Alta Mere Franchisee of the Year: Randy Durham Many people know the meaning of the phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  When something is broke, however, it is important to recognize when a change needs to be made and the best way to go about it. Randy Durham knows how to make these necessary decisions to improve his store’s bottom line.  That is part of the reason he was named Alta Mere’s Franchisee of the Year for the third straight year and fourth time overall. “I’m very proud to have won this award, especially three years in a row,” said Durham. “I’m very humbled. There are some very good Alta Mere shops and franchise owners out there. I really appreciate my peers who voted for me, and I’m very honored to have won this award.” A little backstory. Durham has owned an Alta Mere store in Plano ... read more

October is Fall Car Care Month As the calendar turns to October and the start of fall is upon us, now is a good reminder that October is Fall Car Care Month. October is a good time to assess the condition of your car and determine if it needs maintenance.  It has been through a long summer with continued exposure to the hot weather, and maybe a long trip or two mixed in.  Now is the time to take your car in for any work that may need to be done before the winter weather arrives.  It feels a long way off right now, but the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting that two-thirds of the country will encounter a colder-than-normal season. So with that in mind, October’s a good time to get your car inspected at Milex Complete Auto Care or ... read more

Five Ways You Could Accidentally, Inadvertently Damage Your Car Routine maintenance or some standard problems with your car will lead you to bring in your vehicle at your local Milex Complete Auto Care or Mr. Transmission shop.  However, there will sometimes be some unexpected circumstances that require service that can be preventable. With our busy daily lives, we don’t always think about simple things we may be doing that can hurt the performance of our car.  Here are a few things to keep in mind and prevent an unnecessary trip into the shop for service. Driving near empty. Many people will wait to fill up on gas to when the needle hovers around “E,”. Maybe that is the sign that it is time for a refill.  Other times you may be too busy to stop, or the price at a certain station may be a few cents high.  Aside from taking ... read more

Be Prepared: 9 Must-Haves in Your Car In Case There’s an Emergency Nobody likes to think about it, but things can go wrong when you’re driving. Sometimes very wrong. One reason we often tell people to bring their vehicles in for regular maintenance is that things are less likely to go wrong if you take care of your car. You’re far less likely to have a flat tire or to see your car engine suddenly go up in smoke if you’re bringing in your car to Mr. Transmission Milex Complete Auto Care for regular oil changes. After all, it’s called Milex Complete Auto Care for a reason. Fluids are topped off, and if there’s a filter that needs changed, or the tires are looking anemic, we’ll let you know.  You also should stop by Alta Mere, the Automotive Outfitters, which have a lot of ... read more

Ways to Keep Your Parked Car Safe July is National Vehicle Theft Prevention Month, a timely reminder about an unpleasant fact that it could happen to any of us. The next time you wander a parking lot wondering where your car is, there will be a chance that you didn’t misplace it. Somebody may have stolen it. According to the FBI’s most recent figures, in 2017, there were 773,139 thefts of motor vehicles. Approximately 75 percent of those thefts were automobiles, so some of those 25 percent were trucks and sport utility vehicles but also things like motor scooters and snowmobiles. Collectively, almost $6 billion in vehicles were stolen that year. Fortunately, there are steps you can take that might help your car stay protected from auto thieves. So in the interest of keeping ... read more

There are a lot of popular myths in all walks of life.  Myths can be fun to believe but they can be problematic, too. You can imagine how troubling car myths are. If you believe in a car myth, you could end up draining your bank account and wind up stranded along a roadside. Here are four car maintenance myths, though we guarantee that there are many more out there. See if you’ve fallen for any of them. Car myth: Your car’s regular maintenance must be performed at your dealership – if you want to keep your factory warranty valid. The truth: The reality is that your car’s regular maintenance does not have to be done at your dealership. Now, you may want to keep your receipts or ask your Milex Complete Auto Care mechanic for your car’s maintenance records if something goes wrong.  You can take your car into the dealership for a problem in order to prove that you have been getting your regular main ... read more

If you are a business owner and are thinking about ways in which you can promote your brand, have you considered custom wrapping your company car? If you have a company car that you only use for your business, you’ll probably see the merits right away. When driving around town, parking in a lot or meeting with a potential customer, people will instantly notice your business name, logo and contact information.  It’s a no-brainer. Other people may be interested in wrapping their personal vehicles with a specific look or design simply to enhance the appearance of their car.  Professionals with Alta Mere The Automotive Outfitters can handle either option and help with whatever suits your needs. Regardless of your company’s contact information, logo or colors, Alta Mere can handle creating a custom wrap.  Same goes for your design and style preference or section(s) of the car to be wrapped.  This proce ... read more

Most business owners want to grow a business. The question is – how to grow it? After all, there are a lot of ways to grow a business in the wrong way. You can expand your business to the point that you’re spending more on the infrastructure or inventory than you’re receiving in revenue. You can spread yourself too thin, where your business is doing too many different things and none of them very well. There’s a reason the term growing pains is often thrown around. Growing can involve a fair amount of agony. That’s why we’re big fans of co-branding, the concept of having a business that has two or three or more brands under one roof. In other words, if you run a Milex Complete Auto Care, a full-service auto repair shop, you might also be the owner of a Mr. Transmission, which does transmission and clutch repair. It’s a way of growing and avoiding growing ... read more