The Elusive Complete Repair Plan

by Linden Wicklund, AASP-MN Executive Director

Each month, the Alliance holds several open forum style Member Meet-ups. The topics and critical debates that are raised during these gatherings provide insight into the wide range of how shops operate and into the core challenges they all share. The topic that has recently repeatedly come up is the all-too-elusive complete repair plan.

In one conversation last month, the member sharing their perspective was from a shop that specializes in rebuilding transmissions. As someone who has paid for a transmission to be rebuilt, customers seeking this sort of repair are very likely those who are up for ongoing repairs, if they come one-two at a time. Two days later, several members commented, “We used to do partial repairs all the time.” The conversation then dug into the long list of reasons for the reduction in partial repairs, most of which were outside of the shops’ control. 

The complete repair plan is frequently talked about on a theoretical level as being the “one right way” to fix a vehicle. On a local level, it isn’t that simple. One of the top reasons cited for incomplete repair plans is that the technician missed things in diagnostics or manufacturer procedures. The other top reason is a bit more complicated: the customer can’t afford the repairs or does not want to do them. 

So, how do shops cycle and sell repairs that return safe and drivable vehicles to the roads? Is the pursuit of the complete repair plan all that different for the auto service shop versus the collision repair shop? These two questions combined will continue to fuel unending debates over time as the variables shift. But the messy conversations generated do have the potential to open new understandings of one another, the industry and how individual businesses operate.

I urge you to attend or send a team member to the Member Meet-ups, or even start one in your area! The topics that arise are specifically local and timely. Other members who participate consistently show they value strong competition based on independent businesses that each operate a bit differently. 

Check out this month’s feature article on page 14 for more on the partial repair debate!

Want more? Check out the August 2024 issue of AASP-MN News!