Keep your Car in Shape getting It to a Good Auto Repair Facility
If you see fewer auto repair shops in your town 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 is 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 the latest 100,000 mile warranty meaning that the independent will get little chance to handle 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 seeking to their service departments to make inside the difference.
Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab are adding other value added 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 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 and not just competitive pricing that’s the worrying the independents.
The battle for skilled labor is also being won through dealers: the dealers often competed for skilled labor and may have become significantly more aggressive. With fewer conserve entering the auto repair profession and opting instead for careers regarding example health and technology, the total talent pool of physical exercise skilled auto technicians is shrinking.
Increasingly appeared becoming harder for independents to work with and retain these competent employees. As an automotive technician, would you rather work for 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 earns $100,000 a year with benefits while wages shop owner would require gross during a $1,000,000 a year to make that and have absolutely to purchase their own benefits and social security.
Because from the economic realities many independent owners are usually closing their shops and going to be employed by 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 crises.
Additionally, is not diagnosis created from and an area needs replacing the dealer will buy it in stock, not only verifying diagnosing but greatly speeding inside the repair period and increasing service delivery. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.
But it is not just a skilled employee war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and you will find a long and ongoing dispute from the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic equipment.
The manufacturers claim their technical facts are proprietary in terms of independents claim the information should be around to anybody that owns or fixes build of automobile.
Excel Auto Repair & Sales
94 E Falmouth Hwy, East Falmouth, MA 02536
(508) 444-2777
