A whole new model for auto-repair shops

Technology changes, but word of mouth still best marketing

By Terry Scott Reed

Reading Eagle correspondent

The reliability of modern automobiles and their manufacturers’ marketing practices have changed the way independent repair shops conduct their business.

“This is a very dynamic profession,” said Sam Morraco, automotive technology instructor at Reading Muhlenberg Career & Technology Center, Muhlenberg Township.

“We see that it is common to get 150,000 to 200,000 miles from a car today,” Morraco said. “But we also see things breaking that have never broken before, and they aren’t necessarily technical.”

Morraco said things like sway bars — part of the suspension system — which never wore out years ago, are subject to metal fatigue due to the long time they are in use, and the same applies to other metal parts.

Barry Burkhart, a partner in Burkhart Brothers Performance Center Inc., Temple, said tuneups and oil changes used to be mainstays of the independent shops.

“Better engines, along with spark plugs that last 100,000 miles, have changed all that,” Burkhart said. “Now we are doing checkups, at like 30,000 and 45,000 miles, as prescribed by the manufacturer.”

One thing that has changed repair work is the advent of the onboard diagnostic connection, a standardized connector that allows shops to access standardized codes from a car’s onboard computer.

The codes may disclose where a problem exists. Simply plug in, diagnose and repair.

While it may sound simple, Bryner Raudibaugh of KAM Specialties, Cumru Township, said: “The diagnostic equipment used by the repair shops can cost from a low of $4,000 to more than $14,000. But simple code readers can be bought for consumer use for just a few hundred.”

One problem is that the error code may be disclosing a symptom rather than the problem, so it isn’t always a matter of replacing the part indicated by the code so much as identifying the underlying problem and correcting it, which still requires skill on the part of the repairman, Raudibaugh said.

While longer warranties may keep a customer returning to the dealer for a longer time, higher labor rates may be what drives the car owner toward the private repair shop once the car leaves warranty, or even sooner for nonwarranty work.

Dealers often charge a fixed diagnostic fee or connection fee as the vehicle enters the repair bay, to recover the cost of the equipment needed to read the codes.

Dealers and private shops tend to agree that the diagnostic fee is necessary to pay for that equipment, but the private shops tend to charge less per connection and be more flexible as to when fees are imposed.

Small shops rely almost exclusively on word of mouth and referrals from existing customers.

Robert Camilli, co-owner of Camilli Brothers Automotive Inc., Muhlenberg Township, doesn’t like to see new customers just walk in the door because they tend to be wary of mechanics.

Raudibaugh, Burkhart and Camilli agreed that the best marketing, and their only marketing, is quality work at a fair price that will generate the positive word of mouth that encourages new business.

“It takes us awhile to educate them that we’re running a trustworthy shop that’s in it for the long haul and not looking to rip anyone off,” Camilli said. “I have a very loyal customer base, some of them fourth generation, that know I will treat them fairly and deliver good value. That keeps this shop busy.”

Raudibaugh said he sometimes markets his company by advertising in specialist publications. Because he services imports, he avoids trying to reach the public at large.

“We try to attract a customer that is less price sensitive and more loyal, one who will appreciate good work at a fair price,” he said. “We have found that the more price sensitive a customer is, the more quickly they will leave you and go down the road.”

Car-club newsletters and website advertising have been much more successful, Raudibaugh said.

Contact Terry Scott Reed: 610-371-5080 or businessweekly@readingeagle.com.