Maywood Transmission Inc. has been providing quality car care in Independence, MO area since 1995. We are a family owned business delivering honest and professional automotive repair and auto maintenance services to the people of Independence and surrounding areas. The quality ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certified technicians at Maywood Transmission Inc. employ today’s latest automotive technology and are equipped to handle all major and minor repairs on foreign and domestic vehicles.

Maywood Transmission Inc is a certified Napa Auto Care Center, we are able to provide the benefits of an established national entity while maintaining the personal touch of a family owned business. We understand that your vehicle is a major investment, and that is why we care for each customer’s vehicle as if it were our own.

Please be sure to go to our Shop Specials section for our current promotions and specials. 

Come by and visit our clean and professional shop in Independence, Missouri.

NAPA AutoCare Centers Join Cars 4 Heroes

Bly Named ASA Chairman’s Club Winner

The Automotive Service Association (ASA) has announced                                            

the winner of its 2009 Chairman’s Club Award, the association’s

grassroots member recruitment program. This year’s recipient is

Jeff Bly of Maywood Transmission Inc., an ASA member-business

in Independence, Mo. The Chairman’s Club award honors ASA

members who recruited or provided leads for prospective shops to

become members of the association.

Bly earned more member recruitment points than any other

ASA member between the close of last year’s competition through

Sept. 15, 2009. The accomplishment earns Bly an expense-paid trip to

one of ASA’s two annual trade shows – The Congress of Automotive

Repair and Service (CARS) or the International Autobody Congress

and Exposition (NACE) – both of which will be held at the Mandalay

Bay Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas Nov. 4-7.

“The Chairman’s Club was established to reward members for

their assistance in growing ASA’s membership. The best recruiters

the association has are our members. I am grateful to Jeff for his

assistance in spreading the ASA message to our industry. His

commitment to growing the membership is truly inspiring,” said B.J.

Johnson, vice president of membership services.

“I’m very honored to accept this prestigious award,” said Bly.

“I would like to personally thank Todd Mehalko, ASA membership

recruiter, who taught me that recruiting is mainly about ‘excitement.’

He told me that if you’re truly enthusiastic about a particular feature,

or benefit of ASA membership, then that’s what you should talk

about when you approach a prospective member. As it turns out,

excitement has proved to be contagious in ASA-Missouri/Kansas

(ASA-Mo/Kan). I enjoy being part of an association that is truly

amazing. I look forward to seeing many of my ASA friends at CARS.”

Bly is a full-time technician at Maywood Transmission. In

addition to recruiting members for ASA, he is an active member of

ASA-Mo/Kan who serves as state secretary for the affiliate, is the

ASA-Kansas City chapter president, and also serves as the ASA-Mo/

Kan newsletter chairman.

“Jeff has an incredible enthusiasm for ASA and the automotive

service industry. He is well-respected in the industry and has done

an amazing job growing the Kansas City chapter, as well as inspiring

members to become leaders and get more involved,” said Sheri

Hamilton, AAM, executive director, ASA-Mo/Kan.

The Chairman’s Club program is based on a point system: five

or more points are earned for each new member a current member

recruits. The member with the most points by a specified date is

awarded the grand prize – an expense-paid trip to ASA’s CARS

or NACE events.

The ASA Chairman’s Club is an integral part of ASA’s

membership recruitment program. All regular members in

good standing are invited to participate in the Chairman’s Club

program. Individuals who participated in the 2009 program will

receive a certificate of appreciation from ASA for their recruitment

efforts. The next grand prize recipient will be determined Aug.

15, 2010. Watch for upcoming announcements from ASA to

learn more about the next Chairman’s Club program, prizes and

opportunities for bonus points. For more information, call the

ASA membership department at (800) 272-7467, ext. 295; or visit

the ASA Community section in the Members Only area of the

ASA Web site, www.ASAshop.org.

To encourage member recruitment at CARS and NACE this

year, ASA is announcing an exciting new contest – the Chairman’s

Club Challenge! For every prospective member that a current

member and Automotive Service and Repair Week (ASRW)

attendee signs up during NACE and CARS, that member’s name

and the name of the newly recruited member will go into a

drawing for a $100 VISA gift card each. (Essentially, ASA will give

away two $100 gift cards – one to the referred new member and

one to the regular member in good standing who recruited him

or her.) For more details, see the October issue of AutoInc. or visit

ASA booth N8601 during the event.

About NAPA AutoCare

As a NAPA AutoCare Center, we follow a strict Code of Ethics so customers will know up front what to expect. As part of this code, we pledge to:

Our National NAPA AutoCare Warranty
We currently offer the NAPA AutoCare "Peace of Mind" Warranty, providing our customers with 12-months/12,000-miles of worry-free protection on qualifying parts and labor. Wherever you may travel, our warranty is honored at over 13,000 NAPA AutoCare locations across the country.

Visit our National Warranty page or call us to learn more about NAPA's "Peace of Mind" Warranty.

Independence, Mo.-There is a lot in the name of a business. Stan Vollenweider, owner of Maywood Transmission, knows this firsthand. In 1995, he purchased Englewood Transmission--a transmission rebuilding shop that he said was hurting financially.

After changing the name to Maywood Transmission and engaging in honest business practices and real customer service, Vollenweider said he was able to turn the business around.

By 2000, though, he said he decided that hiring good rebuilders was hard to do, and the technology on transmissions had grown too much, so he got out of the rebuilding business and started focusing his business on general automotive repairs.

"The transition from Englewood to Maywood was difficult, but it has even been harder to get past the name Maywood Transmission after we started offering other repairs because people think that transmissions is all we do," said Vollenweider, who added that only 40 percent of his business now is transmission-related, while the other 60 percent is made up of automotive repair services ranging from computer diagnostics to air conditioning.

Maywood still services transmission, he said, but now the shop buys transmissions from remanufacturers such as Certified Transmission and Jasper, which offer a much better warranty.

Vollenweider said although his business model changed, he stayed with the name Maywood Transmission. Rather than change the name, he became a NAPA Auto Care Center--a decision he said helped him get past the transmission stigma and offered many programs that have been beneficial to his business.

"The NAPA Auto Care program has been a blessing to us," he said. "It is an excellent program with excellent people that stand behind you, and I absolutely couldn't ask for anything better."

Vollenweider said another turning point in business was when he hired Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Master Technician and current Automotive Service Association of Missouri/Kansas (ASA-MO/KAN) city chapter president, Jeff Bly.

Five years ago, when Vollenweider hired Bly, he said Bly turned the whole business upside down.

"Jeff really brought us into the next century," he said. "When I hired Jeff, I didn't even have a computer. I fought getting a computer because I am just not a computer-type person, but it really was relatively easy to learn. It is really so much better now, and it is really something you have to do. I don't know what somebody would do without it."

Computers are now a vital component in the office and the shop at Maywood Transmission, he said.

Through Mitchell 1 Manager software, Vollenweider said he manages all his invoices, customer history, and financial reports. He also orders his parts through the program. Through online parts ordering with NAPA, he even receives a quarterly check as part of an earn-back program, he said.

Bly added that he uses two laptop computers in the shop, along with a variety of diagnostic scanners including a Matco Insight, Vetronix Tech 2, OTC Genisys, Snap-on Vantage Pro and Solus, and an Ease Diagnostics wireless vehicle interface. For diagnostic information, he said he uses Mitchell 1 OnDemand, iATN, and Identifix.  

Vollenweider said Bly's diagnostic abilities have brought a new customer to Maywood Transmission--other shops. He currently works on vehicles from at least nine shops that do not have the necessary tools and/or knowledge to diagnose many modern problems.

"There are so many guys that refuse to go to schooling because they don't want to take the time to go, but Jeff Bly is just eager," he said. "He will go anytime I will pay for it, and I send him to anything he wants to go to. My philosophy is that you are going to stay in front or you are going to be behind."

Bly said that for the last three years, he averages 12 hours of training each month from groups such as SAE International and O'Reilly. He said that three years ago, during a training course at Vision, his attitude toward being a diagnostic technician was changed by a CARQUEST CTI instructor.

"The class taught me how to make money doing computer diagnostics," he said. "I learned that it is about being organized and cataloging my repairs."

Vollenweider said his other technician, Jeff Holland, is also ASE certified and came on board shortly after he opened in 1995. Holland focuses primarily on transmissions and rear ends. Since 2000, Holland said he has rebuilt more than 200 rear differentials on everything from drag cars to four wheelers.

Vollenweider said he is extremely pleased with his technicians and also with the fact that he recently paid his building off. He said he is considering an expansion to the business into the downstairs level, which has another 2,800 square feet of space.
If the growth occurs, he said he would add an alignment machine, along with a tire changer and balancer.