Americans Seeking Fewer Car Repairs
Service activity at franchised dealerships in the United States declined month over month in September to 82.5, falling 10.5% from August to the lowest level since April 2023, according to Cox Automotive. The volume of repair orders fell, hitting 4.3% below numbers from a year ago.
Cox Automotive is the parent company of Kelley Blue Book. Xtime, a separate Cox Automotive company, provides software that helps auto dealers facilitate more than 10 million service appointments monthly. That gives the company unique insight into the repairs America’s drivers need.
You might be tempted to blame the ongoing autoworkers’ strike. Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union have walked off the job at parts distribution warehouses run by General Motors and Stellantis. That leaves dealerships for GM brands (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC) and Stellantis brands (Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, and Ram) unable to get needed parts easily and quickly.
But Cox Automotive Director of Product Consulting Skyler Chadwick says the strike isn’t the problem. “The decline in ticket volume was consistent across all brands, which leads us to believe there is no measurable relationship between the declines in September and the UAW strikes. We will be watching carefully in October,” Chadwick says.
Though they may have been rare last month, car repairs are growing more expensive. Repairs last month cost about 35% more than they did in September 2019.