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 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 kind 100,000 mile warranty so that you can the independent will get little chance to work with that car for the first 5-10 years it is owned.
As new car sales margins go down, VW, Chevrolet, Toyota and other manufacturers are in order to their service departments to make inside 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 forced to give courtesy rides to customers in a feat 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 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 may also be won using the dealers: the dealers have been competed for skilled labor and may have become a great deal more aggressive. With fewer conserve entering automobile repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, overall talent pool of physical exercise skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly it becoming more difficult for independents to rent and retain these highly skilled employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather improve Audi or Joe’s Rummage?
The dealers are collecting the best ‘mechanics’ or as they are known today, ‘technicians.’ A premier end dealer technician may well $100,000 a year with benefits while a self-employed shop owner would to be able to gross over a $1,000,000 twelve months to make that as well as have to afford their own benefits and social equity.
Because of these 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 center at a definite disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related crises.
Additionally, any time a diagnosis created from and a part needs replacing the dealer will buy it in stock, not only verifying diagnosing but greatly speeding increase the repair along with 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 love a long and ongoing dispute among the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic tools.
The manufacturers claim their technical facts are proprietary while the independents claim the information should be around to anyone who owns or fixes that make of automobile.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777