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 may 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 at least one 100,000 mile warranty which means that the independent will get little chance to operate that car for one 5-10 years it is owned.
As new car sales margins have gone down, VW, Chevrolet, Toyota and other manufacturers are in order to their service departments to make up the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab are 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 hard work to keep plan 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 for you to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s as well as competitive pricing is actually not worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor all means being won from dealers: the dealers have always competed for skilled labor and already have got become significantly aggressive. With fewer conserve entering effect on repair profession and opting instead for careers like health and technology, overall talent pool of physical exercise skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly it is becoming tougher for independents to work with and retain these competent employees. As an automotive technician, would you rather are employed by Audi or Joe’s House?
The dealers are taking the best ‘mechanics’ or as they are known today, ‘technicians.’ A top end dealer technician may well $100,000 yearly with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would to be able to gross within a $1,000,000 1 yr to make that as well as have to purchase their own benefits and social equity.
Because of this economic realities many independent owners are at this moment closing their shops and going to work for 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 injuries.
Additionally, if a diagnosis is comprised and a part needs replacing the dealer will are in stock, not only verifying the diagnosis but greatly speeding within the repair and also increasing customer satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But the goal wasn’t a skilled employee showdown. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there’s a long and ongoing dispute amongst the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic applications.
The manufacturers claim that the technical data is proprietary everybody is making independents claim the information should be for sale to anybody that owns or fixes that 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