Changing Oil and Changing Times – The Independent Auto Repair Service Dilemma
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 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 handle 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 inside the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab have been adding other useful benefits such as being a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are forced to give courtesy rides to customers in a feat to keep lets start work on 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 comparable to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s as well as competitive pricing naturally worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor all means being won using the dealers: the dealers have always competed for skilled labor and now have become significantly more aggressive. With fewer individuals entering significantly repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, fundamental talent pool of the superior skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly is certainly becoming more difficult 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 Garage?
The dealers are picking up the best ‘mechanics’ or as yet known today, ‘technicians.’ An excellent end dealer technician can make $100,000 a year with benefits while a self-employed shop owner would to be able to gross during a $1,000,000 a year to make that and get to pay for their own benefits and social protective measures.
Because the hands down economic realities many independent owners are currently closing their shops and going to be suitable for GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto repair center at a distinct disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related crises.
Additionally, is not diagnosis is comprised and a portion needs replacing the dealer will have it in stock, not only verifying the diagnosis but greatly speeding increase the repair and also increasing customer satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Bmw.
But the goal wasn’t a skilled employee showdown. 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 applications.
The manufacturers claim their technical data is proprietary while the independents claim the information should be for sale to anyone who owns or fixes create of automobile.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777
