Auto service industry thriving

Joe Smith, shop manager for Purcell Tire Company in Hollister, works on a set of brakes Friday. The auto service repair industry appears to be faring well while auto sales across the country are plummeting. BDN photo by Wiley Hendrix

By Wiley Hendrix
BDN Staff Writer
whendrix@bransondailynews.com

Businesses across the country are suffering through the current economic recession. However, one industry appears to be recession-proof.

Auto sales across the country were down 37 percent in November, their worst level in 26 years, according to the Associated Press, and December doesn’t look much better. That does not appear to be the case for the auto repair industry.

“People are getting their cars fixed, rather than purchasing new ones,” said Garry Gray, manager of Purcell Tire Company in Hollister. “Our service work was up 15 percent in November and looks to be up 8 to 10 percent in December.”

U.S. auto sales in November fell to 746,789 units, according to Autodata Corp. On a seasonally adjusted basis, automakers re-ported an annual sales rate of 10.2 million units, the lowest level since October 1982.

“Our industry is in a much more severe situation than the rest of the economy,” said Mike DiGiovanni, General Motors Corp.’s executive director of global market and industry analysis.

“We cannot continue at these levels or else the entire industry is going to go down.”

Joe Smith, shop manager at Purcell, said people are more willing to pay a $500-$1,000 repair bill than get into a long-term auto loan.

“People are just scared to spend thousands of dollars, when the economy is so fragile,” Smith said. “It’s just common sense to fix your vehicle, rather than buy a new one.”

Roger Bunger, general manager at Tri-Lakes Motors in Branson, said his company’s service department is “very busy.”

“We are fixing a lot of cars and trucks,” Bunger said. “We also had a positive December in auto sales and we are expanding. We will soon be opening an RV repair center.”

One thing workers in the service industry agree on is the importance of taking care of customers during slow economic times.

“We try our best to give the customers the lowest prices possible on labor and parts,” Gray said. “If we do that, they will be more likely to come back when times get better.”

“At our company, we need to take good care of people,” Bunger added. “If we take care of them when they need auto service, they will come back when they can afford to purchase a vehicle.”

Bunger said customers and workers need to be patient during this recession.

“We tell our people that once we get through the next six or eight months, we will see more sales,” he said. “Until then, we just need to keep our customers happy. It’s just that simple.”

The Associated Press

contributed to this article.