Repair shops profiting from auto sales slump

Roy White, center right, owner of Roy's Tire and Auto in Jackson, checks on the status of the shop while assistant Amber Timberlake hands out paperwork Saturday. White said he has noticed a big increase in business because car owners would rather get their car fixed than buy a new one. "It is a good time to buy a car, but no one wants to have a payment," White said. [Click to enlarge]

Many local repair shops and parts dealers say they are reaping a windfall from the downturn in automobile sales because drivers are keeping their vehicles longer.

"We've had our best year ever," said Matt Seyer, owner of C.J. Seyer Garage in Cape Girardeau. Seyer estimates business in 2008 was up nearly 20 percent over the previous year.

Advanced Automotive owner Roger Austin said business was up about 23 percent in 2008.

Austin's business had already been expanding, requiring relocation into a new building in the fall of 2007. But he said he has seen a link between the car sales slump and the habits of his customers.

"When new car sales are down, our sales are up," Austin said. One trend he has noticed is an increase in the average amount the customers spend per visit.

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.com Kyle Simmons, tire technician, puts new tires on a car during a busy Saturday morning at Jackson Tire Center. Eric Cathcart, manager at Jackson Tire Center, said business was up from last year and that he has noticed an increase in car owners preferring to get their current car fixed rather than buy a new one. [Click to enlarge]

"The general public is more into routine maintenance," Austin said, noting that they are adhering to service intervals more strictly and are spending more on preventive services such as fluid changes and flushes. They're also more likely to spend money on big-ticket repairs, such as engine or transmission work, than before, he said.

Seyer said a recent review of service tickets showed that the most common model years that they work on are from 1998 to 2001.

Increased repair activity requires more parts, which means business is good at many parts suppliers.

"We've seen a pretty healthy increase this year," Greg Stroup, president of Auto Tire and Parts in Cape Girareau, although he declined to say how much.

Auto Tire and Parts operates 39 stores in Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky.

Stroup said about 75 percent of his company's business comes from professional repair shops, particularly shops not operated by a dealership.

Despite the increase in business seen by repair shops owned by Seyer and Austin, the upswing is not universal in the auto maintenance industry.

The downturn in car sales doesn't have much effect on stores like Plaza Tire Service, according to president Mark Rhodes.

The age of cars on the road doesn't have a dramatic effect on the need for routine maintenance items and services such as tires, brakes, oil changes and such, "but what does affect us is the number of miles that people drive. The more miles driven, the better business is for us," said Rhodes, whose company operates 50 stores in four states.

James Banken, parts and service director of Van Matre Motor Co., said business remained consistent last year despite the sales slowdown. "We haven't seen an increase or a decrease," Banken said.

Salvage parts suppliers such as B&B Auto Salvage also get less of a bump from downturns in car sales because much of their business depends not on service trends but rather on collision repair activity.

"About 60 percent of our business is body panels," said Joe Bob Baker, owner of B&B. Baker said he has noticed a recent increase in the sales of engines and transmissions, but overall "we were a little slower in '08."