Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanner Wilkens.
Hi Tanner, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
At 14 years old I bought my first car. It was a hand-me-down from my mother, 1987 Honda Accord. I enjoyed the car until I started learning more about accessories, modification, etc. I sold the Honda Accord to then take my first loan and bought a 1992 Chevy S10 pickup truck. This turned into a project. Local neighbors, friends all put our minds together and made it a lowrider with custom interior, custom wheels, stereo system.. I enjoyed every minute of it. Multiple car shows, parades. I was pretty proud of it. I kept the truck for a couple years. At this point I got introduced to my now stepfather who was a car dealer. Right when I graduated high school I was full speed ahead at the car auctions. Sold the lowrider truck to start buying and selling cars.
My stepfather opened a used car dealership back in the 1980’s. Him and my mother got married in the early 2000’s. They combined forces and opened up Kwik Kar Automotive here in the northland. They open the doors in 2004. At this time I was finishing up college. In 2005 I started working at a Ford dealership in Iowa detailing cars. I enjoyed the work but knew I wanted more. A few years passed and I was ready to come and help the family operation.
I started at Kwik Kar in 2009. At the time we were more of a oil change, light maintenance shop. Within a year I was back at the auction weekly buying and selling. Then the work poured in. We installed four new car lifts, alignment machine. We went from one technician and a couple light technicians to present day two full-time technicians, three full-time service writers, three part-time light technicians. In 2012 my brother Randy Wilkens came on board. He comes from a marketing degree background with corporate sales experience. We teamed up and were able to tackle more. The automotive field is a lot to be learned with experience. It’s hard to open a book and learn how to do it. It’s a lot of hands-on and experience. There are a number of certifications that I do keep current on to make sure I’m on top of the industry.
The days now are long the weeks go by extremely fast. We are considered the local family Automotive shop. We have no corporate affiliation. No more advertising due to word of mouth. Even though we are open Monday through Friday 8:00 to 6:00 p.m. I can be found working at the shop sometimes 7 days a week.
I do truly enjoy coming to work everyday. It is my hobby and I have never found it to be really considered a job. Working with my brother and for family couldn’t be more rewarding.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting a business from the ground up is never smooth road. Growing pains of expanding, learning new types of repairs with new makes/ models is constantly an issue in the automotive world. Unlike a dealership, we service all brands foreign and domestic.
As of 2025 we have now added our 5th automotive lift to work on vehicles. We started off with one in 2004. We have transformed from a quick lube shop now to an all-out automotive repair shop.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Kwik Kar Automotive ?
We are a family operated business with five family members currently handling the operations on a day-to-day basis. We have no corporate relations.
We specialize in personally knowing the customer by name. A lot of customers are friends, family, neighbors.
We always have a shop cat as a pet living at our store. I feel it brings more of the family feel to customers.
We use all sorts of brands, suppliers that are local. We tend to do the most business with the ones that are family owned and stand behind their product. Through the years we have figured out what products work and which ones are better cost effective etc. This gives the customer the best product for the best price.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson we have learned through the journey I would say to know that,”it will be there in the morning”. We all tend to work a little more hours than we should try to figure out issues/repairs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kckwikkar.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kckwikkar/
