Look around the city of Danville, and you will find buildings that have endured the test of time such as the U.S. Federal Building and Courthouse dating back to 1911 and the Vermillion County Museum built in 1855. The building that now houses Wilson’s Complete Auto & Transmission has also seen its fair share of transformations over the decades. Tommy Howard and his wife, Dani, took over as owners of Wilson’s in January 2022.

“Our building has been here since probably the 1920s,” shared Dani. “At one time, it was a slaughterhouse, and I also think it was a machine shop at one time.”

Wilson’s was founded at a small Danville gas station in 1955 by Howard Wilson. As demand grew, Howard moved his shop to its current, and larger facility just a few years later. Wilson’s has been helping this community keep their cars running for 70 years and still counting.

“Most people cannot fix their own car,” noted Tommy. “They come to a mechanic like me, like Wilson’s, and we take care of their problems and try to make it as easy as possible.”

“Wilson’s Complete Auto & Transmission is family-oriented,” Dani emphasized. “We fix all makes and models of cars.”

Keeping the doors open

Tommy was already a mechanic at Wilson’s when he learned that Jim Wilson, son of the shop’s founder, Howard, was considering retirement.

“The old owner said he was going to shut down the business,” recalled Tommy. “I was thinking, ‘I’m too old to find a new job.’ So, I thought about it. I talked to my wife, and she said, ‘No!’ But we bought it anyway, just because I’m too old to find another job and this is what I love, and I’m used to this building.”

Indeed, Dani was not in favor of buying the business from the beginning.

“Tommy came to me and said he wanted to buy the business,” admitted Dani with sheepish a laugh. “I said, ‘Absolutely not! I have enough on my plate as it is. We’ve got other plans. Although, I didn’t know what the other plans were. But I knew I didn’t want these plans. Tommy would not take no for an answer and he said, ‘We are going to buy it.’”

Dani had spent years in retail management, overseeing both small shops and large stores. She knew the challenges of running a business.

“I was a retail manager in a few small places and a few large places and I knew that was a lot of a lot of hard work,” said Dani recalling her retail jobs. “I saw what bosses went through. From that retail experience. I knew that this was going to be a challenge.”

But Tommy’s passion was undeniable. He had been a mechanic since he was ten years old, tinkering with engines and falling in love with the craft.

“I remember a 1968 Chevy two-door,” reminisced Tommy with smile. “That’s the first car I worked on. It was my dad’s race car. I was rebuilding the carburetor. It was awesome learning how to rebuild a carburetor at ten years old.”

While Tommy had decades of mechanical expertise, his wife had no experience fixing cars.

“Before this, I had zero garage experience,” Dani admitted. “I knew what a transmission and engine were and a few other parts, but not much more. Most of what I do here is behind the scenes. But I have been in the garage working with the guys when they need help.”

For Tommy, the joy of being a mechanic has always been about helping people.

“Why do I love being a mechanic? Because I help people keep their vehicles running,” said Tommy with pride in his voice. We help keep them from spending money on a new vehicle. People fall in love with their cars, and I love cars.”

Rolling along

Although Dani Howard first hesitated about buying Wilson’s Complete Auto & Transmission, she said she understood exactly what she was signing up for with the purchase of the shop. There would be long hours and sleepless nights.

“It’s a lot of work,” explained Dani, “I knew that we would be up late nights, early mornings, a lot of weekends would be here at the shop. Even if we weren’t open, I knew we would be here doing work. Sometimes, we’re here 70 hours a week and on the weekends and late nights, but it has been worth it.”

For someone who started with no mechanical experience, Dani stated she has come a long way.

“I never thought I would help pull out a gas tank, bleed brakes or go up in a car while it’s on the lift and start the engine,” said Dani with palpable pride. “And that was very scary.”

One of the hardest parts of the job is breaking difficult news to customers.

“We know sometimes in this business we have to give people bad news,” Tommy said. “And I have given my share of bad news. ‘You need a transmission. You need an engine. You need a transmission and an engine!'”

“You did that this morning,” interjected Dani.

“There’s a lot of times you have to give bad news,” continued Tommy. “But, we try to find the best prices and the best parts and go from there.

“The work we do helps people get to the grocery store, the hospital, the bank,” Tommy reflected. “I’m very thankful we are mechanics and we can help people.”

The typical Wilson’s customer experience reflects their warm and friendly approach to helping their people fix anything they need to keep their cars running.

“We want to keep it family-oriented,” Tommy explained. “So, everybody that walks in the front door feels like family.”

“Comfortable,” chimed in Dani.

“Comfortable to get their cars fixed the right way, the first time,” added Tommy.

Cleanliness and organization are sacred at Wilson’s.

“It’s real important to keep this place clean,” Tommy emphasized. “Because if you don’t know where your tools are, you can’t work on a car. Everything is where it’s supposed to be. Clean and organized helps get the car done.

“Our customers also like it clean because when they have to come in and wait for an oil change, they don’t want to sit in dirt,” said Tommy “We take pride in being a clean shop. We have steering wheel covers. We have floor mats. We try to keep it clean as we can for our customers and they really appreciate that.”

As Tommy described to us how he takes on every mechanical challenge, confidence in his ability shows.

“Most problems, we can fix anything,” said Tommy. “It might take us a few hours to figure out, but we are thorough and get it right the first time.

“I know when people drop off their vehicle for me to diagnose, they’re putting a lot of trust in us. I will treat their car like my own car. That’s how we are around Wilson’s.”

Dani explains to us their commitment to honest work sometimes leads to unexpected outcomes that reassure their customers.

“The other day, a customer came in and thought they needed all new brakes. They thought it was going to be several hundred dollars, and didn’t have it,” explained Dani. “Tommy brought the car in and found out all it had was dust on the rotors. He cleaned all that off, and told the customer it’s free! The customer was very happy about that.”

“It is a huge responsibility to win people’s trust,” emphasized Tommy. “It’s very important to us.”

Wilson’s is not just about Dani and Tommy Howard. They have a team of dependable mechanics taking care of customers.

“We have three mechanics here. Plus, myself and Dani. And Dani is not just in the office, she is the office,” stressed Tommy with a laugh.

“Good mechanics are really hard to find. Thank goodness Dani and I have found three good mechanics and they’re staying with us, said Tommy with relief in his voice. “And I hope for a long time. They have been schooled. They’ve been mechanics for most of their lives, and they’re doing great here.”

The realities of ownership have been more demanding than Tommy anticipated.

“I didn’t think the ownership part, working here was going to be what it is,” confessed Tommy with a smile. “Finding good mechanics, doing the paperwork. It’s a lot of headaches. But I love it. It’s my life, and I would do it all over again.”

For Tommy and Dani Howard, this is not always an easy way to make a living, but they’d have it no other way.

“I want people in Illinois to know that being a retailer and running an auto repair shop is hard,” said Tommy. “You put in a lot of hours, and it is great at the end.

“It’s not just all about money and selling. We’re about family and doing the right thing.”

And for someone who did not want become a shop owner at first, Dani summed their new life perfectly. “The journey has been wonderful.”