My local Ford store in Everett, WA just recently closed. It was Brien Motors for decades, in 2016 sold to the Swickard Group and became Epic Ford. They closed down a couple of weeks ago. The assets of the business have been divided between three remaining area Ford franchises. I'm not sure if that means the Ford Motor Company was heavily involved financially with Epic debt.
When I've driven by the dealership in recent times, I've wondered how they were getting along considering that they didn't have much inventory sitting on the lot. You can't make money on what you don't have to sell. Which is a condition that has come up with Covid supply chain shortages.
The other thing I wonder about is the survival of dealership service departments. As vehicle build quality has increased in the past couple of decades, the product doesn't need as many trips to the service department. Synthetic lubricants have decreased change intervals (while also being a nice sales talking point). The junkyards are full of cars ten or fewer years old. The cars run well until they don't but in the interim, they don't see the service department very often. People don't tend to spend the big bucks it takes now to replace a major component, like an engine or transmission. Which may cause change to come around again, as pickups that cost $75K to $100K are units that people will be unwilling to give up on easily.
One time a few years ago, I had one of my cars in to the dealer for routine service. I made particular note of the mechanic in one stall, resting his butt against a workbench with his hands folded across his chest. With a look of disgust on his face; I assumed at the time because his stall was empty and he didn't have a job to work on at the moment. When my dad was in service management, they always had a lot full of cars waiting to be worked on. When a mechanic would turn out one job, he'd go back to the dispatcher and get another repair order, go out to the lot full of cars, and get his next job. With many more waiting. Times and circumstances change.
When I've driven by the dealership in recent times, I've wondered how they were getting along considering that they didn't have much inventory sitting on the lot. You can't make money on what you don't have to sell. Which is a condition that has come up with Covid supply chain shortages.
The other thing I wonder about is the survival of dealership service departments. As vehicle build quality has increased in the past couple of decades, the product doesn't need as many trips to the service department. Synthetic lubricants have decreased change intervals (while also being a nice sales talking point). The junkyards are full of cars ten or fewer years old. The cars run well until they don't but in the interim, they don't see the service department very often. People don't tend to spend the big bucks it takes now to replace a major component, like an engine or transmission. Which may cause change to come around again, as pickups that cost $75K to $100K are units that people will be unwilling to give up on easily.
One time a few years ago, I had one of my cars in to the dealer for routine service. I made particular note of the mechanic in one stall, resting his butt against a workbench with his hands folded across his chest. With a look of disgust on his face; I assumed at the time because his stall was empty and he didn't have a job to work on at the moment. When my dad was in service management, they always had a lot full of cars waiting to be worked on. When a mechanic would turn out one job, he'd go back to the dispatcher and get another repair order, go out to the lot full of cars, and get his next job. With many more waiting. Times and circumstances change.
. I still prefer the Harley though, it's been getting lots of miles with this nice weather. Also enjoy the five gallon fillups compared to the $175 fills on the truck. Here in the mid valley of Or, only dealer I've seen struggle is Hillyer's in Woodburn. They consolidated both of their dealerships and still cannot fill the lot. I always assumed it was because they suck, which they really, really do, but it might be a bigger issue. The average Joe doesn't care about service one bit any more, only price. They'll spend about ten minutes looking for the best price online and decide right there, service be darned.
