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 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 10 or 15 years. Technology has made cars much more reliable with fewer breakdowns, repairs and scheduled maintenances.
Many manufacturers offer at least one 100,000 mile warranty so that you can the independent will get little chance to operate that car for site to website 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 inside the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab are adding other useful benefits such as the loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are usually now being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in hard work to keep lets start work on 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 but not just competitive pricing is actually worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor is also being won together with dealers: the dealers generally competed for skilled labor and already have got become significantly more aggressive. With fewer young people entering the auto repair profession and opting instead for careers with regard to health and technology, essential talent pool of the most skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly it becoming more difficult for independents you ought to hire and retain these highly skilled employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather improve Audi or Joe’s House?
The dealers are taking the best ‘mechanics’ or as yet known today, ‘technicians.’ An excellent end dealer technician earns $100,000 one year with benefits while an unbiased shop owner would ought to gross during a $1,000,000 one year to make that as well as have to obtain their own benefits and social basic safety.
Because the hands down economic realities many independent owners are usually closing their shops on and on to enhance GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto mechanic shop at a definite disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related crises.
Additionally, each time a diagnosis is comprised and a fraction needs replacing the dealer will buy it in stock, not only verifying the diagnosis but greatly speeding increase the repair time and increasing client satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But it isn’t just a skilled employee world war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and you will find a long and ongoing dispute with 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 anyone that owns or fixes that make of car.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777
https://g.page/excel-auto-repair-sales
Posted on:
August 21, 2019