Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) Study

[ZOOM1]

As TheOne says,we are comparing apples to apples-in the customers eyes.The customer doesn't care about our expenses,only about having their vehicle repaired properly for a reasonable cost. I don't believe in trying to be the "cheapest",but we can be competitive with the aftermarket.It's up to us to educate our customers,and sell value,not just price.

[z28]

When customers are surveyed about why they have their cars serviced at a dealership the cost factor is low on their priority list, in other words they expect a higher level of service and don't mind paying for it, and that's a FACT.

[GMFXDOPSMGR]

Most dealers are very competitive on the general maintenance pricing. We have the local economy to deal with so we have to be competitive. The independents will not have the technology to deal with the late model vehicles, upgrades, etc.
Fair prices with OEM parts is what most dealers strive to attain.

[JGKW]

Perspective maybe. You want to put a deck on your house. You get a couple of prices. First guy tells you he can have it done in a week and it will cost $5000. The second guy says he can do it for half that price. You chose the first guy and he does exactly what he committed to doing. You chose the second guy and you don't see or here from him a month later. Which one do you consider a rip off?

I think we can all identify with similiar scenarios, and can apply that to what our customers expectations are. All of us speak the language of great customer service. There should be more opportunity in the market today to concentrate on developing strong customer confidence that will translate into customer loyalty.

[gmcgrew]

Cost is not the only factor on where to have your car serviced. Trust and customer service are big pieces of the puzzle that are not in a price comparison that sway people to use dealerships. The problem is that sometimes we hide behind those words trying to justify our prices when the stalls are empty. It doesn't matter what you charge if you have lots of customers and they feel they are being taken care of. Comparisons like this make customers feel they are being taken advantage of though and not taken care of.

Most studies can be slanted and supported in the authors opinion with a little work but even then there is some truth in them. Dealers are losing repair work to independant shops and many of them offer the SAME services, i.e. shuttle, porter, loaner, customer service, that dealers provide. We need to compete with them not attempt to belittle what they are doing if we want to be here.

New cars can be sold through Walmart and serviced through the independants. That would leave maybe some regional parts departments on huge used car lots. Take back the fixed ops from other shops and your dealer will still have a say in how new cars are sold in your town.

[Tyler Robbins]

As much as these organizations may claim to be unbiased, how can they be?

I mean honestly, if the AAIA "learned" through their surveying that franchised dealers were in fact LESS expensive, would they have even released their findings? That being said, wouldn't it prove to be in the best interests of the AAIA to keep surveying until they acheived the data they wanted?

If anyone priced a Radiator Repair (how often do we even see this anymore) at a dealer in Los Angeles and then compared that repair to an aftermarket in St. Louis, what would you expect?

I bet, you could find the same "differences" in the cost of repairs between two different aftermarkets as well.

Oh, by the way, Isnt it interesting how they compared C and D type work?

Did they do any surveying on the difference in cost of a HIGHLY TECHNICAL repair? Something like intermittent electrical concern?

All surveying, even auto manufacturers CSI surveys have a bias and the unfortuante reality of our business is that Dealerships get a bad rap whether deserved or not.

This announcement however, does have value, not in the data that they have gathered, but in the fact that dealers need to position themselves in the marketplace.

Someone mentioned Nordstroms, JC Penny, McDonalds - the challenge the dealer network has, is choosing its identity and working to it.

When the price issue comes up, even within this forum thus far - we talk about our "Nordstrom" status. But dealers arent really Nordstroms - Nordstroms doesnt care if they gain the "Wal-Mart" customers, but dealers do - the Challenge the Dealer network has is simple - We want Nordstrom Status, Norstrom Pricing, Nordstrom Levels of Customer Service and we expect Wal-Mart customers to see the value in all of that and pay for it.

The reality is, many customers are in fact - Wal-Mart customers and will NEVER be Nordstrom customers. So dealers must either:
A) Accept their Nordstrom Status & Customer base
B) Become a Wal-Mart and accept that customer base and status
C) Find a happy medium and accept that customer base and status
D) Work to be both Nordstroms (Main Shop) and Wal-Mart (Quick Service) finding a good balance to allow customers to go back and forth as needed!

[partsman103]

the article fails to mention why repairs are higher at dealerships -vs- shade trees ...aka...independants.
Also fails to mention the number of times the shade trees have to call the dealer b/c they have no idea what this or that code that is set means...or what it takes to repair the vehicle.
I am thankful that we no longer give out any information to shade-trees. We do offer to make the repairs though.

[possum]

I don't know if I'm allowed to post this URL, but here it is..

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars ... s-vary.htm

[anzael]

AAIA is an exchange affiliation built up in July 1999 with an organization together of the Automotive Parts and Accessories Association (APPA) and the Automotive Service Industry Association (ASIA). AAIA car industry is comprise of 23,000 individuals and members fabricate, disperse, offer and introduce engine vehicle parts, embellishments, apparatuses, hardware, materials, supplies, and administrations. Being the biggest and most far reaching exchange affiliation, it speaks to more than 100,000 suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, administration suppliers, program gatherings, makers' delegates, instructors, and distributors.