If you see fewer auto repair shops in your town 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 along with 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 at least one 100,000 mile warranty which means that the independent will get little chance to operate that car for the first 5-10 years it is owned.
As new car sales margins have gone 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 have been adding other value added benefits such being a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are increasingly being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in hard work to keep up with the dealers since customers now expect this service.
Furthermore dealers for Mercedes and Ford are now directly offering specials on services making their dealer prices similar to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s simply competitive pricing that’s the worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor all means being won by the dealers: the dealers have been competed for skilled labor and will have become a lot aggressive. With fewer right now entering automobile repair profession and opting instead for careers regarding example health and technology, overall talent pool of the top skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly it is becoming more difficult for independents to utilize and retain these highly skilled employees. Regarding automotive technician, would you rather appeal to Audi or Joe’s Shed?
The dealers are picking up the best ‘mechanics’ or as yet known today, ‘technicians.’ An increased end dealer technician may well make $100,000 yearly with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would must gross within a $1,000,000 one year to make that and get to afford their own benefits and social equity.
Because of this economic realities many independent owners are now closing their shops on and on to be suitable for 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 problems.
Additionally, in the event the diagnosis is made and a part of needs replacing the dealer will have it in stock, not only verifying the identification but greatly speeding increase the repair time and increasing customer care. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But it’s not only a skilled employee world war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there’s a long and ongoing dispute with the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic techniques.
The manufacturers claim their technical data is proprietary everybody is making independents claim the information should accumulate to anyone who owns or fixes that make of automobile.
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 21, 2019