Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, near Tulsa, is home to Lifetime Transmissions. The company’s founder and owner, Wayne Scherado opened its doors as Superior Automotive and Transmissions in 1983. Since those beginnings, under Wayne’s leadership together with the dedicated support of his family, the company has grown into one of the transmission industry’s most formidable family-owned and operated businesses.
Version one of the company was a full-service automotive shop that also performed transmission services and installed replacement units. Wayne quickly became frustrated with the inconsistent quality of the transmissions he purchased for the shop. So, he took matters into his own hands. Taking lessons he’d learned from his auto parts business, Wayne focused on providing top quality workmanship, and also offered longer warranties than his competitors to gain an edge in the market. In 2004 Wayne outmaneuvered the competition again by introducing the Lifetime Warranty and changed the name of the business to go along with it.
When I asked Wayne about the risk of a lifetime warranty, he laughed out loud as he recalled, “They all told me that I’d be out of business in two years because of my Lifetime Warranty, but I knew better. I was already offering a 2-year warranty with very few warranty claims; so why would I be out of business in two years? I was confident that if the transmissions were the highest quality possible, were not abused, and were regularly serviced and maintained, they’d last many more years. I was willing to take the risk, and that risk has paid off big time for us as well as for our customers.”
Wayne added, “We chose a Lifetime Warranty instead of sticking with the industry standard, not because most consumers keep their vehicles the rest of their life, but because the industry standard isn’t high enough. The quality of transmission rebuilding should be higher, and someone needed to raise the bar. If a competitor doesn’t care for Lifetime Transmissions, it’s not because we’re a bad company; it’s because we’ve now created a standard that the consumers can see, and some companies don’t want to reach that high.”
THE LIFETIME WARRANTY
If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering about the terms and conditions of the Lifetime Warranty. There has to be a catch; right? To my surprise, there are no catches. I was also surprised to learn that it’s not a premium add-on to hike the price.
All transmissions that Lifetime remanufactures and installs come with the Lifetime Warranty. They issue it on all vehicle types, including 4X4s, RVs, Diesels, and fleets.
The warranty provides nationwide protection on all parts and labor for repairs and, when needed, for complete replacements for as long as the customer owns the vehicle.
To maintain the warranty in force, the customer must provide proof that they’ve had the transmission flushed every 30,000 miles using synthetic fluid. Other than that, as long as the transmission was not abused, it’s a no-hassle warranty.
Wayne explained that they go out of their way to educate each customer on how to take care of their transmissions. He says, “We’re in the business of keeping our customers on the road, and we teach them how to help us do that.”
A FAMILY OPERATION
While many shop owners have sons or sons-in-law who have moved into positions in family-owned automotive shops, two of Wayne’s four daughters have joined the Lifetime Transmissions team. His oldest daughter, Tiffany, is now part owner and Office Manager. She’s been instrumental in the transformation of the company’s image, online presence, and the implementation of its growth-through-expansion strategy.
Wayne’s youngest daughter, Valerie, performed the role of service advisor for several years, but she found that she enjoyed the parts end of the business and learning about how transmissions worked more than the upfront role. In 2018, Wayne hired a service advisor and moved Valerie into her current position, running the parts room. Being a girl, she was surprised that she’d end up enjoying the automotive industry. Valerie says, “As time went on, I felt as if this is where I was meant to be. I jumped from job to job never really finding that thing that made me happy. After working with my father for a few years, this place grew on me, and I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.”
FUTURE VISION
The company’s leadership team wants to change the image of the industry. They want to be the catalyst in trying to “rebirth” the industry with a new inclusive attitude and greater cooperation between shops for the betterment of the industry as a whole.
Tiffany describes it in her own words, “We want to change the attitude of the current transmission industry, which is very cold and competitive. We don’t want to grow just to become a monopoly of transmission facilities by taking over and pushing out the next guy. We want to grow by connecting and teaching facilities, including the auto shops that don’t specialize but are installing units, that working together improves business for everyone. Shops sharing knowledge and working together helps them provide better service to their customers. That’s what should be a service facilities main focus, the customer, not the competitor.”
TAKING ACTION
Lifetime Transmissions isn’t all talk and no action. Tiffany says that her dad came home from last year’s POWERTRAIN EXPO with a list of 8 things he wanted to implement. They’ve done all of them, and this year he’s returning to the EXPO, this time with his leadership team to get more ideas.
Tiffany is also spearheading an Automotive Awareness Program in the Tulsa region, which will occur in April of 2020. They’ve named the event “AutoCon: Automotive Industry Conference.” It’s a public event where they’ll have food and fun as well as things to expose attendees to careers in the automotive industry. The objective is to teach the public about the industry, share knowledge, and recruit students and professionals. They’ve already captured the interest and endorsements of local high schools, Tulsa Tech, AAA, as well as some local shops and dealerships. There’ll be an emphasis on opportunities for women in the industry, which reinforces Wayne’s belief that “women can play a crucial role in the automotive world” – it’s not just for men.
FAMILY TO FAMILY PHILOSOPHY
Wayne closed our interview with this comment, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from decades of experience in the automotive industry, it’s how family always comes first. Family is what we all want to get home to, and we rely on our vehicles to get us there safely. Today, we operate with the same values that our family prioritizes: honesty, integrity, and pride. We’re proud of our work and our commitment to quality. We always do what’s best for our customers. Our customers leave with the last transmission their vehicle will ever need, but that doesn’t mean our customer relationships end there. To us, our customers are family – Lifetime Warranty, Lifetime Relationships, Lifetime Transmissions.
