Maintain your Car in Shape using It to a Good Auto Repair Facility
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 as well as 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 some sort of 100,000 mile warranty which means that the independent will get little chance to operate that car for one 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 in 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 usually now being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in hard work to keep plan 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 similar to independent repair shop prices.
But it’s simply competitive pricing is actually not worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor may also be won from dealers: the dealers have always competed for skilled labor and will have become significantly 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 top skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly it becoming harder for independents to rent and retain these highly skilled employees. A great automotive technician, would you rather appeal to Audi or Joe’s Drive way?
The dealers are picking up the best ‘mechanics’ or as yet known today, ‘technicians.’ A top end dealer technician can make $100,000 a whole year with benefits while an independent shop owner would to be able to gross during a $1,000,000 twelve months to make that and have absolutely to afford their own benefits and social safe practices.
Because of this economic realities many independent owners have started closing their shops on and on to work with GM, Nissan and other dealers.
This puts the independent auto repair shop at a distinct disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related injuries.
Additionally, is not diagnosis created from and a portion needs replacing the dealer will purchase it in stock, not only verifying the verification but greatly speeding inside the repair along with increasing customer support. Big advantage Cadillac and Rolls royce.
But it’s not just a skilled employee struggle. Techs cannot fix cars without information and you will find a long and ongoing dispute amongst the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic techniques.
The manufacturers claim their technical facts are proprietary while the independents claim the information should build up to anyone who owns or fixes that make of car.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777
