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 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 kind 100,000 mile warranty which means that the independent will get little chance to work on 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 looking to their service departments to make along the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab happen to adding other value added benefits such as being a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are usually now being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in trying 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 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 all means being won together with dealers: the dealers constantly competed for skilled labor and already have got become a lot aggressive. With fewer young people entering the auto repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, overall talent pool of the superior skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly it becoming tougher for independents to rent and retain these competent employees. A great automotive technician, would you rather are employed by Audi or Joe’s Drive way?
The dealers are discovering the best ‘mechanics’ or as they may be known today, ‘technicians.’ Top-notch end dealer technician may well make $100,000 a year with benefits while a self-employed shop owner would ought to gross within a $1,000,000 twelve months to make that and still have to pay for their own benefits and social equity.
Because in the economic realities many independent owners are usually closing their shops on and on to be suitable for GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto mechanic at a distinct disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related problems.
Additionally, each time a diagnosis created from and a portion needs replacing the dealer will have it in stock, not only verifying diagnosing but greatly speeding in the repair along with increasing customer care. Big advantage Cadillac and Rolls royce.
But it isn’t just a skilled employee struggle. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there’s a long and ongoing dispute amongst the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic solutions.
The manufacturers claim that the technical results are proprietary individuals independents claim the information should be around 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