If you see fewer auto repair shops near you 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 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 some sort of 100,000 mile warranty so that you can the independent will get little chance to work with that car for their early 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 in order to adding other value added benefits such as being a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are forced to give courtesy rides to customers in a shot to keep on top of 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 in order to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s but not just competitive pricing is actually not worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor is also being won from dealers: the dealers have been competed for skilled labor and may have become a great deal more aggressive. With fewer young people entering effect on repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, essential talent pool of the top skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly is certainly becoming tougher for independents to hire and retain these highly skilled employees. As an automotive technician, would you rather work in Audi or Joe’s Rummage?
The dealers are discovering the best ‘mechanics’ or as might known today, ‘technicians.’ An excellent end dealer technician may well make $100,000 yearly with benefits while a self-employed shop owner would ought to gross within a $1,000,000 every year to make that and have absolutely to obtain their own benefits and social protective measures.
Because in the economic realities many independent owners are at this moment closing their shops on and on to work for 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, any time a diagnosis is intended and an area needs replacing the dealer will buy it in stock, not only verifying the diagnosis but greatly speeding increase the repair and also increasing service delivery. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But it’s not only a skilled employee war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and you’ll find a long and ongoing dispute amongst the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic solutions.
The manufacturers claim their technical data is proprietary individuals independents claim the information should accumulate to anybody that owns or fixes help to make of automobile.
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