If you see fewer auto repair shops towards you 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 the ‘backyarders’ creating shrinking margins and putting many auto repair independents out of economic.
The global problem is 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 some sort of 100,000 mile warranty which means that the independent will get little chance to handle that car for site to website 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 happen to adding other value added benefits such to be a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are increasingly being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in a feat to keep up with the dealers since customers now expect this service.
Furthermore dealers with regard to Mercedes and Ford are now directly offering specials on services making their dealer prices similar to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s not just competitive pricing that’s the worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor may also be won together with dealers: the dealers generally competed for skilled labor and may have become significantly more aggressive. With fewer right now entering automobile repair profession and opting instead for careers regarding example health and technology, overall talent pool of the most skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly is certainly becoming tougher for independents to rent and retain these competent employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather improve Audi or Joe’s Drive way?
The dealers are picking up 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 wages shop owner would have to gross during a $1,000,000 twelve months to make that as well as have to obtain their own benefits and social safe practices.
Because of this economic realities many independent owners are currently closing their shops on and on to work with GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto mechanic at a definite disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related crises.
Additionally, is not diagnosis is made and a part of needs replacing the dealer will buy it in stock, not only verifying the verification but greatly speeding up the repair time and increasing service delivery. Big advantage Cadillac and Rolls royce.
But it isn’t just a skilled employee conflict. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there has been a long and ongoing dispute from the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic techniques.
The manufacturers claim that their technical results are proprietary while the independents claim the information should build up to anybody that owns or fixes help to make of car.
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