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 along with 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 the latest 100,000 mile warranty so that you can the independent will get little chance to improve that car for their early 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 in order to adding other value added benefits such as the loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are usually now being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in an effort to keep with the dealers since customers now expect this service.
Furthermore dealers regarding 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 is actually worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor is also being won by the dealers: the dealers often competed for skilled labor and may have become significantly more aggressive. With fewer right now entering the auto repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, essential talent pool of the top skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly around the globe becoming more difficult for independents you ought to hire and retain these highly skilled employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather appeal to Audi or Joe’s House?
The dealers are taking the best ‘mechanics’ or as might known today, ‘technicians.’ An excellent end dealer technician may well make $100,000 a whole year with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would require gross over a $1,000,000 1 yr to make that and still have to purchase their own benefits and social security.
Because in the economic realities many independent owners are currently closing their shops on and on to be employed by 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, any time a diagnosis is made and an area needs replacing the dealer will achieve it in stock, not only verifying the identification but greatly speeding increase the repair period and increasing customer satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Rolls royce.
But it’s not only a skilled employee conflict. Techs cannot fix cars without information and you will find a long and ongoing dispute among the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic tools.
The manufacturers claim that the technical results are proprietary everybody is making independents claim the information should build up to anyone that owns or fixes build of car.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777