If you see fewer auto repair shops near you 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 may 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 their early 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 in order to adding other useful benefits such as a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are now being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in a shot to keep lets start work on 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 similar to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s but not just competitive pricing that is worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor is also being won using the dealers: the dealers constantly competed for skilled labor and already have got become significantly more aggressive. With fewer conserve entering effect on repair profession and opting instead for careers like health and technology, fundamental talent pool of physical exercise skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly it becoming harder for independents to hire and retain these competent employees. As an automotive technician, would you rather appeal to Audi or Joe’s Shed?
The dealers are picking up the best ‘mechanics’ or as might known today, ‘technicians.’ A premier end dealer technician may well make $100,000 twelve months with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would must gross within a $1,000,000 twelve months to make that and get to pay for their own benefits and social safe practices.
Because of these economic realities many independent owners are at this moment closing their shops all night 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 problems.
Additionally, any time a diagnosis is made and an area needs replacing the dealer will purchase it in stock, not only verifying the verification but greatly speeding inside the repair along with increasing customer support. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But it is not just a skilled employee war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there’s a long and ongoing dispute among the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic equipment.
The manufacturers claim that the technical details are proprietary everybody is making independents claim the information should be for sale to anyone who owns or fixes that make of automobile.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777