Who staying in the shop? I have been reading that 2025 ls shaping up to be a great year for the automotive service and repair industry. Less people are wanting to invest $50 to $90k for a new ride and most will opt to keep their 8 to 15 year old vehicles on the road. This is a huge opportunity for all of us to provide killer inspections for our clients so they get a true understanding of the condition of their car or truck. If a new vehicle purchase is going to set them back $800 to over $1000 a month or $9600 to $12,000 a year then all of a sudden it may make sense to put $2000 to $5000 a year into the vehicle they already have. Even if it needed a motor, trans or battery (EV) needed to be replaced at $15 to 25K it may be worth it to be able to drive another 2 years and have no car payments or full coverage insurance requirements from a bank. Picture of a 2022 F150 for $72K!
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Russell Wickham
Russell Wickham
Technician
The base Chevrolet Suburban with no added options, and the front row bench seat (which reduces the price by $250) still will set a person back $61,000 plus the government's cut. That's a $10,000 price increase over the last 4 years which is simply unsustainable. The problem is that even though there may never be a better time to be in auto repair, most shops still treat mechanics like expendable tools to be used up and discarded. 50 or more hour work weeks without overtime pay, ever decreasing labor hours with the tech being blamed for poor performance, more shops giving away tech labor for "customer enthusiasm", etc. Techs are speaking out with the only voice they have left, and that is to walk away. So, does the customer spend $72,000 for a new truck and hope it doesn't break, or do they wait 6 months for the parts to come in to fix their 15 year old beater that is gonna be worth less after they sink $12,000 into it than it was before it sat at the shop for half a year flat spotting all the tires and rusting out the rotors? Is there going to be a tech available to fix it when the parts finally do come in? (edited)