Founded in 2018, RepairSmith counts Mercedes-Benz and Porsche among its investors. But that does not mean those automotive brands would make RepairSmith part of an OEM-backed plan to have dealers offer mobile service.

Begin by evaluating the current state of your workplace to locate areas where you can improve conditions for your employees.

U.S. dealers earned $111.2 billion in service and parts sales in 2020, a third of the vehicle maintenance and repair industry’s total revenue, according to the National Automobile Dealers Assn. Local repair shops and car-care chains get the rest.

Despite the gains, fixed ops as a department – especially in warranty work – continues to lag the astronomical gains the dealer groups are putting up in other profit centers: in new- and used-vehicle gross profits, and finance & insurance.

“If you don’t have a written (safety) program, (OSHA) will smell blood,” Summit Automotive Partners’ Brian Boase tells the Association of Dealership Compliance Officers.

Electric vehicle owners should be aware that collision repairs may be more costly than repairs for gas-fueled vehicles. This is because EV battery packs are expensive and finding mechanics with specific expertise in that repair can result in...

“A good service department is the reason customers buy from a particular store,” says Outsell’s Gary Marcotte.

“Our business model addresses this issue by bringing car repair to your house and scheduling it based on your convenience,” FixMyCar founder Prashant Salla says.

The branded digital service streamlines pick-up and drop-off of customer vehicles, allowing providers to stay top-of-mind for both routine maintenance and unexpected car repairs.