Turners to buy digital vehicle repair platform My Auto Shop

The 'Tina from Turners' advertising campaign. The value of Turner's new investment in My Auto Shop was not disclosed.

By Nona Pelletier of RNZ

Car dealer Turners has filled a gap in its after-sales product line-up with a deal to buy half of digital vehicle repair platform My Auto Shop.

The value of the investment was not disclosed, but involved Trade Me and the My Auto Shop founders selling down part of their stakes, as well as a capital injection by Turners.

“Vehicle servicing and repairs is a $3 billion business in NZ and has been a gap in the Turners offering,” Turners chief executive Todd Hunter said.

“The investment was a great opportunity for Turners to broaden its relationship with customers.”

My Auto Shop is a vehicle repair platform with more than 300 Motor Trade Association-approved repairers as well as a mobile repair offering from a fleet of My Auto Shop-branded mobile mechanics.

Hunter said My Auto Shop services would be offered to Turners’ 200,000-plus customers across Turners Cars, Autosure Insurance and Oxford Finance.

He said one part of the business connected customers to MTA repairers and the other was a fleet of Auto Shop-branded mobile mechanics, which would be expanded and operated by Turners.

“We are into this as of today. We’re executing our plan,” Hunter said.

Turners chair Grant Baker said the investment fitted in with plans to consolidate and scale across the auto business sector.

“My Auto Shop’s vision of making vehicle repairs easier is already well established, the business has demonstrated it can deliver, and partnering with Turners will unlock substantial growth upside.”

My Auto Shop was founded in January 2020 by Andy Bowie, a former general manager of Uber and Uber Eats, and Richard Wafer, the former COO for My Food Bag.

- RNZ