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 as well as 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 kind 100,000 mile warranty which means that the independent will get little chance to handle that car for the most important 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 value added benefits such being a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are increasingly being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in an effort to keep lets start work on 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 comparable to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s and not just competitive pricing that is worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor all means being won through dealers: the dealers constantly competed for skilled labor and may have become a lot aggressive. With fewer right now entering effect on repair profession and opting instead for careers like health and technology, essential talent pool of the top skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly it becoming harder for independents to rent and retain these competent employees. As an automotive technician, would you rather are employed by Audi or Joe’s Rummage?
The dealers are picking up the best ‘mechanics’ or as may well known today, ‘technicians.’ A top end dealer technician earns $100,000 yearly with benefits while a private shop owner would ought to gross within the $1,000,000 one year to make that and still have to purchase 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 with GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto mechanic shop at a distinct disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related crises.
Additionally, is not diagnosis is comprised and an area needs replacing the dealer will achieve it in stock, not only verifying the verification but greatly speeding inside the repair as well as increasing client satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But it isn’t just a skilled employee conflict. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there has been a long and ongoing dispute amongst the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic techniques.
The manufacturers claim that their technical facts are proprietary while independents claim the information should be available to anybody that owns or fixes help to make of motor.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777