A new study suggests that car dealership service centers are losing business to general repair shops as repair costs and the frequency of repair visits are on the rise.
The study was recently published by Cox Automotive, and is based on survey responses from 2,493 vehicle owners, including 182 EV owners. Vehicle owners had at least one service performed in the last 12 months, with more than 5,500 service visits accounted for. Employees with decision-making authority over fixed operations at 525 franchised car dealers were also interviewed. The surveys were conducted during the second half of the 2023 calendar year.
According to the study, car dealership service centers accounted for 30 percent of service visits in the U.S., a substantial decrease from 35 percent recorded in 2021. General repair and service stations were second at 28 percent, while other locations, such as tire repair shops, body shops, and specialists, made up the remainder.
Thirty-three percent of survey responders indicated that “general repair shops” were their first choice for repairs and maintenance, an increase from 32 percent recorded in 2021. Additionally, 31 percent of owners indicated that “dealers” were their first choice, a decrease from 35 percent in 2021.
The survey indicated that trust was a key driver in this metric, with 54 percent of vehicle owners indicating that they would return to the car dealership where they purchased the vehicle for service because they trusted the dealer, down from 62 percent in 2021.
Dealers state that one of the reasons vehicle owners may not return to the dealer for service comes down to cost, or fear of being overcharged. However, the study indicates that the average cost for dealership service is only slightly ahead of the average cost of a non-dealer service, measured at $258 per visit for dealers, and $249 for non-dealers. However, the research also indicates that the average price per visit has increased 45 percent since 2021, although that amount also includes warranty costs.
Interestingly, the study indicated that EV owners visited service centers more often than ICE owners, with the average EV owner servicing their vehicle 2.6 times, as compared to 2.3 times for ICE owners. EV owners also required more services per visit and spent more time waiting for the repair work to be completed compared to ICE owners.
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Comments
What’s the average age of a vehicle on the road today? Something like 12 years old?
As your vehicle goes out of factory warranty, it only makes sense that drivers resort to independent shops over the dealers. Why wouldn’t they? The dealers constantly try to up-sell everything and charge way more. Not only that, but as vehicles age, drivers do less on them and/or want services that are less money.
Just wait till more than 50% of the vehicles on the road are EV’s where there’s so much less to have done. The dealers will really be squawking then. Today my Bolt is at the dealership for the second time since I’ve had it. The first was for the free service (rotation and top off wiper fluid). Today is to replace a couple interior trim pieces that I felt didn’t fit properly and the replacement parts finally came in. I set up for 8:30am telling the service writer that I would need a ride or a car since they said they needed the car all day (just to replace 2 trim parts that I could do in 15 minutes!!). He said everything was set up. I showed up at 8:20am just to be early since I had an appointment at the DMV at 9:30am. Let’s just say they messed it up so badly that I didn’t even leave the dealership till almost 9:40am.
And that’s why I hate going to dealers for service.
Maybe, maybe not. Per the article, “Interestingly, the study indicated that EV owners visited service centers more often than ICE owners, with the average EV owner servicing their vehicle 2.6 times, as compared to 2.3 times for ICE owners”. So why are EV’s being serviced slightly more often than ICE? Especially since the push is that EV’s require no service. What gives?
mkAtx: That’s a good question. And I don’t honestly know. What I can assume is that those taking their EV’s in was for non-maintenance stuff such as issues/problems? I just re-read that section and it’s not at all clear on what the “service” is.
All I can say is my Bolt has very little for service and if you read what other EV owners claim, some of the services recommended by Chevy is probably not needed. What I was referring to with the EV’s having less would be no trans services, no radiator flushes, no oil changes, no air filters, no exhaust systems, no EGR valves, and so on. For those like me who drive their EV’s as intended, you will also have far less brake jobs to worry about.
The key word is “Recommended” by the Dealer Service Advisors who make 10% of the Total Repair Bill as Commision or Technicians who are compensated by the Hourly Rate or by the Job Time Hourly Rate.
I’m just blown away you wasted your time on a free tire rotation and wiper fluid top-off!
Heck I don’t even take mine in for the free oil change because I can’t stand dealing with them. My time and sanity is much more valuable than any service they offer… Unless it’s warranty, I’m doing it myself. Which also covers the fact that I’ll probably have to redo it myself later.
If you can’t tell, I’ve had very few good dealership service experiences.
Agree 100%, my 2012 Silverado that I purchased new has never been back to a dealer except for the air bag recall. Fortunately it hasn’t had any problems and I do all of my own routine maintenance. From past experience, the parts I really hate are the diagnostic fees and up-sell pitches, even for warranty work. I avoid the dealer except for new purchases as much as possible.
Funny you mention that. My 2012 GMC Sierra has never been to the dealer for anything until I reluctantly took it in for the Airbag recall. They inspected my dash before to make sure it wasn’t cracked – I inspected it afterwards because this truck is garage kept with 38k miles and the dash shouldn’t be cracked. It was fine after install – now 6 months later dash is cracking at the airbag opening.
Same thing with my 2012 Tahoe, garage kept, wife doesn’t work, only noticed the cracked dash after the air bag recall.
Hobzac62: I have to say, I really REALLY didn’t want to take it there!!! But because these cars today are so computerized and “updates” are the norm, I decided to go ahead and have them do the rotation and wiper fluid mainly so I could have them check for updates and/or any bulletins that may need to be done. But believe me when I say I’m done taking my car there any more for anything that is NOT required or under warranty. Yesterday the trim pieces were under warranty, so I had them replace them and they checked for updates and such. So for me, I’m good now and will do nothing but rotations at the tire store I use that is 2 blocks from my house.
It’s Kinda hard going to the Dealership for service when they charging at least $200 a hour for labor. And service writers constantly trying to upsell something. Those Bagels and Donuts coffee they serve only go so far when getting bent over the barrel
There are several factors that determine the dealership versus independent servicing. First, if the vehicle is new or under warranty, the dealership has top priority since the service is covered by that warranty. Second, after that warranty expires, dealership service is better but more costly, so the type of service needed decides where the service is done. Finally, if the vehicle is old, idependent shops are better to continue servicing for a much lesser cost. And if the owner is well knowledgeable (such as myself), buying the service manuals will allow doing your own servicing when you have the tools and experience to do it.
I totally agree, if you have some basic mechanical and computer knowledge and can think Logically. the new vehicles actually diagnose what is the general area of fault. Then it is fairly simple to process of elimination by disconnecting the item, part or sensor to repair it yourself.
For things like brakes, shocks, water pump, I’ll take it to a local shop. But when it comes to diagnosing something a MIL code which requires the flow chart, I’ll take it to the dealership.
My private shop”s owner always has his ipad close by its his favorite tool. He has access to everything a dealer does plus he subscribes to a service where he can call in and talk to a brand specific subject matter expert on any issue. It so happens all three of my vehicles are GM but if I had a lexus or a jeep it wouldn’t matter to him so I have a single place to go.
The dealership has all levels of skilled mechanics. The least rotate tires and do oil changes. The most diagnose or do major repairs. I’d rather have 1 capable mechanic that I can talk to that does all.
There are only 2 reasons to has a vehicle serviced at the dealer. First, to resolve any problem covered under the warranty at no cost. Second, to resolve highly unusual issues after the warranty has expired. Otherwise, a local repair shop should be used due to cost.
The acronyms in these articles can be a killer. Every acronym should be explained at its first use in the article. I still don’t know what an “ICE “ vehicle is.
Internal combustion engine
I think they missed the real headline here, EV owners visit the service center more, need more services done, and wait longer for repairs to be done??? I thought that was supposed to be the opposite, or did I miss something?
EV’s are a joke to the automotive and light truck industries, they actually “Less Expensive” to manufacture if the correct assembly lines are constructed and not modifications of the standard Big 3 or Non Domestic manufactures assembly lines. Plus the American Unions [UAW] workers cost of labor ($34/ hour) and benefits ~$45/ hour are unjustified for performing a simple task each and every day they work [Forget about calling in sick, vacation days, personal paid time off and slacking at work (Everyone has heard the past stories of GM, Ford, Chrysler-Fiat-Stellantis workers loafing or not doing their tasks while on the clock).
If it’s so easy,just grab a job application and jump on the line and kick some butt!
I worked in the automobile business for 50 years in the sales end! The service department has always been a problem. I’m a firm believer that in the cars now a days the independent shops do not have the proper tools to do some repairs because the manufacturers have designed the cars to be repaired and reset with only the tools that are provided by the factory to its dealers. With that said , with Covid the dealers have upped the labor rate to the moon with unfavorable pricing practices. Once they lose that customer they are not coming back. Then they try to make it up in another way. Like parts and sales. And the dealer has a very hard time finding service drive people that care about the customer. And the other problem is the technician lies to the service drive person about what they have to do to repair the car, because they want to be payed more for the repair in some instances.
Mercedes Benz Dealerships charges $240+ in Atlanta GA. I am sure other large cities are similar.
SOURCE: Just call a dealership service department and ask what is the Dealership Technicians or Mechanics Hourly
Charge, they will tell you straight up.
For me it not the cost it’s the quality of workmanship. I took my C8 in for its frist oil change and it was not top off properly , they left oil on the fill cap and spiil fluid and it was not cleaned up from underneath the car I wouldn’t let the dealer work on my lawn mower it’s slam bam thank you ma’am mentality. Sure hope I don’t have any problems with the Electronics in the car.
Brought my 2023 in for its first oil change
Returned to my garage ext day to find oil spilled
On floor after careless workmanship from my “trusted dealership “ dissatisfied
I attribute this to more state passing right to repair laws giving independent shops access to the same shop manuals and diagnostic equipment and programs that manufactures have.
First thing that should happen is to get rid of the flat rate pay system for mechanics…excuse me I meant technicians. The system rarely works in the Technicians favor,and it causes rushed,haphazard work.
If ya remove software and android/apple issues from the visits then how much more are ice vs Evs in the dealer shop…I bet EVs a bit less.
Maybe if they had techs and I didn’t have to wait weeks for an appointment, they’d get my business.
Bidenomics destroyed the business. Can’t buy a vehicle, can’t get a vehicle serviced, I don’t even look at new ones anymore, waste of time.
It is not remotely difficult to see why people are abandoning dealer service departments. I have a 2020 Corvette stingray, which needs the Dual Clutch Transmission filter changed. I called, or tried to call, the service departments of 5 Chevrolet dealers. Two never answered, one that did answer hung up on me twice, and the dealer I usually use proposed to charge me $450 more than the one dealer who seemed interested in my business. The three quotes I got for this routine service were $600, $1050, and $1400. If I could find a reliable trustworthy local repair shop, I would patronize them, but my experience with independent shops has been bad. With genuine Chevrolet dealers, at least there is some recourse if they screw things up.
What recourse? They lie and claim everything was done correctly. Even warranty work is scary, I truly believe some of them cause more problems for a future chance to rip you off another time.
Former gm tech here. I’m an engineer and run my own shop. Cost is a factor for my customers however trust and quality of work is a big one. My customers know that no matter what the issue is I can fix it and have no problem paying my hourly rate because they know it’s not being broken up into 50 different chunks to pay for a job that doesn’t need to exist. That’s right I have no service advisors. Customer is direct with the tech and so they feel more comfortable and not taken advantage of. It’s called transparency. Like I don’t up charge my parts. They are brought to me so what am I charging extra for?oh warranty? Pshhh check your parts before hand and worst case you eat it it’s called business. If it happens too often you find another supplier simple as that. In my opinion the only way to save the current service industry is to cut out all the middle men and bring it back down to customer service. I’ve been yelled at and said thanks come again. Point is stop making it about money only and the money comes. Dealerships don’t need 20 sales men, and 15 service advisors and 8 parts guys. Bring it down and stop making everything about commissions. Pay is correctly not flat rate or hourly and stop with the unreasonably big bonus checks for the fat guy in an office that doesn’t add any value. Treat the customers like people and not dollars and they will see I huge increase in service.
GM Service is atrocious. I bought a used vehicle and went to the local dealer to obtain the service history giving them my VIN. They could not pull it up and gave me the phone number of the dealership in a different state to get that information. The Stabiltrak Light came on intermittently. The Service Advisor said it eas critical and couldn’t quote me a price but said the minimum labor was $185 per hour. They wouldn’t quote me s price for transmission flush. Just a $738 package that included the flush I can have done at an independent garage for $200. I would only go to dealership for warranty work. Mary Barra only cares about the price of the shares while GM is alienating customers and losing market share
Maybe if the dealership didn’t book you in for 10:00am and then call at 4:00pm and say, “Sir, do you need your car today?” It’s a f’n oil change, not an engine swap.
CHET, I Too spent 50 years in a dealership from washing cars as a kid , tech, writer, service manager and Finally as a service director for 5 dealerships. When I was tech I was a heavy line tech, while I worked some around me drank coffee and BS with other techs, writers or any one close to them. They also b!tched about not making money on piece work. Service writers are taught suggest any item that is needed if the tech does his or her job correctly. You are right the tech and the writer get paid off what they sell. BUT IF AS YOU STATE it is not legit it is managements problem as it is causing the $$$ because of it. I have fired writers who lie to people and techs that don’t do the job correctly.. Again it is the managements duty to control. So Say something to the General manager or service director. As for the dirty car, oil dripping and like carelessness, again you need to tell them because some one should review the vehicle before returning it to the owner, no one can fix lazy, stupid or dishonest employees. UNDERSTAND THIS IS MY OPION AND IT WORKED FOR ME. From my view