"You start to anticipate problems after a while," he said. "All I've ever done is work on transmissions, so I've become pretty good at troubleshooting.  I get a gut feeling, and I'm right most of the time.  In many instances, I can tell what's wrong just by the types of questions the customers ask me."

Leyva, 49, said he graduated from Arizona Automotive Institute in 1977 and worked for a couple of transmission shops in the San Jose area for 11 years before opening Mike's in 1988.  He runs the shop with his wife, Patty, who operates the front office, he said.  It's a small crew, but he said that's exactly the way he wants it.

"I've had some great employees here," he said.  "I trained many of them and always paid them well.  But over the past few years, I haven't been able to find the right fit.  I've hired three techs within the last five years, and not one could cut the mustard. 

 
"There are definitely some advantages to being a sole owner/operator without employees.  Now I don't have to spend my time going over someone else's work because I'm doing it all myself."

Since going solo, Leyva said he has had zero comebacks.

"We take care of our customers," he said.  "We do quality work, and then we back it 100 percent.  In many cases, I will fix things under warranty even if they're due to abuse and not actually covered."

 
To improve his business and manage it properly, Leyva said he started taking a wide range of classes and underwent rigorous training to learn how to run his business right.

"I owe a lot to the people at Management Success," he said. "They helped save my shop.  I was getting frustrated because I saw inefficiency within my own system, and they helped me turn it around.  I've also taken classes along the way to learn more about hydraulics, electronics, and mechanics because I need to know them all."

Mike's operates out of a 2,200-square-foot facility containing three bays.  The entire shop is immaculate from top to bottom, a habit Leyva said he picked up from the owner of P&M Transmissions, the first transmission shop he worked for more than 29 years ago.

"We've come a long way in changing our image in this industry," he said.  "First, they called us grease monkeys, then it was mechanics, and now we're technicians," he said.  "I like to work in a clean environment and I'm fairly fanatical about it.  I guess I'm what you would call a 'neat freak.'  I sell a lot of jobs on the cleanliness of my shop and the fact that I run a spotless shop." 
Leyva calls himself a drivetrain specialist and said he works on anything from the motor back. 

"Transmissions, trans-axles, transfer cases, differentials, drivelines, and anything associated with them--we do it all," he said.  "Eighty percent of our business is rebuilding and the rest of it is doing small minor transmission repairs and routine drivetrain maintenance.  We also do a lot of commercial fleet work, which can be very profitable."

Leyva said he prefers to do quality work, as opposed to going after low-price, discounted jobs using inferior parts.

"Some shops will give you the best price, but you're not getting the best product, and if it soon fails down the road, you didn't get a good deal," Leyva said. 

 
"I give my customers a quality transmission.  If they don't abuse it, they can rely on it for a long time.  Ten years later when it's still going strong, they'll realize they got a better deal from me even though they may have paid a little more."

 
Leyva said he values his association with the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association (ATRA) and has been an ATRA warranty shop since 1998.

"ATRA offers us credibility," he said.  "Their national warranty is solid, and they will honor it at any ATRA shop in and out of the country."

Every rebuilt transmission at Mike's comes with a standard one-year/12,000-mile warranty, Leyva said.  For an additional cost, ATRA offers up to a three-year/36,000-mile warranty, he said.

Leyva said that always being up front and honest with his customers is vital and one reason why he's been able to establish a solid reputation throughout the years.

"Some shops out there will give the customer a low price, but then once they get the tranny out, the price goes up," he said.  "Once a shop has a customer's transmission out of the vehicle, they're pretty much at their mercy."

Leyva said he gives his customers a "worst-case scenario" price after inspecting their transmission at no cost.

"People like the fact that I tell them how much it will cost at the high end because they want to anticipate the most it can cost," he said.  "Only around 25 percent of the jobs we do come in at the maximum price, but I feel an obligation to give the customer all the facts.  They appreciate the honesty and that's why we get a lot of referral and return business, I believe."

Leyva said the free initial inspection and tests he offers is uncommon in the transmission-rebuilding industry but is worth it to him.

"I will do an external troubleshooting inspection for free," he said.  "This includes a test drive, scanning the computer and running a data stream, and running hydraulic pressure tests.  Then, if I need to pull it, I get permission from the customer and explore further."

Mike's orders all of its transmission parts from Transtar Industries and local dealerships, Leyva said.

"Transtar is a great vendor to work with because they carry a wide range of transmission parts and have a warehouse right here in town, so it's convenient," he said. 

 
"We get the majority of our parts from them, although we have to get OE parts from the dealers for some of the newer model cars, like with Lexus and Inifiniti."