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To the ATRA members who took offense, I apologize.

For not having spent the time to look at the video through your eyes until it was too late.
I failed to consider who I might offend by posting it in the first place. I’m ok with offending people when I intend to. Sometimes that’s a strategy in and of itself. But not this time. This time I never even imagined this could happen.
I watched the video, I laughed, and I approved it for posting. I failed to take the time to think. It took someone else to point out that I had done something that I preach against.
I’ve always lived by the notion that you shouldn’t talk bad about other people…no matter what. In the video, we didn’t talk bad about any person or any company particular, but we did poke fun at rebuilt transmissions and, indirectly, somebody could take that as a jab at the people who rebuild them.

To the rebuilders of the world, I apologize.

For anything that could have been construed as a poke or stab at you.

To our loyal readers, followers, customers, friends, competitors, and anybody else who happen to be reading this now, I apologize. 

For falling short of my own standard for never doing anything that requires an apology.

Now what?

There’s long been a rift between transmission shops and remanufacturers and it’s time we talk about it. In reality, I’ve mostly ignored the topic and stayed away from the discussion (eh, argument) because it’s a sensitive one and it’s hard to say anything without pissing someone off. I’ve attended forums, conferences, expos, presentations, and I’ve heard some really intelligent and insightful comments. I’ve also heard some really stupid stuff.
There’s the guy (or girl) who says remanufacturers are the devil. Maybe not all remanufacturers, just the ones that are screwing up transmission shops by selling reman units to general repair shops.
There’s the guy (or girl) who says transmission shops are a dying breed. Maybe not all transmission shops, just the ones who haven’t invested in education and technology. The ones that don’t have the right equipment, or that can’t find good help these days.
There’s the guy (or girl) who says rebuilt is better than reman…because no dyno will ever be as good as putting the transmission in the car…that’s a real test!
There’s the guy (or girl) who says reman is better than rebuilt…because remanufacturers have CNC machines, engineers, and fancy dyno tests.
There’s the guy (or girl) who says rebuilt is better than reman…because remanufacturers don’t care about anything but profit. It’s just business. They will cut corners to save a penny and sacrifice quality in the process. But rebuilders, well, they’re not just building a transmission; they’re installing their very reputation in the customer’s car, so they’re not interested in profit. They’re interested in making sure the customer has the best transmission in the world.
There’s the guy (or girl) who says reman is better than rebuilt…because with the hundreds of different types of transmissions out there today, no single builder can be an expert in all of them.
There’s the guy (or girl) who says rebuilt is better than reman…because “I’ve been doing this for 30 years and most of these reman companies are in it just for the money.”
There’s the guy (or girl) who says reman is better than rebuilt…because remanufacturers replace a lot more parts than rebuilders.
There’s the guy (or girl) who says rebuilt is better than reman…because rebuilders replace a lot more parts than remanufacturers.
There’s the guy (or girl) who says reman is better than rebuilt…because reman has a better warranty.
There’s the guy (or girl) who says rebuilt is better than reman…because rebuilt has a better warranty.
I could go on and on and on and on. So could you. In less than five minutes, most of these discussions can easily turn into a pissing match or a “My kid is smarter than your kid” contest.

What do I say?

I say that there’s no point in fighting amongst ourselves. If we can’t get along with each other, we will never get along with the customer. So instead of fighting with each other, we should fight together…for and on behalf of the customer.  We should fight for what’s best for the customer.
This article is the first in a series discussing the different options customers have when in need of a repair or replacement of a transmission.  I’m framing the series in this way because I want to keep the customer in the driver’s seat (literally and figuratively, of course). You see, if you go into something thinking about protecting your interests, you will often make a decision based on what’s best for you at the expense of doing something that’s less than best for the customer.  Oh, sometimes the stars will align and you can do both at once. I mean, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Think about a situation where a customer comes in and says, “I think I need my transmission replaced.” You diagnose the car and discover that you can perform a minor repair (solenoid pack, valve body, or something similar) and get the customer back on the road for a couple hundred dollars, instead of the couple thousand the customer expected to spend. Some shops (not you, of course) would sell the full job and rebuild or replace the transmission. That’s a short-term gain of $2,500, right? And the odds are the customer will never be the wiser.
It’s pretty rare that your short-term interests and your customer’s best interests are in alignment, but I bet you’ll find that when you really think about it…doing what’s best for your customers is also what’s best for you in the long run. The customer who gets a minor repair tells all of his friends to go to your shop because you’re honest and trustworthy. Maybe you left $2,000 on the table today, but you earned $20,000 (or more) from the referrals.
So stop thinking “end of week” (aka, average weekly gross) and start thinking “end of time.” Loyalty leads to profit. And there’s only one way to get loyal customers: You have to EARN them by doing what’s right and what’s best for them all of the time.

What’s best for the customer?

Well, THAT is the secret. One you have to discover and uncover for each individual customer. You have to help them compare their options, understand their situation, and deliver value.
There are essentially four options when it comes to “fixing” a transmission problem:

1. Perform a MINOR REPAIR (if possible)
2. REBUILD the transmission
3. Install a USED transmission
4. Install a REMANUFACTURED transmission

Vehicle owners may ask you about a fifth option, a “new” transmission. But you know as well as I do that “new” pretty much doesn’t exist except in a few rare cases.

So what’s best?

Well, that depends. In the coming weeks, we’ll take a look at each option and when it makes sense for a given customer.
But for now I can say this: when a customer is faced with a transmission problem, the only place that can really offer all of the above four options is a qualified transmission specialty shop.
Which leads me to my next point:

We need each other.

You can’t build every transmission under the sun (and even if you could, there are many situations where you wouldn’t want to), and I can’t install a transmission over the phone.
You can’t act in the best interest of your customer if you don’t have a remanufacturer at your disposal when appropriate, and I can’t in good conscience sell a reman to a vehicle owner directly because they likely aren’t capable of diagnosing the problem properly, of installing the transmission properly, and probably of even determining whether they need a transmission at all.
There’s so much that goes into the care and installation of a transmission these days that the average auto repair facility really isn’t qualified to do it. The equipment required to do things properly today (hot flush machine, appropriate scanner with all the modules, OBDII-Ethernet interface, subscription to OE calibration service, and more) is expensive and it doesn’t makes sense for many shops to purchase because they simply don’t do enough transmission work to justify spending the money. And, no matter how well a transmission is remanufactured, it’s not going to last long out in the field if the installing shop doesn’t flush the cooler, or doesn’t replace the radiator, or doesn’t reflash the computer, or uses the wrong torque converter bolts, or doesn’t fully seat the converter, or maybe just misdiagnosed the car in the first place.
When a transmission fails, that’s often the effect. It’s not hard to see that a transmission needs to be rebuilt or replaced when there’s metal in the pan and the fluid is burnt. But what caused it? If the underlying, root cause isn’t fixed, the replacement transmission will likely fail as well.
Educated, professional, transmission specialists are vital to remanufacturers and, more importantly, to vehicle owners.
I believe the same can be said about remanufacturers and their value to transmission specialists and vehicle owners alike.
What do you believe?
What do you think about the present state of relations between remanufacturers and rebuilders?
What do you think about the future of the industry?
What do you think about the future of the transmission specialty shop?
What changes would you like to see?
What’s working? What’s not?
Let’s talk.