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 also the ‘backyarders’ creating shrinking margins and putting many auto repair independents out of business.
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 kind 100,000 mile warranty relating to this the independent will get little chance to work on that car for site to website 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 in the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab in order to 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 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 but not just competitive pricing that is 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 a lot aggressive. With fewer folks entering automobile repair profession and opting instead for careers like health and technology, essential talent pool of the superior skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly it becoming more difficult for independents you ought to hire and retain these highly skilled employees. The automotive technician, would you rather are employed by Audi or Joe’s Rummage?
The dealers are discovering the best ‘mechanics’ or as they may be known today, ‘technicians.’ An excellent end dealer technician can make $100,000 a whole year with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would ought to gross a lot more $1,000,000 twelve months to make that and still have to afford their own benefits and social protective measures.
Because of this economic realities many independent owners are now closing their shops all night to enhance GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto mechanic at a distinct disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related injuries.
Additionally, each time a diagnosis appeared and a part of needs replacing the dealer will purchase it in stock, not only verifying the identification but greatly speeding in the repair along with increasing customer satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Rolls royce.
But it’s not only a skilled employee world war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and love a long and ongoing dispute among the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic solutions.
The manufacturers claim that the technical data is proprietary everybody is making independents claim the information should build up to anyone who owns or fixes help to make of motor.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777