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 as well as the ‘backyarders’ creating shrinking margins and putting many auto repair independents out of business.
The global problem will be the auto repair and service market has been shrinking in the last 10 or 15 years. Technology has made cars much more reliable with fewer breakdowns, repairs and scheduled maintenances.
Many manufacturers offer kind 100,000 mile warranty particular person yourself the independent will get little chance to operate that car for the most important 5-10 years it is owned.
As new car sales margins have gone down, VW, Chevrolet, Toyota and other manufacturers are in order to their service departments to make along the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab in order to adding other useful benefits such as a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are forced to give courtesy rides to customers in hard work to keep plan the dealers since customers now expect this service.
Furthermore dealers for example Mercedes and Ford are now directly offering specials on services making their dealer prices in order to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s not just competitive pricing naturally worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor is also being won from dealers: the dealers generally competed for skilled labor and may have become significantly aggressive. With fewer right now entering the auto 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 it becoming harder for independents to work with and retain these highly skilled employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather are employed by Audi or Joe’s House?
The dealers are selecting the best ‘mechanics’ or as they are known today, ‘technicians.’ An excellent end dealer technician actually make $100,000 twelve months with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would to be able to gross during a $1,000,000 a year to make that and get to afford their own benefits and social equity.
Because in the economic realities many independent owners are now closing their shops and going to enhance GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto repair shop at a distinct disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related crises.
Additionally, in the event the diagnosis is made and a portion needs replacing the dealer will buy it in stock, not only verifying the verification but greatly speeding within the repair along with increasing client satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Bmw.
But it’s not only a skilled employee conflict. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there’s a long and ongoing dispute between the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic techniques.
The manufacturers claim that their technical data is proprietary everybody is making independents claim the information should be for sale to anyone that owns or fixes help to make of automobile.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777