With both Mr. Transmission® and Milex Complete Auto Care having more than 50 years of service under their belts, each has become a trusted brand in the auto repair industry. Both independently and co-branded, these companies have become household names in the auto repair industry across the country. With 125 open locations and 20 more on the way, this year is projected to be one of massive growth for the franchise. By Kelsi Trinidad
With both Mr. Transmission® and Milex Complete Auto Care having more than 50 years of service under their belts, each has become a trusted brand in the auto repair industry. Both independently and co-branded, these companies have become household names in the auto repair industry across the country. With 125 open locations and 20 more on the way, this year is projected to be one of massive growth for the franchise.
Although the brands have been in operation for many years, long-standing franchise locations are still experiencing strong growth numbers. For example, in the last year, 14 stores joined the company’s Million Dollar Club.
“We have stores that are 30 years old, and their year-over-year sales are at an increase of 15% to 16%,” said Moran Family of Brands President Pete Baldine.
The partnership between the Mr. Transmission/Milex brands allows these locations to be a one-stop shop for all car repair needs.
“With the technology changes in the car industry, we decided to co-brand them and put them together under the same roof,” explained Baldine. “That allows us to do maintenance and light repair work as well as major repairs. What that does is it brings the customers in four to five times a year and allows us to build that relationship and that trust factor with the customer so that they keep coming back to you.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the growth that the Mr. Transmission/Milex locations are experiencing is aligned with the growing trend of people driving their used cars a lot longer, which means that drivers are squeezing every mile out of their cars before considering buying a new one. While this trend is generally attributed to high interest rates and high car prices, they both seem here to stay. This bodes well for the auto repair industry because older cars will continue to require more maintenance and repairs.
“People don’t want an $800 per month car note for the next five years, so they’re investing in the cars they have by doing major repairs to keep them running,” explained Baldine. The average vehicle age on the road in the U.S. has climbed to 12.5 years. “The automotive repair business is really a good place to be from a business standpoint right now because the dynamics of the market are really strong, and we’re seeing that translate into strong top line sales and our franchisees’ profitability going way up,” he said.
However, the key to the franchise’s success comes down to building trust with customers. Mr. Transmission/Milex realizes that the auto repair industry is fraught with unreasonable costs for customers and knows that the trust between companies and clients is something that has to be actively won. The company builds and secures this trust by offering its customers free performance checks and creating an environment of transparency around repairs.
At the heart of this long-standing franchise’s success is the success of its franchisees.
“The most gratifying thing for me is the relationships that we build with our franchisees, and seeing those relationships turn into success and profitability,” said Baldine.
Kelsi Trinidad