If you see fewer auto repair shops in your town 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 business.
The global problem will 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 some sort of 100,000 mile warranty particular person yourself the independent will get little chance to handle 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 inside the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab in order to adding other value added benefits such being a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are usually now being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in hard work to keep plan the dealers since customers now expect this service.
Furthermore dealers for 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 and not just competitive pricing is actually worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor may also be won through dealers: the dealers generally competed for skilled labor and may have become significantly aggressive. With fewer conserve entering automobile repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, overall talent pool of methods to use skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly appeared becoming more difficult for independents you ought to hire and retain these highly skilled employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather work in Audi or Joe’s House?
The dealers are taking the best ‘mechanics’ or as they may be known today, ‘technicians.’ A top end dealer technician may well $100,000 a year with benefits while a self-employed shop owner would require gross within a $1,000,000 1 yr to make that and have to obtain their own benefits and social protective measures.
Because of these economic realities many independent owners have started closing their shops all night 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, in the event the diagnosis is made and a part needs replacing the dealer will purchase it in stock, not only verifying the identification but greatly speeding within the repair as well as increasing customer satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Rolls royce.
But the goal wasn’t a skilled employee conflict. Techs cannot fix cars without information and you will find a long and ongoing dispute from the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic equipment.
The manufacturers claim that the technical facts are proprietary while independents claim the information should accumulate to anyone who owns or fixes build of automobile.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777