Industry News

FOCUS ON FIXED OPS

Sales is not the only part of your dealership, but it is the top dog. Hopefully, your dealership leveraged the uncertainty of 2020 to elevate your focus on fixed ops. Some industry reports say fixed ops generates as much as $99 billion1 annually. The impacts of the pandemic or even the lack of inventory for the new “it” vehicle are encouraging some consumers to hold on to their current car for a little while longer. These cars still need to be kept up, and you have a state-of-the-art service center. It’s time to capitalize on it.

Consumers have long had a misconception that service work costs more at the dealership. Be transparent with your pricing. Offer oil change and/or tire rotation deals. Proactively seek out current customers who are due for routine maintenance and help them schedule an appointment. Additionally, your service bays are another avenue for inventory acquisition. Customers may be more inclined to trade-in their gently used vehicle knowing that they can get more bang for their buck during this time.

It’s high time that we stopped allowing fixed ops to play second fiddle within our dealership operations. There is such a wealth of opportunity with this part of your operations, but for too long, it has taken second seat to sales and even F&I. Elevating the status of your fixed ops internally (e.g., resourcing and prioritization) as well as externally (e.g., marketing) can only help your dealership’s health.