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 as well as 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 getting 100,000 mile warranty which means that the independent will get little chance to work on that car for the first 5-10 years it is owned.
As new car sales margins go down, VW, Chevrolet, Toyota and other manufacturers are looking to their service departments to make along the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab have 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 hard work to keep on top of 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 to be able to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s but not just competitive pricing that is worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor all means being won together with dealers: the dealers often competed for skilled labor and already have become a lot aggressive. With fewer young people entering automobile repair profession and opting instead for careers like health and technology, overall talent pool of methods to use skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly appeared becoming harder for independents to rent and retain these highly skilled employees. Regarding automotive technician, would you rather work in Audi or Joe’s Shed?
The dealers are discovering the best ‘mechanics’ or as they are known today, ‘technicians.’ A premier end dealer technician may well make $100,000 twelve months with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would to be able to gross within a $1,000,000 1 yr to make that and get to reimburse their own benefits and social equity.
Because from the economic realities many independent owners are now closing their shops all night to be suitable for 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 crises.
Additionally, in the event the diagnosis is intended and a part of needs replacing the dealer will achieve it in stock, not only verifying the identification but greatly speeding up the repair time and increasing client satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Rolls royce.
But it’s not just a skilled employee world war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and love a long and ongoing dispute with the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic tools.
The manufacturers claim their technical details are proprietary individuals independents claim the information should be around to anyone who owns or fixes create of automobile.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777