If you see fewer auto repair shops in your area 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 economic.
The global problem will 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 meaning that the independent will get little chance to work with 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 looking to their service departments to make along the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab are adding other useful benefits such as a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are now being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in hard work to keep 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 as well as competitive pricing is actually not worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor is also being won through dealers: the dealers have been competed for skilled labor and will have become a great deal more aggressive. With fewer folks entering business repair profession and opting instead for careers with regard to health and technology, fundamental talent pool of methods to use skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly is certainly becoming tougher for independents to work with and retain these competent employees. The automotive technician, would you rather work for Audi or Joe’s House?
The dealers are selecting the best ‘mechanics’ or as they may be known today, ‘technicians.’ A premier end dealer technician may well $100,000 yearly with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would ought to gross within the $1,000,000 a year to make that as well as have to obtain their own benefits and social security.
Because from the economic realities many independent owners are at this moment 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 health issues.
Additionally, in the event the diagnosis is made and an area needs replacing the dealer will have it in stock, not only verifying the identification but greatly speeding inside the repair time and increasing customer support. Big advantage Cadillac and Rolls royce.
But it’s not only a skilled employee war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there has been a long and ongoing dispute with the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic tools.
The manufacturers claim their technical results are proprietary individuals independents claim the information should be around to anybody that owns or fixes create 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 23, 2019