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 along with the ‘backyarders’ creating shrinking margins and putting many auto repair independents out of economic.
The global problem may 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 getting 100,000 mile warranty so that you can the independent will get little chance to handle 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 along the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab are adding other useful benefits such to be a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents think you are forced to give courtesy rides to customers in an effort to keep with the dealers since customers now expect this service.
Furthermore dealers with regard to 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 that’s the worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor is also being won together with dealers: the dealers often competed for skilled labor and may have become even more aggressive. With fewer folks entering business repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, overall talent pool of the superior skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly around the globe becoming more difficult for independents to utilize and retain these highly skilled employees. The automotive technician, would you rather improve Audi or Joe’s Shed?
The dealers are picking up the best ‘mechanics’ or as may well known today, ‘technicians.’ An excellent end dealer technician may well $100,000 a year with benefits while a private shop owner would must gross a lot more $1,000,000 every year to make that and have absolutely to purchase their own benefits and social safe practices.
Because the hands down economic realities many independent owners are at this moment closing their shops and going to be employed by GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto mechanic at a definite disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related rrssues.
Additionally, if a diagnosis appeared and a fraction needs replacing the dealer will purchase it in stock, not only verifying the identification but greatly speeding in the repair period and increasing customer support. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But it’s not just a skilled employee war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there has been a long and ongoing dispute among the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic techniques.
The manufacturers claim that the technical results are proprietary while independents claim the information should be around to anybody that owns or fixes that make of car.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777