SERVICE & PARTS
VIDEO
 | |||
|
| |||
Retail
| Factories punish rogue exporters >> |
Marketing
| Autobytel posts $2 million loss in Q1 >> |
Finance & Insurance
Remarketing
| eBay Motors courts automakers >> |
| eBay Motors seeks deals with other automakers >> |
Aftermarket center opens at Mich. college
A new education center on Northwood University's Michigan campus focuses on aftermarket management. The Sloan Family Building for Aftermarket Studies honors O. Temple Sloan Jr., who founded General Parts International Inc. and Carquest; and his brother, C. Hamilton Sloan, an early General Parts partner. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 12
Report cites trends in repair costs
A shift to lightweight materials, advances in vehicle safety equipment and a transition to waterborne paints are key trends that are changing the collision industry, a new study says. The report, by Mitchell International, concludes that the industry “is undergoing some of the most significant changes since the introduction of unibody vehicle production. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 12
Survey: Consumers like indie shops
Advocates of federal “right to repair” legislation seek to bolster their case with a new survey that says consumers are more satisfied with independent repair shops than service departments at new-vehicle dealerships. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 12
Shops cited for labor violations
State regulators have fined 28 auto body businesses in San Diego more than $226,000 for a variety of labor violations. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 12
VW offers free maintenance with 2009 brand models
Trying to boost sales and shed its image of poor quality and costly repairs, Volkswagen Group of America will offer free maintenance beginning with the 2009 model year. [REG] 10:24 am U.S. ET | April 25
VW offers free maintenance with 2009 models
Trying to boost sales and shed its image of poor quality and costly repairs, Volkswagen Group of America will offer free maintenance beginning with the 2009 model year. [REG] April 25 16:24 CET
Landry: Chrysler's consolidation will spawn service-only stores |
Lithia extends vehicle repair warranty to 3 years/50,000 miles
In a bid for repeat service and parts business, Lithia Motors Inc. now offers one of the industry's longest repair warranties. The public dealership group insures repairs -- except those that involve wear items such as brake pads -- for three years or 50,000 miles. Among automakers, dealerships and aftermarket suppliers, the industry standard is generally one year or 12,000 miles. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21
Landry: Chrysler's consolidation will spawn service-only storesChrysler will create stand-alone service stores as part of its dealership consolidation plans, says Steven Landry, Chrysler executive vice president of North American sales. The stand-alone service centers will be created in some metropolitan markets as one Chrysler LLC dealer buys another, Landry said after a speech last week. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21 |
Chrysler moving to stand-alone service storesChrysler LLC will create stand-alone service stores as part of its dealership consolidation plans, says Steven Landry, Chrysler executive vice president of North American sales. [REG] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 18 |
Deal's goal: Widen appeal of dent-repair coverageDent Wizard, which sells dent-and-ding repair coverage to auto owners, wants to expand sales of the product beyond its traditional luxury-vehicle customer base. So the St. Louis company has formed marketing alliances with two vendors to offer its Ding Shield service plan as a package with other aftermarket products. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14 |
Q&A: Group 1 renews service, parts emphasisGroup 1 Automotive Inc. is placing greater emphasis on service and parts operations at its 104 dealerships this year to weather a downturn in new-vehicle sales. Randy Callison, the Houston company's senior vice president of operations and corporate development, spoke about Group 1's renewed emphasis on fixed operations. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 7 |
TV channel helps dealers bond with service customersWhen Jerry Daniels saw service customers at his dealerships watching competitors' commercials on waiting-room TVs, he got angry. He also got an idea. So in late 2006, Daniels quit Asbury Automotive Group, where he had been an executive vice president managing 25 dealerships in northern Florida. He then created a satellite TV channel that lets dealers control what their customers watch at their stores. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 7 |
Esurance forms repair partnership with AutoWatch
The auto insurer Esurance has signed a six-year partnership with AutoWatch, a system that monitors vehicle repairs online. AutoWatch enables Esurance customers to see digital photos of their repairs via the Internet. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 7
Service group sets April meeting
The National Automotive Service Task Force will hold its spring meeting at 2 p.m. on April 15 at the Marriott Renaissance Center in Detroit. Members will discuss the new Secure Data Release Model, which aims to develop a national registry of locksmiths who need access to vehicle security information to make keys. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 7
GM promotes service, parts leads for dealershipsAuto dealers long have valued the Internet as a source of vehicle sales leads. Now General Motors is using the Web to drive service and parts business to dealerships. Starting next month, GM's Service and Parts Operations plans to provide all GM Internet-certified dealerships with a free lead generation service called OneSource Pipe. The company also will link those dealerships' Web sites directly to GM corporate sites. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 3 |
Toyota dealers test satellite service centersOverwhelmed by the increased number of service customers flooding dealerships, Toyota Division has unveiled two plans to help dealers cope. For landlocked dealers hamstrung by pricey expansion costs, Toyota has launched a pilot program that allows satellite service centers. For all dealers, Toyota has a service-drive template that funnels oil changes and other light work to dedicated bays. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 18 |
GM wants dealers to spruce up service baysGeneral Motors wants dealership service departments to present the clean, modern look of popular retail stores. The idea is that a shop that reminds customers of Starbucks or Target rather than a dirty, dingy garage is more likely to attract and keep business. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4 |
EPA imposes new paint rules on body shopsThe EPA is requiring body shops to cut down on toxins released when they strip paint or apply surface coatings to vehicles. Last month, the EPA published new rules aimed at reducing these pollutants. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4 |
'Right to repair' bill gains support
A bill that would require automakers to give independent repair shops the same service information and tool capabilities it provides franchised dealerships has 37 backers in the U.S. House of Representatives, a lobbying group says. A House bill requires 218 votes to pass. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4
Toyota honors Texas dealership
Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. has named Fred Haas Toyota World its top Toyota Certified Collision Center for 2007. The suburban Houston dealership has won the award three straight years. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4
Ford dealers to get new IT structure
Ford's nearly 800 dealers in Germany and its 670 authorized service outlets are scheduled to get a fundamentally new and less costly information-technology infrastructure. [$] 1:36 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 28
Simple safety: Green, amber, redDealers and automakers are promoting vehicle safety checks -- and building service business -- with color-coded inspection forms. The forms are part of an industry push to simplify inspections, improve customer communication and get more vehicle buyers back to dealerships for service. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 7 |
