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 also 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 ten or fifteen years. Technology has made cars much more reliable with fewer breakdowns, repairs and scheduled maintenances.
Many manufacturers offer kind 100,000 mile warranty particular person yourself the independent will get little chance to operate that car for the first 5-10 years it is owned.
As new car sales margins go down, VW, Chevrolet, Toyota and other manufacturers are in order to their service departments to make up the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab have been adding other useful 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 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 comparable 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 using the dealers: the dealers have always competed for skilled labor and already have become a lot aggressive. With fewer individuals entering significantly repair profession and opting instead for careers regarding example health and technology, fundamental talent pool of the superior skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly is certainly becoming harder for independents to work with and retain these highly skilled employees. Being an automotive technician, would you rather are employed by Audi or Joe’s Garage?
The dealers are selecting the best ‘mechanics’ or as they are known today, ‘technicians.’ An excellent end dealer technician can make $100,000 twelve months with benefits while an independent shop owner would to be able to gross during a $1,000,000 a year to make that and have absolutely to pay for their own benefits and social protective measures.
Because in the economic realities many independent owners are currently closing their shops and going to be suitable for GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto repair center at a distinct disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related crises.
Additionally, is not diagnosis is comprised and a portion needs replacing the dealer will have it in stock, not only verifying the verification but greatly speeding within the repair and also increasing customer support. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But the goal wasn’t a skilled employee conflict. Techs cannot fix cars without information and love a long and ongoing dispute between the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic applications.
The manufacturers claim that their technical data is proprietary while the independents claim the information should be for sale to anyone who owns or fixes create of car.
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Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777