Auto repair is one of the fastest growing businesses in Canada.
The sector has seen an exponential increase in demand for its services over the past decade.
As a result, auto repair firms are beginning to re-think their business model and are embracing their potential to serve their customers in a new way.
But how can you know what auto repair services you’re in for if you can’t even identify the service?
Here’s how to find out.
“You’re talking about a company that’s been around for a very long time and they’re not just a customer-facing company,” said Mark Macdonald, owner of the Macdonald Automotive Repair Centre.
“I’ve got a lot of clients who are on a shoestring budget and they want something done that they can’t afford.”
This is an edited transcript of a story that has been edited for length and clarity.
For more local news, visit CBC Toronto.
Macdonald says auto repair is often a service industry that is not as well-known as its automotive counterparts.
“The way that it is done in auto repair, it’s a little bit of a hidden industry, a little hidden behind a curtain of secrecy,” he said.
“And that’s what’s driving a lot the demand for this service.”
The first time I was in the car dealership, I didn’t know what to expect.
The door was cracked.
I was asked to replace the front door panels with a replacement kit that would cost me $30,000.
There were no replacement parts.
No instructions on how to install a replacement door panel.
I found myself at a loss for words.
I asked the receptionist, and she told me, ‘I think you should take this with a grain of salt.’
She said, ‘If you want a car that works like this, you have to pay for it.’
“But I’m not going to spend $30K on something I’ll probably never be able to fix.
So, I thought, ‘Oh well, it was the right decision.'”
And I was wrong.
I didn´t have to go through that experience again.
“This is what’s happening in the auto industry right now,” said Macdonald.
“We are in the midst of a consumer backlash against car dealerships.
This is because people are really angry about the way they are treated and the way things are done.”
But what’s the real reason for that anger?
Macdonald said his clients tell him that the industry is failing them.
They say they are being told that the auto repair service is only for the rich and powerful.
That’s not the case, he said, and that they need a better way to shop for their car.
Macdon said that for every car they replace, he has about 30 to 40 clients who have not received a single replacement part.
And, while he doesn’t believe it’s the car dealers’ fault, Macdonald does say that the fact that so many of his customers are in desperate straits means the industry needs to change.
“If we can’t be honest with ourselves and say we’re doing it the right way, then the way we do it is not working.
I have clients who literally need to pay hundreds of dollars for an entire car.
That makes me really angry,” he told CBC Toronto’s Scott Horsley.
“There are some people out there who want the auto business to be about servicing people, but we are doing it for ourselves.
“They want to buy a great car, they want to be able come back every six months to get their money back. “
Our customers want the best car they can buy,” Macdonald added.
“They want to buy a great car, they want to be able come back every six months to get their money back.
We are not there to serve the consumer.”
The problem with this story is that, despite being a car dealer, Macdon says that he is not the only one feeling the pinch.
“In my experience, it is a very diverse market.
There are some really well-off people, there are some very poor people, and there are people who are in debt and there’s people who have nowhere else to turn,” he explained.
Macdo, who owns the MacDonald Automotive Service Centre in Etobicoke, Ont., said that the trend of people paying thousands of dollars to have their cars serviced is not unusual.
“It’s not unusual for people who need help to go into auto repair shops and find that they’re in a really, really poor situation,” he added.
MacDonald said that he and his team are working to help other people, including people in debt, find jobs and to get them out of car repair.
But, as Macdonald points out, that’s not enough.
“What we need is more people to understand that we don’t care what happens to your car.
We care about our clients.
We want them to get the best job they can get, so that they have
