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 economic.
The global problem may be 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 the latest 100,000 mile warranty relating to this the independent will get little chance to operate 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 in order to their service departments to make in the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab already been adding other useful benefits such as being a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are forced to give courtesy rides to customers in hard work 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 for you to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s not just competitive pricing that’s the worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor may also be won by the dealers: the dealers generally competed for skilled labor and already have become a great deal more aggressive. With fewer conserve entering significantly repair profession and opting instead for careers with regard to health and technology, the total talent pool of physical exercise skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly appeared becoming harder for independents to rent and retain these highly skilled employees. The automotive technician, would you rather work for Audi or Joe’s Rummage?
The dealers are selecting the best ‘mechanics’ or as they may be known today, ‘technicians.’ A top end dealer technician may well $100,000 yearly with benefits while a private shop owner would have to gross during a $1,000,000 a year to make that and have to obtain their own benefits and social equity.
Because of these economic realities many independent owners are now closing their shops on and on to work with GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto mechanic at a distinct disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related health issues.
Additionally, any time a diagnosis is made and an area needs replacing the dealer will achieve it in stock, not only verifying diagnosing but greatly speeding inside the repair as well as increasing customer support. Big advantage Cadillac and Rolls royce.
But the goal wasn’t a skilled employee world war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and love a long and ongoing dispute among the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic solutions.
The manufacturers claim that the technical facts are proprietary while the independents claim the information should accumulate to anybody that owns or fixes create of car.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777