The cost-of-living crisis has forced motorists onto restrictive budgets. This, along with the web which has made it easier for drivers to shop around, has thrown into sharp relief the need for garages to price their work keenly.
But is price everything? Well that depends on who you ask, but unless a driver is in a Bugatti or a Bentley where, if they need to ask about cost it’s clear that they cannot afford it, price is invariably going to be a barrier to winning business.
Some brands price match
The economy is leading main dealers to become far more price competitive to win over cost-conscious motorists. Audi, VW and Vauxhall, for example, say dealers will price match like-for-like repairs – but only if there’s a written quote citing genuine parts. However, it’s questionable how many motorists bother to get (or are given) written quotes which can be used as a financial club.
This attitude to pricing doesn’t seem to be causing the independents much concern given a ‘straw poll’ of several independents and comment on forums such as Moneysavingexpert.com, where cost has been discussed in relation to warranty. One thread, albeit from 2010, discussing servicing a Mercedes, saw several posts reassuring drivers that so long as servicing was done to manufacturer specification – with proof of such – then there should no issues; the overriding message was to use a good independent specialist and make savings.
And there are plenty more threads on the subject – more recently too.
Independents not concerned
As for the view of independents, take that of Tom Lenthall Ltd, an independent Jaguar specialist based in Reading. As owner Tom Lenthall commented, his garage doesn’t need to price match main dealers and isn’t worried about them price-matching him “because they’re so bad they do the hard work for me.” He continues: “I could charge as much as the main dealer, and I think I would still be just as busy.”
Lenthall notes that his rates – and those of most independents – are roughly half that of main dealers, and given that parts cost what they cost, that alone is a huge reason for his customers to use his garage.
Harry Lee, a service advisor at Liphook Auto Services, says the same.
He’s of the opinion that “people come here to save money on servicing.” And because of this Lee says that he’s rarely asked about the garage’s hourly labour rate.
Further, while he doesn’t feel the need to monitor what main dealers are doing in terms of price matching quotes with independents, Lee isn’t “bothered by the threat of them”. In fact, he says that “I haven’t heard of any issues with people choosing main dealers over us… there have been some occasions where I’ve spoken to customers and given them a quote and they’ve said that the main dealer can do it for a given price.” Regardless, pricing is not a concern for Liphook Auto Services – even if customers blatantly ring around to get comparative quotes and fail to return.
Interestingly, Colin Ferns, owner of Richmond-based Colin Ferns Independent Mercedes Specialists, has seen Mercedes main dealers try to compete with him on price. But as he says, “they’ve had a few attempts in the past to target older cars, but they’ve not been very successful at it.” He finds it “not difficult to compete with them on price” – and that’s saying something because his rate is £125+VAT an hour – while he reckons that main dealers are in the range of £170+VAT an hour or more; he explains that his rate is high because he is “a dedicated Mercedes specialist with a reputation for excellence” so is able to command a premium over the average garage.
Mark Carter, owner of Abacus Vehicle Services in Taunton, has also found local main dealers cutting prices. He said: “We’ve had cases of customers getting an initial cheaper quote with the main dealer. However, that doesn’t always mean the final bill will be more competitive.”
Carter reckons that independent garage owners still “need to really display expertise and demonstrate to customers that we can match, and often exceed, what’s on offer with local main dealers.”
More than price
But Lenthall thinks that getting business is not all about pricing, even though it clearly is a factor. He thinks that winning business is “also about the skill set and talking to someone on the phone who knows what they want”.
His point is that main dealers may have skilled staff in the workshop but most front of house staff have, in Lenthall’s view, little working knowledge of what they’re talking about. He explains that, as product volumes have grown at main dealers, the “front of house has been badly diluted.”
Similarly, the key, for Ferns though, is to be a garage that is knowledgeable, personable and not mass-market – it’s about service.
Ferns does, however, comment that his client base has changed over the last ten years or so with the advent of PCPs: “People are not really that interested in the cars anymore… a lot don’t own their car, so we don’t get that business. But those that do own their car are fishing around for the cheapest price because they’re not passionate about the brand as customers used to be.” He says that he struggles to generate new business because of this and consequently, the garage has pivoted to target those with older or classic cars for which he has plenty of work.
But even in this segment Ferns gets customers ringing around to get the best comparative price.
On the subject of specialism, Lee notes that some choose to use main dealers as they’re “generally regarded as being more specialist, not that they necessarily are but [they have] the software.”
Lenthall well knows that in many cases an independent is started by a skilled technician who understands cars and has an ethos of treating customers as they’d want to be treated. This is why, fundamentally, he considers that getting business is “not difficult” reckons Lenthall.
All the issues Lenthall outlines aren’t, he says, specific to any one marque – “it’s an industry-wide problem.” Beyond that he thinks that like himself, customers don’t like being put through to call centres – another reason why he says that main dealers lose out.
But ultimately, if it’s all about price then as Lee says, independents have little to worry about as “at the end of the day independent garages will always be cheaper because they have lower overheads.”
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