Automotive

General news, updates and insights into the automotive industry.

TIME, if not utilised, is gone forever!

Your Service Department’s resource is … TIME. Every Service Department endevour is a means to maximise the sale of its TIME or AVAILABLE HOURS. Time is the most difficult workshop discipline to manage. Lost time can never be recovered. Unlike the inventories in the Parts Division or New and Used Vehicle stock:  time is perishable. […]

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Strategies for Outclassing Independent Repairers

Independent repairers can be formidable competitors for your customers who are easy targets for perceived cheaper parts and labour charges. Once a dealership has created a loyal customer base through their service department, they increase their potential sales opportunities for new vehicles. Customer’s Preconceived Beliefs About Dealerships It is crucial that service departments identify ways

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Tyre Sales – An Inconvenience ?

Wheel Alignment & Tyre Sales – Increasing Dealership Revenue and Customer Satisfaction  What is the value of Wheel Alignment & Tyre sales to your dealership? Most dealers would answer this in terms of revenue and margin from the sale. Some might say additional work found when replacing the tyres (Disc/Brake Pads, shock absorber, etc.), whilst

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Service Department Financial Indicators

There are numerous indicators available to management that contribute to an in-depth analysis of the financial health of the workshop. Each provides a detail that enables maximisation of workshop profit. Listed alphabetically below are typical examples of financial indicators in commonly use: Actual Turn-over as a % of Potential Turn-over Average Hours per Job Card

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The Legal Consequences of the Repair Order

The Repair Order / Job Card The Repair Order, also referred to as The Job Card, is a contract between the dealership and the party acting as the vehicle’s custodian, to perform the task/s requested requested by the vehicle’s custodian. Any complaint referred to an arbitrator or the courts will require the Repair Order and

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Service Appointments – 15 Best Practice Principles

Does your dealership bookings process follow these 15 best-practice guidelines? Makes allowance for carry-overs, walk-in’s, and tow-ins. When setting appointments always starts with the current day and works toward future dates. Customers should not wait more than two days for an appointment unless they specifically request to do so. Appointments are booked according to the

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The Potential Risk of Work In Progress

Work In Progress Work In Progress represents income that is at risk of being lost to the Service Department. Work In Progress refers to repair orders (Warranty, Retail, or Internal) not finally costed and allocated for payment. Usually, within a 12-hour period, this is could be an operational delay in processing warranty and internal jobs

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Dealership Service Department – Labour and Potential Income

The Workshop’s Potential Earnings are derived from selling labour hours, so it is important to understand how many potential hours are available for sale each day. Potential time available from technicians Technician                               9 hours Apprentice 1st Year                 2.25 hours Apprentice 2nd Year                4.5 hours Apprentice 3rd Year                 6.75 hours Apprentice 4th Year                 8

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Service Advisor Best Practice – Vehicle Handover

From a Service Advisors perspective, these are Vehicle Handover Best Practice Suggestions. Schedule customer collection appointments to minimise the end of the day rush. Stagger collection times to allow at least 10 minutes to be spent with each customer. After the vehicle has been cleaned ensure it is reversed into a delivery bay. Perform a

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Understanding Service Department KPI’s – Productivity

PRODUCTIVITY Productivity represents a combination of the workshops Efficiency and Utilisation Productivity = (Hours Sold / Hours Available) X 100 Benchmark: 103% – 110% Hours Sold is a function of the work available to the Service Department that is dependent on the bookings taken by the Service Department and the Costing of the Repair Order

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Understanding Service Department KPI’s – Utilisation

UTILISATION Utilisation is a function of the technician hours actually spent working compared against the time the technician is available to work. Utilisation % = (Hours Worked / Hours Attended) X 100 Benchmark: 85% – 90% Hours Worked is a function of the amount of work available to the Service Department. The Hours Worked value

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Understanding Service Department KPI’s

EFFICIENCY Efficiency is a function of the hours sold vs. the hours worked. Efficiency % = (Hours Sold / Hours Worked) X 100 Benchmark: 110%  – 125% Efficiency is assumed to measure either individual Technician Efficiency, or the Workshop’s Efficiency as a whole. Hours Sold depends essentially on: Amount of work available. This may be

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