If you see fewer auto repair shops in your community then you are witnessing a trend that is spreading throughout the auto repair industry. The small independent auto repair shop is getting squeezed by both the dealers as well as the ‘backyarders’ creating shrinking margins and putting many auto repair independents out of economic.
The global problem could be the auto repair and service market has been shrinking in the last ten or fifteen years. Technology has made cars much more reliable with fewer breakdowns, repairs and scheduled maintenances.
Many manufacturers offer some sort of 100,000 mile warranty relating to this the independent will get little chance to handle that car for the most important 5-10 years it is owned.
As new car sales margins go down, VW, Chevrolet, Toyota and other manufacturers are seeking to their service departments to make the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab already been adding other useful benefits such as the loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are increasingly being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in hard work to keep on top of the dealers since customers now expect this service.
Furthermore dealers such as Mercedes and Ford are now directly offering specials on services making their dealer prices similar to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s but not just competitive pricing is actually worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor may also be won through dealers: the dealers often competed for skilled labor and may have become significantly more aggressive. With fewer right now entering effect on repair profession and opting instead for careers with regard to health and technology, fundamental talent pool of physical exercise skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly appeared becoming harder for independents to work with and retain these highly skilled employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather work in Audi or Joe’s Rummage?
The dealers are picking up the best ‘mechanics’ or as they are known today, ‘technicians.’ A premier end dealer technician may well $100,000 one year with benefits while a private shop owner would to be able to gross a lot more $1,000,000 a year to make that and have absolutely to reimburse their own benefits and social basic safety.
Because of this economic realities many independent owners are at this moment closing their shops all night to work with GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto mechanic shop at a definite disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related crises.
Additionally, is not diagnosis is comprised and a part of needs replacing the dealer will achieve it in stock, not only verifying the verification but greatly speeding inside the repair as well as increasing client satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But it’s not only a skilled employee conflict. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there has been a long and ongoing dispute among the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic techniques.
The manufacturers claim that their technical details are proprietary in terms of independents claim the information should be available to anyone that owns or fixes create of motor.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777
https://g.page/excel-auto-repair-sales
Posted on:
August 24, 2019