Tracy-Lynn Ruiters|Published
For Stephanie Daries, love didn’t arrive wrapped in roses or whispered promises. It arrived smelling of engine oil, holding a spanner, and humming beneath the bonnet of a car.
At just 13 years old, in Avonwood, Elsies River, Stephanie stood beside her father as he worked on a 1972 Ford Escort MK1. She wasn’t fixing anything back then, just holding the torch, passing tools, watching closely. But something shifted in those quiet moments.
As her father opened the engine and explained how each part mattered, a spark was lit. What looked like metal and machinery to others felt alive to her. That spark never left.
Today, at 49, Daries has spent the last 13 years working as a qualified motor mechanic in an industry still overwhelmingly dominated by men.
She is also a proud mother of two sons, Keith (25) and Ryan (15), young men who have grown up watching their mother break stereotypes one car at a time.
Her journey into mechanics was never part of a grand plan. In fact, it happened almost by chance. While studying Motor Mechanics at NorthLink College, she was offered a learnership at a well-known automotive company. For a young woman from Elsies River who simply loved cars, it felt surreal. She grabbed the opportunity and never looked back.
What keeps her there, more than a decade later, is not just the job, but the love.
Daries discusses cars as others might discuss lifelong partners. Each fault is a puzzle. Each repair is a conversation between her and the machine.
“There’s satisfaction in diagnosing a problem, pride in fixing it, and joy in watching a vehicle come back to life under my hands.
“The first time I fixed a car on my own, I’ll never forget that feeling,” she recalled. “It took me straight back to being that little girl standing next to my dad.”
In a workshop filled with men, Daries had to learn early on that respect is not given, it’s earned.
In her early years, she felt the unspoken pressure to prove herself, to work harder, to let her results speak before her voice could. However, instead of breaking her spirit, it strengthened her.
What surprised her most was the support.
The men she worked alongside pushed her upwards. They became mentors, teachers, even brothers.
They shared long hours, impossible faults, greasy hands and small victories. Over time, she stopped being “the female mechanic” and simply became a mechanic respected for her skill, precision and dedication.
And when the workdays were long and exhausting, she had support waiting at home too. Her partner stood firmly behind her career choice, never questioning her passion, never asking her to be anything other than who she is.
“Cars are my first love,” Stephanie openly stated without hesitation and her partner understands that completely.
Balancing motherhood and mechanics hasn’t always been easy, Daries admitted.
“There were early mornings, late nights and tired hands. But my sons grew up knowing that their mother works hard because she loves what she does. Today, their pride is my fuel.”
Over the years, certain cars have left lasting impressions from powerful, high-performance sports cars that demanded precision and respect, to older vehicles filled with character and history.
For Daries, it’s never just about the brand or the speed. It’s about the experience, the challenge, the story behind the machine.
Looking back, she knows this path wasn’t what she once imagined. But it became exactly what she needed.
And to young girls watching from the sidelines, wondering if they belong in spaces like hers, Stephanie has a clear message: take up space. Ask questions. Get your hands dirty. The tools don’t care who is holding them, only that you know how to use them.
