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 economic.
The global problem is 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 meaning that the independent will get little chance to work on that car for the most important 5-10 years it is owned.
As new car sales margins go down, VW, Chevrolet, Toyota and other manufacturers are in order to their service departments to make inside the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab already been adding other useful benefits such to be a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are now being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in an effort to keep on top of the dealers since customers now expect this service.
Furthermore dealers for 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 and not just competitive pricing is actually worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor is also being won together with dealers: the dealers constantly competed for skilled labor and now have become a great deal more aggressive. With fewer conserve entering effect on repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, the total talent pool of the superior skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly is certainly becoming harder for independents you ought to hire and retain these competent employees. As an automotive technician, would you rather work in Audi or Joe’s Garage?
The dealers are discovering the best ‘mechanics’ or as may well known today, ‘technicians.’ A premier end dealer technician can make $100,000 a year with benefits while a private shop owner would to be able to gross during a $1,000,000 twelve months to make that and still have to reimburse their own benefits and social protective measures.
Because the hands down economic realities many independent owners are at this moment closing their shops all night 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 injuries.
Additionally, if a diagnosis created from and an area needs replacing the dealer will are in stock, not only verifying the diagnosis but greatly speeding in the repair as well as increasing client satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Bmw.
But it’s not just a skilled employee conflict. Techs cannot fix cars without information and you’ll find a long and ongoing dispute from the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic applications.
The manufacturers claim that their technical information is proprietary while the independents claim the information should be around to anybody that owns or fixes create of car.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777
