The Franklin Automotive Group broke ground Monday on its new collision center, which will be built behind the Franklin Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership at the corner of Northside Drive and the Bypass.

The new Franklin Collision Center will be 30,000 square feet and will be able to process up to 266 cars per month through the shop when it opens, Bill McFarlin, the Collision Center director for Franklin Motor Group, told the group gathered at the ground-breaking.

That’s up from processing 59 vehicles per month, which is all the current 7,000-square-foot facility can handle.

“For the past few years if someone was in an accident and needed their vehicle repaired there could be a waiting list to get into the shop from 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks,” McFarlin said. “Due to the size of our facility, we were limited to the amount of technicians we were able to employ. To say the least, we have out grown this facility.”

When it opens in the first quarter of 2025, McFarlin said the new collision center would be able to accommodate up to nine body technicians, compared to one now, a paint team with two paint technicians and four prep technicians, compared to just one total now. 

Able to house only one paint booth now, the new facility will have two downdraft paint booths, with room to add a third booth.

The new collision center “means when your car has been in an accident you can leave it at the shop and not wait two months for the repairs to start,” McFarlin said.