At 57 percent, more than half of the motorists surveyed had their car repaired or serviced at an authorized dealership of a car manufacturer during their last visit to a workshop. In contrast, 28 percent favoured brand-independent automotive businesses and only two percent preferred specialist stores such as A.T.U. This was the result of a survey conducted by the expert organization KÜS and the editors of the trade magazine "kfz-betrieb".


Professional competence is decisive when choosing a workshop

For 27 percent of those surveyed, the "technical competence" of the workshop and the service staff is the most important reason for choosing a workshop. This is followed by the selection criteria "new car bought at the same dealership" (26 percent), "garage is close to my home" (25 percent) and "good value for money" (17 percent).



Independent garages just as competent

A good 70 percent of motorists believe that repair work is more expensive in the manufacturer's workshops than in independent workshops. Around 40 percent of respondents also believe that the vehicle manufacturer's contractual partners are more competent than independent garages. However, 56 percent are also of the opinion that independent garages are "just as competent" as their brand-affiliated competitors.



Gerd Heinemann, Managing Partner of ABH Marketingservice GmbH, is certain: "For car drivers, the authorized workshop remains number one. This will not change any time soon, as price is not the most important selection criterion and customers remain loyal to their chosen service center." Heinemann predicts that as long as the brand-affiliated businesses manage to maintain a healthy balance between value for money and competence, they will be able to maintain or even slightly increase their share of the service market.



Drivers remain loyal to their garage

When asked "Have you changed your garage in the last 24 months?", only twelve percent answered "yes". The reasons for this were, for example, "workshop prices too high" (25 percent), "poor repair work" (15 percent), "incompetent advice" (15 percent) and "unfriendly staff" (11 percent).



For Peter Schuler, Federal Managing Director of KÜS, the decisive factor is "how the individual garage positions itself in its service market - regardless of whether it belongs to a car manufacturer or not. Service, competence and flexibility are the requirements of a modern workshop. If you want to win and retain customers in these difficult times, you have to meet these customer expectations. Commitment is required, in its entirety".



Further details such as graphics and the Trend-Tacho archive can be found on the Internet at www.trend-tacho.de. The complete Trend-Tacho study with all the survey results on the service competence of garages, drivers' reasons for switching and the acceptance of inexpensive spare parts can be ordered for 49 euros (incl. VAT) by e-mail at info@kfz-betrieb.de.



"kfz-betrieb" is the most widely read trade magazine in the automotive industry and has been informing the automotive trade and service sector for 99 years. "kfz-betrieb" is the official organ of the German Motor Vehicle Trade (ZDK), the professional interest group for around 40,000 car dealerships and workshops. Daily news from the entire automotive industry is available at www.kfz-betrieb.de and in the daily newsletter. The parent company Vogel Business Media, Würzburg, is one of the leading German providers of specialist information with around 100 trade journals, 60 websites and numerous international activities.