Dealerships going mobile

[JimO]

Last week a sales rep from a local Mercedes parts department stopped in to see me. He has been to my location several times in the past, always polite and professional. He handed me a paper with several topics highlighted such as extended parts dept. business hours during the week, Saturday hours, on-line ordering and mobile diagnostics. He provided additional information about each topic but the item that concerned me was mobile diagnostics. He explained that today’s vehicles are so complex that in many cases they require proprietary OEM equipment, information and training to efficiently repair them which they can provide, for a fee, at my location. He went on to tell me that they are equipping two vehicles, one vehicle for diagnostics and the other vehicle equipped with a compressor, tire machine and balancer. Whoa.... now he lost me, we need assistance replacing tires? Seems to me this mobile task force is NOT our friend but instead our foe, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. They are gearing up to provide mobile repairs in my area at my customers homes and work places, not good. I expressed my concern and he quickly informed me that everyone else that he had presented this concept to were very pleased to be able to receive assistance (for a fee) when needed and did not look at this as competition. This dealership is owned by Lithia, one of the top ten largest dealers in America. I doubt if we, the local independent repair community, could keep two mobile repair vehicles busy enough to warrant their existence. Fine, they are willing to “help” me (for a fee) with problem jobs at my location but I feel they are clearly after my customers. What are your thoughts? Are there any dealers in your area also offering this same service? 

[tomkatv10]

Well.... I’m actually in the process of creating a mobile division for my shop. I’m only in the planning stages, but I hope to launch a beta project by end of year. I figure one tech, one truck to start. It will complement my bay business. I look at it this way, convenience is becoming the norm for people and working on their car at their location is about as convenient as you can get. I can’t build anymore bays and my location is the best in town so I’m not moving. Bottom line, if I want to keep growing and I can’t bring anymore to me with my bays and lot size then I‘m going to go to them. If anyone else has tried this I’d like to hear from them

[JustTheBest]

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[newport5]

How do you think they are after your customer? Getting info from the VIN and contacting them? Highly unethical, almost stealing. I'd be surprised. too easy to verify, which would be bad publicity.

A "fee" seems fair, depending on how much. Is it a shop rate, where you can mark it up?

Could it be simply added income for them?

And what if the diagnosis doesn't fix the problem?

I'm presuming their diagnosis software is much better than ours -- read more expensive, Probably prohibitively more expensive than ours, depending on how many brands you work on.

 

[JimO]

8 hours ago, newport5 said:

How do you think they are after your customer? Getting info from the VIN and contacting them? Highly unethical, almost stealing. I'd be surprised. too easy to verify, which would be bad publicity.

A "fee" seems fair, depending on how much. Is it a shop rate, where you can mark it up?

Could it be simply added income for them?

And what if the diagnosis doesn't fix the problem?

I'm presuming their diagnosis software is much better than ours -- read more expensive, Probably prohibitively more expensive than ours, depending on how many brands you work on.

I am not insinuating that the dealer is stealing my customer by responding to a request for help (for a fee) from me and working on that vehicle and acquiring contact information. What I am saying is that the dealer is no longer content with the vehicles that customers drive to them for repairs. They realize that offering waiting areas with tiled floors, chandeliers, coffee machines and pastries is nice but quite a few prospective customers want more, they want convenience. Unlike years ago today’s dealers are now mostly located on the highway which in most cases is inconvenient. We, the independent local repair shop fulfill the customers needs when it comes to convenience... until now. I think that the dealer is after that segment, that piece of the pie, that potential customer that doesn’t give a rat’s ass about tiled floors or pastries and just wants convenience. Is the dealer offering assistance to me, at my location (for a fee) if requested? Yes, but is that the main reason that they equipped two vehicles with diagnostic equipment, information links, tire machine, balancer, compressor and staff both vehicles with two mobile techs? Either they took nice pills and feel sorry for me and want to help me -or- they are going after an untapped customer base which just so happens to be a good portion of MY customer base. It is for that reason that I think they are after my customers.