations
Nando's career increasingly combined dealership diesel work in Pensacola with specialized overseas vehicle operations. He worked as a Diesel Technician with Ward International Isuzu in Pensacola during multiple periods while also taking overseas assignments with Lockheed Martin. His Lockheed Martin assignments included work in Jordan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan supporting specialized vehicle fleets and operations in demanding environments. He served as a FOSOV Mechanic in Jordan from 2016 to 2018 and later returned to Afghanistan as a FOSOV Mechanic and lead mechanic from 2018 to 2020. From 2020 to 2021, he served in Tajikistan as a Senior Fleet Administrator and lead mechanic. Across these assignments, his responsibilities expanded beyond repair into diagnostics, fleet readiness, quality control, technician leadership, maintenance planning, logistics, parts and inventory management, and operational support. Some assignments placed him in direct support of Special Forces personnel and U.S. embassy-related operations. His work also included repairing and maintaining vehicles in the field during active operational and combat-mission environments, where getting a vehicle safely back into service could carry consequences far beyond an ordinary repair order. In one leadership assignment, Nando supervised more than 30 mechanics and helped manage the readiness and accountability of hundreds of pieces of equipment. His responsibilities included daily team communication, personnel accountability, maintenance prioritization, parts and inventory coordination, technician support, employee relations, morale and process improvement. Nando performed this work as a civilian automotive professional and contractor—not as a member of the United States Armed Forces. The experience helped shape the diagnostic discipline, accountability and emphasis on vehicle readiness that he brings to Versatile Automotive today.
2021–2024
Back to Pensacola
After years of fleet, diesel and international work, Nando continued his automotive career in Pensacola. He returned to Ward International Isuzu as a Diesel Technician from 2021 to 2022. In 2022, he worked as a Special Vehicle Mechanic with Deployed Global Solutions. From 2023 to 2024, he worked as an Automotive Technician with Automotive Alternative in Pensacola.
2024–2026
Technician to Shop Foreman
Nando continued building his automotive career at a Pensacola-area automotive care and repair facility, progressing from hands-on technician work into shop leadership as Shop Foreman. In that role, he combined advanced diagnostics and hands-on repair with workflow coordination, quality oversight and technical support for other technicians. That experience became the final chapter before business ownership—bringing together more than two decades of automotive repair, dealership service, diesel, fleet operations, specialized vehicles, advanced diagnostics and technical leadership.
2026–Present
Versatile Automotive
Fernando "Nando" Núñez — President & Director of Automotive Operations | Co-Owner. Versatile Automotive brings the different parts of Nando's career together: the hands-on technician who started in a transmission shop in Puerto Rico, the dealership technician, the diesel technician, the fleet mechanic, the overseas civilian contractor, the lead mechanic and the Shop Foreman. Today, he leads technical operations across Versatile Automotive's two Pensacola locations.
Diagnose carefully. Understand the failure. Follow the specifications. Do the work right.
The Versatile Standard
- We recommend what we believe your vehicle actually needs.
- We explain the why behind our recommendations.
- We distinguish between what needs attention now and what can wait.
- We provide clear estimates and obtain authorization before work begins.
- We don't measure customer relationships by a single repair order.
- We stand behind our workmanship.
- We treat your vehicle with respect.
- We want to earn your business—not pressure you into it.
We Are Different.
Different doesn't mean flashy promises. It means approaching automotive care differently. Test before replacing. Explain before selling. Prioritize safety. Teach instead of intimidate. Respect the technician. Respect the customer.
At Versatile Automotive, we want customers to understand what is happening with their vehicles, why it matters, what needs attention now and what may reasonably be able to wait. We believe a healthy automotive business can be built by taking good care of people—not by turning every vehicle into the biggest possible ticket.
Our goal is for customers to feel comfortable asking questions, including customers who may know very little about automotive repair. Automotive knowledge should help customers make informed decisions about their vehicles—not make them feel intimidated.
Our team includes ASE-certified technicians, including owner Fernando "Nando" Núñez.
Mechanic-owned. Mechanic-managed. Customer-first.
Dr. Stephanie Rivera Velázquez de Núñez
Director of Operations & Administration | Co-Owner
While Nando's attention is centered on the technical operation, Stephanie's is centered on building the organization around it—the systems, administration, people, finances, compliance, customer experience and day-to-day infrastructure that allow a growing automotive business to function.
Their roles are intentionally different but complementary: Nando leads the technical vision and automotive operation, while Stephanie helps build the organizational structure needed to bring that vision to life.
Dr. Stephanie Rivera Velázquez de Núñez brings more than a decade of organizational leadership and administration—as well as firsthand experience as an established small-business owner—to Versatile Automotive.
Before entering full-time entrepreneurship, Stephanie spent more than a decade with the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, where her work included graduate medical education administration, institutional operations, accreditation, financial oversight and coordination across complex healthcare environments. She earned her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Central Florida in 2022 and was named UCF College of Medicine Employee of the Year that same year.
Stephanie is also the founder and owner of her own professional practice. Her experience building and operating a service-based business gives her firsthand understanding of customer relationships, business administration, compliance, financial stewardship and the importance of creating systems that work behind the scenes.
As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator, Stephanie also brings years of professional experience in communication, conflict resolution, relationship-building and helping people navigate stressful situations—skills that translate naturally into employee relations and customer experience.
At Versatile Automotive, she oversees business administration, compliance, customer experience, marketing, organizational development and the systems that support operations across both Pensacola locations.
Originally from Caguas, Puerto Rico, Stephanie is bilingual in English and Spanish.
What we stand for
Integrity
We are not salesmen. We recommend only what your vehicle actually needs — and we show you why.
Expertise
Our team includes ASE-certified technicians, including owner Fernando "Nando" Núñez. Decades of hands-on automotive and operational experience applied to every repair — with professional diagnostics, manufacturer specifications and documentation on every job.
Trust
We purchased a business the community already trusted. Our job is to earn that trust again, every single day.
Makes We Work On
From daily drivers and family vehicles to imports, trucks and performance-oriented vehicles, Versatile Automotive works on a broad range of makes and models at our two Pensacola repair locations.
Whether you're looking for Acura repair, Honda service, Toyota repair, Ford diagnostics, Chevrolet repair, Nissan service or help with another make, our team starts with the same approach: understand the concern, test before replacing parts when appropriate, explain what we find and help you make an informed decision about your vehicle.
Don't see your vehicle listed? Contact our team. The makes shown here are representative and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of every vehicle we may service.