If you see fewer auto repair shops in your community 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 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 getting 100,000 mile warranty meaning that the independent will get little chance to handle that car for site to website 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 the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab in order to adding other value added benefits such as the loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are increasingly being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in a feat 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 comparable to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s and not just competitive pricing that’s the worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor all means being won together with dealers: the dealers generally competed for skilled labor and will have become significantly more aggressive. With fewer conserve entering the auto repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, the total talent pool of the most skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly appeared becoming harder for independents to hire and retain these highly skilled employees. The automotive technician, would you rather improve Audi or Joe’s Garage?
The dealers are picking up the best ‘mechanics’ or as they may be known today, ‘technicians.’ A top end dealer technician may well make $100,000 one year with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would ought to gross over a $1,000,000 a year to make that and still have to pay for their own benefits and social safe practices.
Because the hands down economic realities many independent owners are at this moment closing their shops on and on to enhance GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto mechanic at a definite disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related problems.
Additionally, if a diagnosis created from and a portion needs replacing the dealer will are in stock, not only verifying the identification but greatly speeding within the repair as well as increasing customer support. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But the goal wasn’t a skilled employee struggle. Techs cannot fix cars without information and you’ll find a long and ongoing dispute between the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic equipment.
The manufacturers claim that their technical results are proprietary individuals independents claim the information should be available to anyone that owns or fixes help to make of car.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777