St. Petersburg, Fla. - Payless Car Sales announced today that it has recently completed the signing of its first set of franchise renewals agreements with six of it earliest franchisees. Payless dealers in Fern Park, Plantation and Tampa, Florida; Jonesboro and LaGrange, Georgia, and Houston, Texas, have signed up for an additional five-year term as a Payless Car Sales dealership. Each of these previously independent dealers joined the Payless Car Sales Franchise System in 2002 - its first year of operation.

Payless stated that reaching the renewal phase provides proof that the franchisors concept and its processes work. The company cited other positive signs, including franchisees opening additional stores and the appreciated value of a franchisee's dealership at time of sale, as positive signs that dealerships have benefited significantly from their investment in the Payless brand.

“Growth is great, but retention is the key to any franchise systems success”, that’s what Mike Harley, president and COO of Payless Car Sales, Inc. had to say upon signing five-year extensions for a group of six of his founding Payless Car Sales franchisees. “Selling a start-up franchise is not an easy proposition. You’ve got to sell the dream, the belief in the brand, and the value of what it brings to the table”, Harley said. “These dealers were all able to see what we had envisioned – an organization of highly qualified, experienced and respected independent dealers, brought together under one well recognized and trusted brand, building a chain of mutually supportive dealerships across the country."