AAMCO to Open Additional Auto Service Centers

The Sacramento Business Journal - The trend of drivers holding onto their vehicles longer is prompting AAMCO to expand locally and nationally.

The Horsham, Pa.-based franchiser of automotive service centers wants to open five more AAMCO centers in this region over the next year to 18 months.

That's according to Curt Hapward, AAMCO vice president of franchise sales and development. He's looking for franchisees to open two centers each in Sacramento and El Dorado counties and one center in Placer County.

AAMCO has about 900 centers nationwide, including nine locations in the four-county region.

Last year the company opened 28 new U.S. centers, of which one was in California. So far this year AAMCO has added nine new locations nationwide, with no new stores yet in the Golden State.

But with California's large geography and population, the state is a big focus for expansion.

There's increasing demand for AAMCO's car service centers, Hapward said, because people are keeping their vehicles longer. And that means more repairs and maintenance.

By next year, the United States should have 268 million light vehicles in operation, up from 256 million in 2010 and 234 million in 2006, according to the Lang Aftermarket report. The average age of vehicles on the road is expected to reach 11.1 years in 2012, compared to 10.8 in 2010 and 10 years of age in 2006.

While there are more older vehicles on the road, there are fewer bays at which those cars can get serviced. The projected number of vehicles per service bay nationally in 2012 is 226, up from an average of 217 in 2010 and 193 in 2006.

The after-market industry is a $200 billion business.

AAMCO franchises invest $232,000 to $299,000 to open a store.

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