We’re all familiar with warranties. We get them when we buy something, and we give them with every job. There are two things most of us will agree with about warranties. In most cases, we’ll never use it before it expires, and if we need to use it, it will not be hassle-free. However, one warranty has a more positive punch to it, the ATRA Golden Rule Warranty.
As you know, I’ve been reaching out to past ATRA shop owners, Chapter Officers, and Board Members to learn more about our association’s history. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Mike King.
Mike started Trans-King Transmissions in 1965 in Ventura, California, and he and Gene Lewis were active with ATRA. At that time, Craig Baurgus was the Northern California Chapter President and one of the founders of ATRA. Craig managed ATRA from Los Angeles to San Francisco with five other shop owners in the late 1950s. When Craig was planning his retirement, Mike King stepped into the role.
Mike and Gene went to San Francisco, brought all the ATRA materials back to Ventura, and moved the ATRA operations to Southern California. Gene Lewis, ATRA Executive Director, and Mike King ran ATRA from an upstairs office of Trans-King Transmissions in Ventura.
Mike and Gene went to work growing membership. The one thing that the independent transmission shops needed to compete with the dealerships was a nationwide warranty. Necessity is the mother of invention, and the ATRA Golden Rule Warranty was born. It proved to be a significant factor in the growth of ATRA and was an effective tool to level the competitive playing field.
It’s believed that there were less than three hundred member shops across the country at that time, but once the Golden Rule Warranty was launched, it only took one year to grow to over 2,000 shops. The value of having a warranty proved to be priceless.
The Golden Rule Warranty got its name and guidelines from Matthew 7:12 in the Bible, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It can’t be stated more simply than that, and it was off and running circa 1975.
The warranty guidelines were simple back then. The shop would sell a job with the warranty typically at a higher price than before. If the transmission failed outside the original shop’s area, and it was at an ATRA member’s shop, they would repair it for a flat $250. ATRA guaranteed that the repairing shop would get paid, and the repairing shop guaranteed to get it done as fast as possible.
It’s interesting to note that, unlike today, the $250 flat warranty cost wasn’t an issue. Mike stated, “99% of the transmissions were domestic, and the costs were about the same no matter where you were in the country.”
During that time, Mike was also approached by the California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) to help them write their minimum rebuild requirements. This also became part of the Golden Rule Warranty minimum rebuilding standards.
Mike began his retirement process, gradually selling his shops between 2000 and 2004. He shared with me that our very own Rodger Bland, GEARS Managing Editor, worked for him at the Camarillo and San Luis Obispo locations and that Dave Wilkes, our ATRA Board of Directors President, also worked for him. Dave eventually bought the Ventura, California, location, which he still owns and operates.
Of course, today, the Golden Rule Warranty is a transmission industry staple. It’s a widely known and respected nationwide inter-shop warranty program for ATRA Rebuilder Members to offer their customers. As an ATRA Rebuilder Member, you can issue various warranties to your customers, providing them peace of mind by knowing their transmissions will be covered from coast to coast through the ATRA Member Network.
To locate an ATRA Member shop, customers can go to www.atra.com/shopfinder. The warranty information is also available for member shops to review. It includes explanations of the Local Limited Warranty and extended-term Golden Rule Warranty options. This information is found at https://members.atra.com/golden-rule-warranty.
Since January 1, 2020, ATRA Rebuilder members may issue a Golden Rule Warranty on remanufactured transmissions purchased from ATRA Approved Remanufacturers. The list of approved remanufactures is at https://members.atra.com/golden-rulewarranty.
The Golden Rule Warranty provides peace of mind by protecting both the shop and the customer. Knowing your customers are covered no matter where they go is the best security blanket anyone can ask for.
As always, I look forward to serving you and our future together.
