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 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 ten or fifteen years. Technology has made cars much more reliable with fewer breakdowns, repairs and scheduled maintenances.
Many manufacturers offer some sort of 100,000 mile warranty so that you can the independent will get little chance to operate that car for the first 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 along the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab in order to adding other value added 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 on top of 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 in order to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s and not just competitive pricing is actually not worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor is also being won from dealers: the dealers constantly competed for skilled labor and will have become even more aggressive. With fewer right now entering significantly repair profession and opting instead for careers with regard to health and technology, essential talent pool of methods to use skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly appeared becoming tougher for independents to rent and retain these highly skilled employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather work in Audi or Joe’s Rummage?
The dealers are selecting the best ‘mechanics’ or as might known today, ‘technicians.’ A top end dealer technician may well $100,000 twelve months with benefits while a self-employed shop owner would require gross over a $1,000,000 a year to make that as well as have to reimburse their own benefits and social safe practices.
Because in the economic realities many independent owners are usually closing their shops on and on to be employed by GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto repair shop at a distinct disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related injuries.
Additionally, each time a diagnosis is made and an area needs replacing the dealer will achieve it in stock, not only verifying the identification but greatly speeding within the repair as well as increasing service delivery. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But it’s not only a skilled employee world war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and you will find a long and ongoing dispute amongst the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic techniques.
The manufacturers claim their technical facts are proprietary in terms of independents claim the information should be for sale to anyone who owns or fixes build 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 24, 2019