Jill Beck and Karl Thomson share a deep love of cars.
Decades ago, before they met each other, they both experienced the thrill and victory of racing cars. Years later, they operated a professional auto racing team — based first in Toronto and later in San Diego. They now own another automotive business in Palm Desert, where they built a new home and moved in last February.
“We are still around cars and the people who own them, some we’ve known for years,” Beck said.
Owners of Compass Racing Collective, the business name dates to the professional racing team they owned together, racing cars across North America and managing crews in the highly competitive world of motorsports. They changed lanes from driving cars to marketing cars for sale, but
kept the company name.
The latest venture, which they launched in 2023, prepares cars and trucks for sale at online auctions. Their services include cleaning vehicles from bumper to bumper, making small repairs (but no major restorations), interior car detailing including the dashboard and carpet — even the glovebox if needed — and much more. They have a lift to raise cars above ground to clean and photograph the underside of the vehicle, exposing the muffler, exhaust system and under belly.
Photos matter
One critical service of the business is photography, for which they place the cars in stunning outdoor locations in natural light. They take up to 300 images for the Bring a Trailer website to document every inch of the vehicle — the engine and battery under the hood, the trunk and the tires, the steering wheel and dashboard, the front and rear seat upholstery and more. No details are overlooked, including scratches or dents. The buyer of the car cannot see the car in person or give it a test drive, so the photos are of the utmost importance.
None of the photos are doctored or Photoshopped to hide scratches or dents or other negative selling points, Beck said, which only leads to buyer disappointment after the sale.
They also write an accurate description of the car and its features and will answer questions from prospective buyers who tune into the online auction.
Compass charges $150 per hour for its services.
“We do everything, so the buyer doesn’t have to,” Thomson said. Cars presented online by Compass “often sell for 25% above the reserve price” — the minimum selling price — which helps cover the fee, according to Beck. A clean car typically sells faster, and for a higher price, than a dirty one.
Moving to Palm Springs
“We moved to Palm Springs, she said, “partly because we already have clients here. It’s a great place to live and a good car town,” she added.
Compass also has clients from other Coachella Valley and Riverside County cities, and around the state of California — and even some in Hawaii. Their clients primarily include people with collectable cars looking to increase sales.
Bring a trailer
Compass Racing is a Bring a Trailer “Local Partner,” one of about 120 external service providers in the United States supporting vehicle preparation and professional photography on behalf of the vehicle owners.
Bring a Trailer was founded in 2007 by Randy Nonnenberg, who began as a BMW engineer and part-time blogger sharing cars he found online, including some he located for friends by request. Thirteen years later, he sold the company to Hearst Corporation, publisher of Road & Track and Car and Drive magazines. In 2025, BaT ended the year with 49,486 total vehicle listings, resulting in $1.7 billion in sales.
Where it all began
Beck and Thomson met in 2011 at the Daytona International Speedway. Beck, working for a foundation that raised money for children with serious health issues, brought a group of kids on a field trip to see the race cars. Thomson welcomed Beck and the kids and gave them a guided tour. After she made return trips with additional children to the Speedway, the pair went to dinner, a friendship — and then something more — sparked, and the couple were married in 2018 at Frank Sinatra’s former Palm Springs estate.
“We have always loved Palm Springs,” Beck said.
Someday they plan to retire and see the country in their Airstream travel trailer. No doubt they will visit a few racetracks along the way, especially the one in Daytona where it all began.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Desert couple's love of cars drives their business, relationship
