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 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 improve that car for their early 5-10 years it is owned.
As new car sales margins have gone down, VW, Chevrolet, Toyota and other manufacturers are seeking to their service departments to make 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 think you are forced to give courtesy rides to customers in a feat 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 in order to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s but not just competitive pricing is actually worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor is also being won using the dealers: the dealers have always competed for skilled labor and already have got become significantly more aggressive. With fewer right now entering automobile repair profession and opting instead for careers with regard to health and technology, the total talent pool of the most skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly it becoming tougher for independents to rent and retain these competent employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather work in Audi or Joe’s Garage?
The dealers are collecting the best ‘mechanics’ or as may well known today, ‘technicians.’ An excellent end dealer technician earns $100,000 a year with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would to be able to gross during a $1,000,000 every year to make that and still have to afford their own benefits and social security.
Because the hands down 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 distinct disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related problems.
Additionally, is not diagnosis created from and a part of needs replacing the dealer will achieve it in stock, not only verifying the diagnosis but greatly speeding up the repair along with increasing customer satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But it isn’t just a skilled employee world war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there has been a long and ongoing dispute from the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic tools.
The manufacturers claim that the technical data is proprietary while independents claim the information should be around to anyone that owns or fixes create 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 24, 2019