Just how much Integrity Does Your Auto Repair Shop Have?
If you see fewer auto repair shops in your area 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 also the ‘backyarders’ creating shrinking margins and putting many auto repair independents out of business.
The global problem could 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 at least one 100,000 mile warranty so that you can the independent will get little chance to handle that car for site to website 5-10 years it is owned.
As new car sales margins go down, VW, Chevrolet, Toyota and other manufacturers are looking to their service departments to make inside the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab have been adding other useful benefits such to be a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are now being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in hard work to keep with the dealers since customers now expect this service.
Furthermore dealers such as Mercedes and Ford are now directly offering specials on services making their dealer prices in order to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s not just competitive pricing naturally worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor all means being won together with dealers: the dealers generally competed for skilled labor and already have become a great deal more aggressive. With fewer young people entering significantly repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, essential talent pool of the superior skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly appeared becoming tougher for independents to rent and retain these highly skilled employees. Regarding automotive technician, would you rather work in Audi or Joe’s Drive way?
The dealers are collecting the best ‘mechanics’ or as might known today, ‘technicians.’ An excellent end dealer technician actually make $100,000 twelve months with benefits while wages shop owner would have to gross within a $1,000,000 every year to make that and still have to obtain their own benefits and social protective measures.
Because of these economic realities many independent owners have started closing their shops all night 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 injuries.
Additionally, each time a diagnosis is comprised and a fraction needs replacing the dealer will have it in stock, not only verifying diagnosing but greatly speeding inside the repair period and increasing customer support. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But it’s not only a skilled employee war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there’s a long and ongoing dispute among the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic techniques.
The manufacturers claim that their technical facts are proprietary everybody is making 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
