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 along with the ‘backyarders’ creating shrinking margins and putting many auto repair independents out of economic.
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 some sort of 100,000 mile warranty so that you can the independent will get little chance to work on 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 in the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab in order to adding other useful benefits such as the loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are increasingly being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in a shot to keep with the dealers since customers now expect this service.
Furthermore dealers such as Mercedes and Ford are now directly offering specials on services making their dealer prices to be able 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 from dealers: the dealers generally competed for skilled labor and will have become even more aggressive. With fewer right now entering the auto repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, the total talent pool of the most skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly it becoming more difficult for independents to utilize and retain these highly skilled employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather improve Audi or Joe’s Shed?
The dealers are discovering the best ‘mechanics’ or as they are known today, ‘technicians.’ A top end dealer technician earns $100,000 a whole year with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would to be able to gross within the $1,000,000 one year to make that and get to purchase their own benefits and social basic safety.
Because from the economic realities many independent owners are now closing their shops and going to work for 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, if a diagnosis is made and an area needs replacing the dealer will purchase it in stock, not only verifying diagnosing but greatly speeding up the repair along with 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 there has been a long and ongoing dispute with the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic solutions.
The manufacturers claim that their technical results are proprietary while independents claim the information should build up to anyone that owns or fixes that make of car.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777