Changing Oil and Changing Times – The Independent Auto Repair Service Dilemma
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 and the ‘backyarders’ creating shrinking margins and putting many auto repair independents out of economic.
The global problem may 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 at least one 100,000 mile warranty relating to this the independent will get little chance to work on 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 along the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab already been adding other useful benefits such being a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are usually now being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in an effort to keep plan 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 for you to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s but not just competitive pricing is actually not worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor may also be won together with dealers: the dealers constantly competed for skilled labor and already have got become significantly more aggressive. With fewer young people entering effect on repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, essential talent pool of methods to use skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly appeared becoming tougher for independents to hire and retain these highly skilled employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather work for Audi or Joe’s Rummage?
The dealers are discovering the best ‘mechanics’ or as they are known today, ‘technicians.’ An excellent end dealer technician may well $100,000 a year with benefits while a private shop owner would require gross a lot more $1,000,000 every year to make that and have to afford their own benefits and social security.
Because from the economic realities many independent owners are at this moment closing their shops and going to work with GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto repair center at a definite disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related problems.
Additionally, is not diagnosis created from and a part of needs replacing the dealer will have it in stock, not only verifying the verification but greatly speeding up the repair as well as increasing customer satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But it’s not just a skilled employee conflict. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there’s a long and ongoing dispute among the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic tools.
The manufacturers claim that their technical data is proprietary while independents claim the information should be around to anyone that owns or fixes build of motor.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777
