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 and also 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 10 or 15 years. Technology has made cars much more reliable with fewer breakdowns, repairs and scheduled maintenances.
Many manufacturers offer at least one 100,000 mile warranty so that you can the independent will get little chance to handle that car for one 5-10 years it is owned.
As new car sales margins go down, VW, Chevrolet, Toyota and other manufacturers are looking to their service departments to make up the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab have been 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 trying 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 for you to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s not just competitive pricing that is worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor is also being won by the dealers: the dealers have been competed for skilled labor and may have become significantly more aggressive. With fewer conserve entering the auto repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, overall talent pool of the top skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly it is becoming more difficult for independents to work with and retain these competent employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather work in Audi or Joe’s Rummage?
The dealers are taking the best ‘mechanics’ or as might known today, ‘technicians.’ An excellent end dealer technician can make $100,000 one year with benefits while an independent shop owner would require gross a lot more $1,000,000 1 yr to make that as well as have to pay for their own benefits and social security.
Because in the economic realities many independent owners are now closing their shops on and on to be employed by GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto repair center 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 portion needs replacing the dealer will achieve it in stock, not only verifying diagnosing but greatly speeding increase the repair time and increasing customer satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Bmw.
But it’s not only a skilled employee conflict. Techs cannot fix cars without information and you’ll find a long and ongoing dispute amongst the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic equipment.
The manufacturers claim that the technical data is 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