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Employer Quotes
The quotes below are from employers in this industry: Transportation
They are talking about this topic: Industry Trends
The quotes below are about this issue:
Participants also mention a change in the demand for certain types of services. There is now a focus on replacing parts instead of providing routine maintenance services. Also, due to an increase in manufacturer-specific parts, dealership business has increased which, in turn, has reduced the demand for independent shop services.
| "The industry is changing. I mean, the service and repair industry, cars go 10,000 miles before oil changes now. They don't break down like they used to, so I think that the need for repairs and service has gone down." | Metro |
| "I'm seeing that in the automotive dealer world, the business of replacing parts is more, and more, and more. We don't rebuild anything anymore. Most of the time, the warranty says, we'll just send you one. So if [a person works] for me, he or she just needs to know how to replace [things]. Well, you know, those old cars don't go away, so it's an interesting demand that the industry has because we're seeing more, and more, and more replaced?diagnose it, replace it, diagnose it, replace it." | Metro |
| "The walk-in customer, the do-it-yourselfer, is definitely declining. Dealership business is growing. And it's just kind of what everybody else has said, you know, as the cars get smarter there is less that you can do yourself. There are still a large number of people doing a lot of their own maintenance...oil changes, you know, putting a new battery in their care, cleaning it up, spark plugs, and things like that. They are still doing that." | Northwest |
| "There are going to be more and more parts that will be specific to the manufacturers." | Northwest |
| "[W]hen I started working at parts and services when I was 18 years old, it was [about] low cost of ownership. The manufacturers said, 'they're in the manual, this is when you need to service this, this is when you need to service that.' Since then, and now today, we are still preaching the same thing: low cost of ownership. But the maintenance intervals have gone [down]. So, when that customer calls your dealership, you know, they may need the simple service, but it maybe [it's] something more serious. Some of those simple services have gone by the wayside." | Northwest |
| "We (independent shops) are [just] not going to be there. Because of what's coming down the road with the electronics, with the manufacturers, it's making it harder and harder for us. We'll do the oil changes and things like that, but other than that, we're out of it. I mean, you look down at an engine and you're scratching your head going, 'oh, lord, now what do I do?' And if you don't have the stuff from the manufacturer that you can go online and read about, it's tough. I don't think the small garages and things like that will be around anymore. We're going to be out of it." | Northwest |
| "I was just talking with a gentleman today that was having problems with his vehicle, and I told him he needed a part. I recommended that he go to the manufacturer because the part that he wanted, basically, I have seen fail a lot in the aftermarket." | Northwest |
| "About 30 percent of our work now is custom paint, which is a lot [more] than it used to be..." | Southwest |
| "So, a lot of our work is families, they're students, moms, dads, girlfriends, families or whatever. They'll [bring in] vehicles that have 100,000 miles that their insurance companies totaled out, and so we use a lot of these parts..." | Southwest |