Duot Nguyen, owner of HI-Tech Auto Salon on Atwells Avenue, leans against his 2002 BMW M3 with 19–inch Maya wheels that he sells at his store. Technicians Luis Valladares and Briant Hiengphotcihhack are behind the car.

The Providence Journal / Steve Szydlowski

Some of the wheels for sale at Hi-Tech Auto Salon.

MOMO brand racing seats, along with others, are sold at the auto salon.

The Hi-Tech Auto Salon on Atwells Avenue carries the popular 22-inch Diablo wheels as well as other brands.

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL / Steve Szydlowski

No one thinks twice about establishing a unique style through clothes and accessories, so it is hardly surprising that the same can be done with a car.

Welcome to High Tech Auto Salon on Atwells Avenue in Providence, which specializes in designer wheel rims and tires. The small store, which has a workshop out back where it mounts the tires and balances the wheels before mounting them on customers’ cars, also offers a small range of accessories such as designer pedals, a range of interior trims and halogen lights.

Meanwhile, an affiliated auto body shop run by a former partner – High Tech Auto Body in West Warwick – handles body work, paint and interiors. The two companies have a working relationship but are financially independent, according to Duot Nguyen (pronounced Du-Ott Nu-Ann), 26, who runs the store.

“We do everything together,” he said, referring to Tommy Tran, who runs the auto body shop. “If I need anything, that’s my guy.”

The store has been open for seven years but for the first two Nguyen was involved on a part-time basis. “It was a hop in and out thing,” he said, noting that he had been helping his mother manage her nail salon in Pawtucket as well as taking courses at the University of Rhode Island and the New England Institute of Technology.

“URI did not work out, the college life was not for me,” he said. “It’s not that I was doing badly, it’s just that I kept asking myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ ” He switched to The New England Institute of Technology, which he said was great, earning enough certifications to “get the gist of how the auto business worked.”

Up front, the store has four bright red racing seats lined up in front of a 52-inch flat screen TV. This is the “bored-time area,” he said, adding that it was useful for clients waiting for their vehicle. Putting on a set of rims and tires takes only 15-to-20 minutes, he said, adding that the shop typically mounts the tires on the rims before the client brings in the vehicle.

The walls are lined with about 50 different designs of wheel rims and he has full sets for each design in storage, because he does not want to miss a sale due to not having sets in stock. Catalogues offer an infinite range that he can order in. At the low end, a set of four 20-inch chrome rims and tires costs about $1,600 to have installed, including a one-year warranty on the chrome finish, he said. At the top end, a set from Maya costs $4,900 fully installed. Maya is a brand name for specialized wheels made by Azusa, Calif.-based Dazz Motorsports Inc.

Nguyen said all the sets were DOT-approved and the difference in price reflected not only the quality of metal and manufacturing but details, such as the differences between the front and rear Maya wheel rims. He said his biggest seller was the Baldwin Park, Calif., Diablo brand because “they are good quality and have a good sales team.”

The wheel rims range from 8 -to-11 inches wide with the diameters typically about 20 inches but some running much larger for big SUVs. “The biggest set of wheels I ever sold was 26 inches (in diameter) by 10 inches (wide) for a Lincoln Navigator,” he said.

“We basically do the same thing as (the TV show) Pimp my Ride,” he said. “But that’s a center stage thing. No one is going to pay $10,000 for a sound system. There’s a difference between classy and messy. They have a messy look, it’s not nice. They put everything on there.”

He said he was more interested in taking a modest car like the Honda Civic and making it into “a beast” without overdoing it.

He said while there are hundreds of tuner Honda Civics, none is the same. “The only reason people play with (Honda Civics) is because they are cost effective,” he added. “They’ve often been handed down by the parents and they are normal, reliable gas-saving, sensible cars.”

“I’ve got nothing against Mustangs, but a Mustang is fast already,” he said. “But if you can turn (a Honda Civic) into a beast, that’s a work of art.”

Why a store on Atwells Avenue?

“It’s not cheap by any means,” he said, referring to the rent. “But it’s in the heart of the city with high traffic flow. There’s a lot of foot traffic in the summer and if someone comes in and says, ‘Nice place, nice place,’ they will tell five people who will tell five people.”

Nguyen said the store catered to all kinds of clients. “There are the hardcore guys out there who love working on their cars,” and there are those who just want to look good with flashy chrome wheels. “We never have a customer come in, we do a job for them and never say two words to them,” he said. “We’re into customer service and a lot of our business is repeat business. It’s a friendly atmosphere. It’s ‘Hey, how’re you doing? How’s life?’ ”

He said he had three customers who had had purchased eight sets of wheels from the store over the years. “I take pride in that,” he said.

“It’s not like none of our customers gets mad,” he added. “But if we make one person happy, we make 15 of his friends happy.”

All the work is done on site with a small parking space behind the shop serving as the service area. The store recently built a new wing with a workshop and a garage. The workshop houses the balance machine for the finished wheels and, more important, a machine to mount the tires without scratching the face of the rim. He said there were not many such machines around and customers often come in already armed with rims but needing to have the tires mounted without the danger of scratching.

“This is the bread and butter,” he said, stepping up to the mounting machine and showing how the rims were mounted face-down on four small brackets.

The garage houses a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle that the shop has restored and tuned up with 22-inch wheels in the rear and 20-inch wheels in the front. The set cost $5,300, although it is worth more and is actually engraved with the High Tech name, Nguyen said.

The shop has also added independent air suspension to all four wheels with the compressor tank filling most of the space in the trunk. Three sub-woofers from the 2,000-watt music system are inset into the rear panel of the trunk. Other new details include a small steering wheel, a new exhaust system and power windows. However, the electric blue lacquer paint with white stripes down the middle of the car is original. “We glazed it down, took off the dead paint,” he said, adding the older, lacquer paint is much better than the paint work on new cars.

Nguyen currently drives a silver BMW M3 Convertible – “a perfect blend of luxury car and sports car” – with 19-inch Maya wheels. “I ordered the design for an M3 convertible and there are only four sets in the States,” he said, adding that the set cost him $3,800.

Nguyen said there are four employees at the store, including himself, but added, “I don’t consider myself the big dog. We all do the same work.”

And even after five years in the business, he still does not describe himself as a professional. “I’m not a business guy, not even,” he said. “I just do this because I really like it. I still like to party every weekend. I guess you could call me a young professional in the making.”

But his casual manner belies a steely resolve. He said he grew up in Woonsocket with his mother, who is first-generation Vietnamese, brother, 24, and sister, 22, both of whom work with his mother. He said he is close to his mother but estranged from his father.

“I never had a father to play catch with,” he said. “Maybe that’s why I’m so determined.”