More Maintenance, Please!

If there’s one trend in our industry that’s absolutely clear, to me at least, it’s that repairing cars and light trucks isn’t the future of the business. Why? Here’s my theory:

1. Vehicles are built better these days.

When was the last time you did a valve job? Or rebuilt a diff? The durability of modern machinery keeps moving the prime earning years of most vehicles later and later, usually into the second or third owners who generally have less disposable income. I bought an ’89 Civic from another editor at our Toronto office and tried to kill it just to see how much it would take: 300,000-plus kilometers and it’s still going. I finally gave the car away in frustration.

And new car warranties are longer. With better technology, long new car warranties are the norm, pushing back repair opportunities and conditioning consumers to stick with the new-car dealership.

2. Leasing.

Better longevity means higher residual values, which are the key to setting lease rates. The result is low rates for new cars. Why spend $2,700 on the old Hyundai when you can lease a new one for $279 a month?

3. The middle class is disappearing.

Don’t believe the “economy-is-booming” propaganda from the media and Ottawa. The oil patch is great, but much of the nation is polarizing into rich and poor, of which neither segment spends much at independent service businesses.

4. High oil prices.

People do drive less when fuel is expensive, meaning scheduled maintenance is stretched out; plus they purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles. Last time I checked, four cylinder engines had half as many spark plugs as V-8’s and had smaller oil pans, too. It all adds up.

5. Information lockout.

Even if we get full access legally, expect the OEM’s to inject lots of “special-tool-only” complications to even simple tasks like resetting maintenance lamps.

6. Adaptive maintenance schedules.

GM Oil Life is just the beginning. As the computers get smarter, they’ll adjust maintenance schedules in real time, removing the guaranteed seasonal visit, unless we add a new value proposition.

And that’s the real point. To push back against these factors, we need to create a new value proposition for motorists that go beyond handbook maintenance. The rust proofing industry has the right idea. They sell longevity and higher resale value; plus they add perceived customer value with warranties they know they won’t have to worry about. Ever see rust perforation on a car sprayed annually? We need to inject some of that formula into the service industry by creating a form of “super maintenance” that offers better-than-OEM levels of protection to consumers. Frugal Canadians keep their cars longer and are ripe for this approach. Synthetic lubes, A/C performance additives, auxiliary transmission coolers and other extra-life products and services all have a place here and given the price of new vehicles today, should be a reasonably easy sell. We had better find a way to offer more, or watch our share of the market erode further.