Work with the Experts

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Mile Auto Repair was started because we got fed up with the standard auto repair industry practices and inexperienced, falsified sales methods.  Our industry is filled with companies trying to get you in the door by offering a free or highly discounted service (normally an oil change), only for them to hand you a grocery list of hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars of work that “needs” to be done “now” on your way out the door.    News Flash! This is how the majority of the industry is trained because they know you will most likely do at least one of those eight items they have just detailed for you.  Equally damaging is providing a lowball quote to get the vehicle in only to revamp the price afterwards when they “find” more problems wrong or they “misquoted” the parts.

 

The first question a potential customer asks is, “What is your labor rate?” and the second question usually is, “Can I have a quote on XYZ item?”  Those are both great questions when you’re buying a product that’s interchangeable between different companies, but when you’re buying a service with a long term relationship, you can’t always easily interchange the features and service provided.  When shopping for a service the question should become, “What’s your value?”  More often than not, customers will base their whole decision on the initial price quote which you can see from above, can be costly.

 

Mile Auto Repair employees have over 10 years of industry experience on average and over 40 years combined experience.  You should be confident that you are going to get honest and professional answers to your questions.  Not only will we give you our honest and professional opinions, we will also SHOW you exactly what’s wrong, how it may affect your safety and car down the road.  Without honest and professional advice, you’ll be surprised after every time you bring your car in for repairs.  You deserve reputable companies that are looking out for their customer’s best interests and ones that are ready to actively consult with you on the priorities of your vehicle and the best set of solutions.

Get What You Pay For? – YOU Decide

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Many automotive repair companies LOVE to offer deals such as “$99 brake job with lifetime guarantee” or “Brakes for as low as $79!”  And many people are so concerned with price that they completely overlook the possibility that they’re getting inferior products and going to be right back in there in a couple months to repair “new parts.”

With that being said, I wanted to share an interaction I had with one of our customers that was in recently.  She had some noise coming from her brakes and was getting pretty annoyed with it.  Her significant other who happens to be a dealer tech had said we left out a part of the brakes when we put them back together.  This does two things: 1.  We did the brake job 3 years ago so blame would be on us even though I wasn’t the owner at the time and didn’t have control over the quality of work performed.  2.  He is a dealer tech so his comments would carry some weight which makes us look incompetent.

I told her that we’d take a look and see if there were any problems with the brakes and give them any attention they may need.  After removing the wheels, the brakes still looked new all the way around so I proceeded to pull up the repair history….and therein lies the issue!  There was a recommendation to replace pads and rotors with new.  “Customer declined repair, request pads replaced only.”  I don’t blame this customer because many people do it based purely on the price and/or lack of product knowledge.  In this case, the customer decided to go with a substantially cheaper option than originally quoted.  The “missing part” we forgot to install was actually the anti-rattle plate that premium brake pads come with…unlike the cheap pads that were requested.

The truth of the matter is: when it comes to automotive parts you truly do get what you pay for!  Let’s get back to these incredible deals being offered by many companies.  They know full well that they will send you out the door with a laundry list of other parts that need to be replaced.  They also know that you won’t read the fine print that states the noise coming from your brakes that’s going to drive you nuts won’t be covered and if you would like that fixed, they will gladly charge you labor once more and double the price for premium pads.

As a current customer or potentially new customer – you will NOT find any of that going on in my business.  Our labor rate is very competitive and our parts may cost a little more than normal if you’re running around price checking BUT…..we do it for a reason!  You’re going to get quality parts from us that we stand behind not only for cost effectiveness but your safety as well.  We will tell you what and why the particular part is recommended and we’ll also give you a cheaper option with the consequences that may appear.  We’re truthful and transparent which allows you as the customer to make an informed decision – that is ultimately what it’s about.

 

 

Electric Car

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Check out these photos I took today of our customer’s car.  He’s invested $15k, built it himself and hasn’t paid for gas in 1 year.  So far he’s gotten 100 miles on a single charge but seeing as there aren’t many places to plug in your car these days, it’d be a tough call to see how far it will make it.

It Has to Start Somewhere

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I started out at a young age, working in a small auto repair shop in Wisconsin where I began to pick up knowledge of the business I was working for, our competitors at the time, and the industry as a whole.  The preconceived notions of customers that are still stuck in my head to this day are that auto repair shops were around for two reasons:

  1. To scam customers
  2. To make money

I would like to add that I was most likely under the legal working age when I started and my ability to grasp what either of those concepts meant were minimal….but none the less those two concepts stuck.  They stuck with me because the owner believed those concepts were running throughout the industry and preached against them both vocally and by his actions.  He always taught us to focus on the job customers needed completed, doing it right the first time and making sure they were satisfied when they left.

 

I did fib a little bit – the city of Middleton was small – the shop itself was a good size and we were thriving! I’m also proud to say the owner was my uncle.  Needless to say, as I matured in my position at Bennett’s Middleton, I began to see what a true auto repair shop was supposed to be like.  I learned a lot in my 10 years there (I grasped these concepts as I was now legal and brilliant!)

 

If we look at a car as an investment (if you even call it that), it will be one of the worst investments you every make!  It depreciates faster than you can spell the word and it will be worth less the minute you drive off the lot.  Consumers already have to pay for insurance and gas on their amazing “investment” and then when something happens, they need to get it fixed??  That’s Correct!  With that being said, I tried to find a way that would help ease the pain of my customers when getting their car repaired.  I started to take the complexities of the vehicle and broke them all down to their simplest form and explained the benefits of it being serviced/repaired and the costs if it wasn’t fixed.  Once the veil of secrecy was taken off and customers started to understand, they became more trusting of the business and I.  That was it – Transparency!  There is no need or benefit to be pushy and misleading when we can be honest and create a customer for life.