It's a problem that I'm not sure anyone has a solution for. On one hand, we all want a local dealership with good mechanics and lots of stock in accessories. And we don't want to pay a fortune for the service. On the other hand, if you tell me all the time that you'll put the part on order...I can do that too. Why do I need you?
I used to go to the local motorcycle dealership for just about everything but oil changes. They'd change my tires for about $35 a wheel. That was riding the bike in, and they took care of everything else. They needed miles on their bikes to sell them as a demo, so I'd take their bikes out for extended test rides. Then they doubled the price of a tire change. Maybe they thought it would bring them more profits, but it shut me out. It wasn't that I couldn't afford it, I could. But I'd changed bicycle tires growing up and then changed tires at a service station as I went through college. It was so cheap that it didn't make sense to do it myself...which brought me in for other things. And if they had incrementally raised the price, I'd never have cared. But doubling the price? It caught my attention and got me thinking differently. It was more principal for me, than simply the cost. When tire changes were cheap, I came there for everything else. Once they raised the price, I took to doing everything myself. It wasn't like it was hard. It was just less bother to have them do it, than me...till they doubled the price.
I just ran through something like this on my Subaru. The local independent service center did some work for me that was more than I wanted to get into. They also said I needed an oil change and that the rear brake pads were worn almost to metal on metal. If I remember correctly, they wanted @$650 for the job. I always change my own oil. Why should I pay for someone else to do it? I get a chance to look at other things on the car while I'm doing it. So no way was I paying them $150 to change my oil when I had the oil and filter at home. And changing rear brake pads? Incredibly easy. I think the pads were $37 on Amazon, and it was an hour's work. Versus $5-600? They priced themselves out of the business.
There's a cost - benefit tradeoff with having a dealer to go to. Our vehicles don't really require as much maintenance as they did 15-20 years ago. My wife's Toyota Camry went 245000 miles before we traded it in, and for the most part, all I did was the routine maintenance...change the oil, tires and brakes. Gone are the days of people trading their cars in every 2-3 years, because the changes are not significant, but the price increases are. I'm not the person who really keeps the dealerships afloat.
And while the younger generations have lost the ability to pick up a wrench to work on their own vehicles, the vehicles don't need as much maintenance as before and some of us can do the routine stuff that really takes little skill to do.
The dealerships have to come up with a business plan that provides enough value for the money they need to stay afloat. Right now, they are still figuring that out.
Chris
