New Car Dealers will Continue to Invest in Service Department

[Joe Marconi]

When I started in this business, way back in 1974 B.C. (Before Catalytic Converters), new car dealers couldn't care less about the service department. But, with stiff competition and shrinking margins, the service department is a much needed source of revenue.

 

A recent survey shows that new cars dealers service departments are expecting a significant sales increase in 2015.

 

Independent repair shops should not take this lightly and should step up their marketing, particularly in customer service.

 

The really good news: Customer service marketing is the most cost-effective and the independents are still the preferred choice of the motoring public. Let make sure we hold on to this advantage.

[mspecperformance]

I need to start offering Loaners. Then there is absolutely no reason to go to the dealer!

[PACMAN]

We have loaner cars and find it is a great marketing tool. Really helps out when the car has to stay overnight, people have errands to run. Lots of positive feedback from people who use them.

Gary

[Mario]

A foreign car dealer here started buying their waiters lunch! It's brings customers in and probably cuts back on waiters hassling the service writer if there car is done every 10 minutes.

[cdhowell]

Something I have recently ran into. The dealership offering lifetime power train warranties. Not from Ford but the dealer them self. It says any service provided outside the dealership will void the warranty. How do I compete with this?

[cdhowell]

Something I have recently ran into. The dealership is offering lifetime power train warranties. Not from Ford but the dealer them self. It says any service provided outside the dealership will void the warranty. How do I compete with this?

[KMS]

You have to understand, dealerships are getting desperate. Their customer service is getting worse due to the manufacturers becoming greedy! I wouldn't worry too much about this because it will be one of those things that will dissipate very quickly. You could up your warranty slightly and let all of your customers know. Our warranty is 3yrs / Unlimited miles and seems to be working out great for our customers. You also need to understand a better warranty doesn't beat great customer service!

[Shopcat]

Local shops are preferred by the motoring public because they are more accommodating and reasonably priced. If you have a brand, work it. If you do not have a brand, develop one. Think outside the box, be unique and you will not have to worry about the dealers.

[KMS]

Local shops are preferred by the motoring public because they are more accommodating and reasonably priced. If you have a brand, work it. If you do not have a brand, develop one. Think outside the box, be unique and you will not have to worry about the dealers.

 

Good post and that is completely true. Find something unique to separate yourself from the rest. Everything else will follow.

[mspecperformance]

Funny thing that happened today. Had a car drop off yesterday hit a pot hole had a coolant leak. 2009 328xi. Found that the leak was coming from the waterpump. After giving the customer a price he said he wants to go through his insurance for road hazard. Today I get a call from Geico asking the vehicle to be released to another shop. At this point I am a bit confused so I call the customer up. Customer said he had a discussion with his wife and his wife wanted to bring the car to BMW. Oddly enough I think his wife mystery shopped me the day before asking what the difference was between the dealer and my shop. I went through the list of things that differentiates us from customer service, personal attention, ability to speak to the technician, longer warranty, same training, dealer level equipment etc etc. Gave her my best pitch which works 99% of the time to get "Wow, I feel really comfortable bringing my car to you." This time though she seemed super skeptical and I got responses like, "well I dont really care to speak to the technician" and odd responses like that. At the end of the 10 minute conversation she says, "well I'll have to think about it." Even after I mentioned our reputation and reviews she said, "oh yeah you do have great reviews online." So then??????????????????????

 

I tried to ask questions to understand why they chose to bring the car to the dealership. The basic response I got was, "well if insurance is going to cover it my wife feels more comfortable bring our car to the dealer." The only thing that was going through my head was, "Why?!?!?!?!?!!?!?" I may be looking to much into this although I guess my personality forces me to never settle for anything less than 100%. This is the first time i lost a customer to the dealership in 9 years after their car was already at my shop. Gets me thinking what else do I need to do to not have this happen again in the future. There will always be illogical strange people out there I can accept that. Still sucks though!

 

For shizzles and giggles I went and yelped all the BMW dealerships around and none were above a 2.5 star review. Brand has a strong pull on some people.

[KMS]

Funny thing that happened today. Had a car drop off yesterday hit a pot hole had a coolant leak. 2009 328xi. Found that the leak was coming from the waterpump. After giving the customer a price he said he wants to go through his insurance for road hazard. Today I get a call from Geico asking the vehicle to be released to another shop. At this point I am a bit confused so I call the customer up. Customer said he had a discussion with his wife and his wife wanted to bring the car to BMW. Oddly enough I think his wife mystery shopped me the day before asking what the difference was between the dealer and my shop. I went through the list of things that differentiates us from customer service, personal attention, ability to speak to the technician, longer warranty, same training, dealer level equipment etc etc. Gave her my best pitch which works 99% of the time to get "Wow, I feel really comfortable bringing my car to you." This time though she seemed super skeptical and I got responses like, "well I dont really care to speak to the technician" and odd responses like that. At the end of the 10 minute conversation she says, "well I'll have to think about it." Even after I mentioned our reputation and reviews she said, "oh yeah you do have great reviews online." So then??????????????????????

 

I tried to ask questions to understand why they chose to bring the car to the dealership. The basic response I got was, "well if insurance is going to cover it my wife feels more comfortable bring our car to the dealer." The only thing that was going through my head was, "Why?!?!?!?!?!!?!?" I may be looking to much into this although I guess my personality forces me to never settle for anything less than 100%. This is the first time i lost a customer to the dealership in 9 years after their car was already at my shop. Gets me thinking what else do I need to do to not have this happen again in the future. There will always be illogical strange people out there I can accept that. Still sucks though!

 

For shizzles and giggles I went and yelped all the BMW dealerships around and none were above a 2.5 star review. Brand has a strong pull on some people.

 

Been there. You will see them again after the dealer f-up something and treats them like crap. It take some people a while to go outside their box of normal.

[John Pearson]

Funny thing that happened today. Had a car drop off yesterday hit a pot hole had a coolant leak. 2009 328xi. Found that the leak was coming from the waterpump. After giving the customer a price he said he wants to go through his insurance for road hazard. Today I get a call from Geico asking the vehicle to be released to another shop. At this point I am a bit confused so I call the customer up. Customer said he had a discussion with his wife and his wife wanted to bring the car to BMW. Oddly enough I think his wife mystery shopped me the day before asking what the difference was between the dealer and my shop. I went through the list of things that differentiates us from customer service, personal attention, ability to speak to the technician, longer warranty, same training, dealer level equipment etc etc. Gave her my best pitch which works 99% of the time to get "Wow, I feel really comfortable bringing my car to you." This time though she seemed super skeptical and I got responses like, "well I dont really care to speak to the technician" and odd responses like that. At the end of the 10 minute conversation she says, "well I'll have to think about it." Even after I mentioned our reputation and reviews she said, "oh yeah you do have great reviews online." So then??????????????????????

 

I tried to ask questions to understand why they chose to bring the car to the dealership. The basic response I got was, "well if insurance is going to cover it my wife feels more comfortable bring our car to the dealer." The only thing that was going through my head was, "Why?!?!?!?!?!!?!?" I may be looking to much into this although I guess my personality forces me to never settle for anything less than 100%. This is the first time i lost a customer to the dealership in 9 years after their car was already at my shop. Gets me thinking what else do I need to do to not have this happen again in the future. There will always be illogical strange people out there I can accept that. Still sucks though!

 

For shizzles and giggles I went and yelped all the BMW dealerships around and none were above a 2.5 star review. Brand has a strong pull on some people.

 

 

 

Been there. You will see them again after the dealer f-up something and treats them like crap. It take some people a while to go outside their box of normal.

 

Just be patient, some people are just odd ducks and have to learn the hard way. They may not be back this year but they will be back.

[alfredauto]

Not to be a downer, but if i was a consumer and someone else was paying the bill for my BMW I'd take it to the BMW dealer too unless my regular mechanic could do it. There are too many indy shops that say they work on euro cars but really have no idea what there doing. Thank the jack of all trades for that. Maybe send a follow up letter thanking them for the opportunity and invite them in to service them in the future. Its hard to get a new customer comfortable when they are stressed. Don't take it personal.

 

I Just bought a clean E39 540i m sport that an Indy goofed on. Someone did a water pump and jammed the coolant pipes so hard it broke the rear coolant manifold. They thought it blew the head gasket because water was pouring from the back of the engine. Doh!