Truck Repair Taking Too Long – Blame a Lack of Technicians
Tim Esterdahl | Apr 25, 2012 | Comments 6
Has your truck been in the shop longer than usual? Does the dealership seem to be not exactly “speedy?” It could be a lack of trained technicians that is too blame. A recent 10-year projection sees as many as 180,000 unfilled technical service jobs in the U.S. It’s time to change your own oil.
It might just be that your dealership isn't really that slow, they simply don't have enough technicians.
- 17,850 dealerships nationwide
- More than 4,200 dealerships in market areas with fewer than 50,000 people
Also, the level of expertise that it takes to fix a vehicle has risen substantially. LaReau says “Experts say the skills needed to be a service technician today are more reflective of a computer whiz kid than that of a mechanic.”
Yet, another issue is that many rural dealerships are over-staffed with “A” level mechanics. These mechanics make the top-end wage of $25-30 an hour while the lower-level techs make $10-15 an hour. The lower-level techs are the ones who do the minor jobs like oil changes.
How does this effect your local dealer repairing your truck? Well, if it is a rural dealer, it is likely the repair will take longer due to a lack of staffing. Consider the case of Durango, Co dealership owner Pat Murphy. LaRue quoted him as saying “The problem is the technical training. And we need someone to work immediately,” Murphy says. “I’ve been looking for technicians for about three years now for these two open slots. We have a strong need, a very strong need.”
While many of us have little forgiveness for dealers who take too long for repairs, at least there could actually be a good reason for the delay.
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Filed Under: Auto News
The manufacturers seem to have developed a habit of making everything more difficult to work on than it needs to be, the Tundra oil filter change for example.
This appears to be an effort to force consumers into having repairs done at the dealerships rather than DIY.
A good point – these vehicles are more complicated than ever, and that necessitates taking your car to the dealership.
The manufacturers also want to keep repair info secret from independent shops, partially to force consumers to bring their vehicle to the dealership, but also because many independent shops just don’t have the skills, tools, and/or training to do the job.
In my dealership days, our store did quite a bit of work fixing repairs that independent “shops” either didn’t do correctly, didn’t have the tools to do, or didn’t have the training to complete.
In my opinion, part of the problem is that things have changed too much. A lot of the old dogs that started in the business in the 70’s and 80’s just can’t handle the modern diagnostic process, so when they can’t hack it at the dealership, they go open their own shops.
One more point and then I’ll stop – cars are more expensive and more complicated to fix, but they’re also significantly less likely to break than they were even 20 years ago. I think consumers are better off today, all things considered.
There is a shortage of mechanics because the warranty pay isn’t worth it, hardly anybody is crazy enough to pay to have their car repaired at the dealership once the warranty runs out, benefits are almost non existent, no respect from management, pay steadily decreasing, commission only pay causes a fluctuating pay check. It can be good pay for a young man or woman with no education, but they will soon see their is better opportunities out there.
Good points here too. The margins in the car business are tight, and independent shops (which don’t have to meet any manufacturer-mandated customer satisfaction scores) are definitely cheaper, which in turn puts even more pressure on margins, which means techs don’t make a killing like they once did.
But speaking of independent shops being cheaper, is that a good thing? Consumers should consider the wisdom of letting the local oil change kid bang away at their complicated, computerized automobile. Midas or Jiffy Lube are cheap, but they don’t make their techs do half the training and certification work that dealership techs must complete. They also don’t hold their techs accountable for “fix it right the first time” in the same way that dealers do.
Frankly, independent shops have it easy. They do the simple maintenance and repairs, but when things get complicated, they pass the buck to the dealership and give the consumer some lame excuse.
Mendonsy has a point so does anonymous. I know a few mechanics that still work at dealerships. They claim they are doing quite fine. Even grandson works at a Toyota dealership while going to the tech schools for Toyota.
hard to find good techs that give a darn anymore, even at toyota dealers. Most are flunky’s like I would be doing oil changes and basic maintenance but to keep the better techs is harder to do since not many out there that care about customer service. I met a few techs and usually can tell the good ones from the bad ones because have ridden with both and the older one just dissed me and said nothing wrong while a somewhat younger tech actually rode with me and heard and felt what I was describing. The older one was like who cares had to get the service mgr. involved and ratted him out in front of him that he didn’t like at all.