If you see fewer auto repair shops in your area 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 could 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 kind 100,000 mile warranty so that you can the independent will get little chance to improve 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 seeking to their service departments to make along 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 increasingly being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in trying to keep up with 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 similar to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s and not just competitive pricing is actually not worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor all means being won from dealers: the dealers have been competed for skilled labor and already have become significantly more aggressive. With fewer young people entering business repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, the total talent pool of the top skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly around the globe becoming more difficult for independents to utilize and retain these highly skilled employees. As an automotive technician, would you rather are employed by Audi or Joe’s Rummage?
The dealers are taking the best ‘mechanics’ or as may well known today, ‘technicians.’ A premier end dealer technician actually make $100,000 twelve months with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would must gross during a $1,000,000 one year to make that as well as have to afford their own benefits and social equity.
Because of this economic realities many independent owners have started closing their shops on and on to enhance GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto repair shop at a definite disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related crises.
Additionally, is not diagnosis created from and a fraction needs replacing the dealer will are in stock, not only verifying the diagnosis but greatly speeding increase the repair period and increasing customer satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Rolls royce.
But it’s not only a skilled employee war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and love a long and ongoing dispute amongst the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic tools.
The manufacturers claim that their technical details are proprietary in terms of independents claim the information should be around to anyone who owns or fixes create of automobile.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777