Dealer service departments remain unpopular
But independent shops sometimes find it hard to access data, writes Brian Turner.
New-vehicle retailers have long had to live with defection rates. Sedan owners defect to SUVs and crossovers, import fans move over to domestics (whatever those are anymore), and service customers move away to independent and aftermarket repair facilities.
Some studies and dealership experiences peg service defection rates as high as 70 per cent after the vehicle’s factory warranty expires, with almost a third of new-auto buyers never returning for even one retail maintenance item. This varies depending on vehicle make, customer location, and how competitive and resourced their region may be in terms of repair shops.
No matter how much dealership service departments have evolved and progressed on the side of customer satisfaction and competitiveness over the years, a strong perception (misconception in some cases) that they’re expensive and inconvenient places to do business still exists with a substantial number of consumers.
Car owners are so comfortable (in most cases) with their non-dealership service resources that they shudder when their favourite adviser tells them a certain problem is a “dealer issue” and the vehicle must return to the factory retailer for repair.
Fortunately these aftermarket shops are gaining more access to proprietary data, enabling them to be able to re-flash auto computers or to research automaker bulletins and have access to special tools and equipment.
While some of the repair issues requiring access to manufacturer data are minor and rare, some are more common, such as obtaining electronic key codes.
Aftermarket auto repair trade associations across the country have been helping their membership connect to needed repair data as well as lobbying provincial and federal governments to keep the pressure on carmakers to supply such information. In the U.S., various state legislatures have put the aftermarket’s right to repair into laws and regulations, and now Canadian trade groups are getting assistance from a U.S. national group called National Automotive Service Information Task Force. This industry panel has agreed to take information requests from Canadian shops when they hit a wall dealing with data problems.
Where does all of this leave consumers? It depends how attached you might be to your aftermarket service provider or how much you loathe going to a dealership.
Carmakers vary in their approach on this, with some believing the way to repeat purchases is to make sure every shop has access to repair info, while some hold data tight to their chests.
If you’re on a shopping tour for a new model and have it narrowed down to a short list, perhaps the question you might pose to your regular aftermarket tech or shop is, “How easy is it to work on these things?”