Independents more flexible than franchised sites in recession

Independent garages have generally adopted faster to the recession than franchise dealers, according to research by Network Automotive, the motor industry consultancy.

According to Network independents have led the way in reducing headcount where necessary, responding to changing customer needs and adopting new marketing strategies.

"Independents tend to be smaller businesses with centralised management, so it's no surprise that they have been able to react to the tougher economic conditions faster," managing director Colin Bruder said:

"In contrast franchise dealers are larger with more complex management structures and have the added complication of manufacturer involvement. It takes more time to bring about change."

Customers haggling on price
Bruder said an emerging trend is that customers are now more likely to haggle over the price of servicing jobs.

"For all kinds of work, customers now want to haggle over the price. If you quote £200 for a service, they might counter with £180 and you arrive at £190 as an agreed figure.

"Independents can handle this kind of thing easily - often the owner is very hands-on and may even be taking the booking. For franchise dealers, though, this has been more difficult to deal with. Service managers often have their hands tied by menu pricing and do not have the power to negotiate on price. Some have lost business because of this inflexibility."

Bruder said independents have also been more aggressive on marketing price cuts on used cars than franchised sites.

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