Collision Express's roots date back to March of 1982 when Carl M. Cimino founded the company, then known as Cimino's Complete Auto Center, Inc.  We began in a small rented shop in Northeast Philadelphia with a crew of one (Mr. Cimino) and a cardboard box and an empty 5 gallon bucket as  office furniture.  Within two years, the company had grown to four employees - Mr. Cimino, a body technician, a painter and a full service mechanic.  There was even a real desk and chairs in the office!

But the growing company was bulging at the seams in the tiny building, so Mr. Cimino began a search for a larger facility with a better location.  After months of looking for the ideal spot, Mr. Cimino happened upon an old friend who had just decided to sell his prime automotive location in Feasterville, Pennsylvania - a small town in Bucks County where Mr. Cimino grew up.  With a little luck and a lot of help from friends, the purchase was made and in October of 1984, Cimino's Complete Auto Center moved into their new home at 281 Philmont Avenue.  At that time, the company was to occupy two-thirds of the building as there was a mechanic renting the other portion of the premises.

As the company continued to grow, it became inevitable that the tenant leave so that the entire facility could be used by the crew of seven.  Even after expanding to utilize the entire shop, the staff could barely keep up with the growing number of referrals and repeat customers coming in.  At times customers would wait up to two months to get their cars repaired at Cimino's!  Their reputation for quality work and ethical practices was spreading throughout the insurance community, too.

By 1990, as the focus of the company had moved to specializing in insurance work and late model collision repairs, the company's name was changed to Cimino's Collision Center.  The company continues to provide light mechanical services such as oil changes and PA State Inspection as a convenience for our customers while their vehicles are in for collision repair.  During the next ten years, while affiliated with a conversion franchise for auto body shops based in Kansas City, Missouri, we continued to grow and concentrate on technical training as the automobile became more and more complex - containing thousands of dollars worth of electronics and supplemental restraint systems.  We also invested a considerable amount of time and money in management and business training to keep up with the rapidly changing financial climate of the collision repair industry.

In November of 1997, our collision repair business doubled in size as we acquired Blue Hen Auto Body in Dover, Delaware.  This was a tremendous opportunity to grow our company as Blue Hen was a well-established shop (founded in 1983), had an excellent location on the major highway through the state capital, and was well known for its quality workmanship.  The office is large, well organized and bright while the shop is equipped with the latest tools and equipment and professionally designed to streamline the repair process.

Moving ahead, we purchased Brookside Collision in Brownstown, Pennsylvania in July of 1999 and, like Blue Hen, Brookside is a large, well-equipped shop with almost unlimited potential.  It is located in a growing suburb of Lancaster County just off several major highways.  The company produced quality work and was founded in 1992.

By October of 1999, we decided it was time to leave the franchise and build a local identity through our own small network of three stores.  We sought out a professional advertising agency that could develop a name and logo that would capture the spirit and philosophy of our company.  We were getting very frustrated because none of the suggested names really hit home, until one night while Carl and Chuck Cimino were bouncing names back and forth, Chuck landed on it -- Collision Express!  Wow, were we excited!  We knew right away that our search was over.  Once we completed a name search through the US Patent and Trademark Office and found no other "Collision Express" name, we set out to develop a tag line and logo.  Our advertising agency landed on a tag line almost immediately.  It embodies our very mission -- to provide high quality collision repair work in a timely fashion.  Our tag line: Quality Has Never Been So Quick.  Says it all!

On September 30th, 2002, we acquired our fourth location which was formerly known as Collex Collision Experts in Richboro, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  We re-named the store Richboro Collision Express.  Although the shop had an excellent location and a reputation for quality repairs, it was kind of run down and in need of some strong management and a little "TLC".  Since our acquisition, we have updated the office and customer areas, as well as performing ongoing work to improve the repair and refinish areas.  

The Future?  We hope to continue to grow our network of collision repair centers slowly and methodically, as we have done so far.  We only want to add another store when we have made certain that our existing stores are operating at the highest level.  We only want to add stores that meet our quality and facility standards.  Check back with us and watch us grow!

Carl M. Cimino - Founder

Mr. Cimino has been active in the collision repair industry for almost 30 years and has been the owner of Cimino’s Collision Express since founding the company in 1982. He is an ASE Certified Master Technician in Auto Body Repair, Painting and Estimating; a licensed Pennsylvania State Vehicle Safety Inspector; and a licensed Vehicle Damage Appraiser in Pennsylvania and Delaware. In addition, he currently serves as Past President of the Feasterville Business  Association, past  Chairman of the Lower Southampton Township Fourth of July Parade Committee, member of the Craft Advisory Board of the Bucks County Technical School, and Chairman of the Associate Members of the Bucks County Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #53.