For 35 years, Bransford Truck & Auto Repair evolved as new car technologies emerged.
The Bransford brothers opened in the age of the carburetor and hand-cranked windows. They entered 2020 with trainings on the latest computer diagnostics.
“Cars have been changing since we have been building them,” owner Gil Bransford said.
Earlier this month, he shut down the five-bay repair shop for good at Cerrillos Road and Osage Avenue after selling the property to neighboring Jiffy Lube.
Gil and his brother, Harold Bransford, ran the shop themselves until Harold stepped aside at the end of last year. Gil Bransford brought in another mechanic for part of this year but has been working alone at Bransford Truck & Auto for the last couple of months.
He finally decided to sell to Jiffy Lube, he said, which had been interested in the space for two years.
“I’m going on 70 years old,” Gil Bransford said.
The Bransford brothers built the shop in 1985.
“We did everything, just the two us,” Gil Bransford recalled. “We kept it simple.”
Though the shop is shut down, he isn’t done with cars.
“I’m going to stay busy fixing our own cars,” he said.
