Ford cuts car repair wait times with mobile service amid soaring demand for auto techs

Chad Wilson, general manager of Ford dealerships in Midland and Saginaw, says the struggle to retain repair technicians is among the biggest challenges facing car dealers, especially when automakers have a high volume of dreaded recall work that's the least profitable for repair techs.

For customers, it can mean long waits for service.

While Ford Motor Co. leads the industry in recalls and in March issued an urgent call for techs to get caught up on training, all auto companies are contending with this issue, dealers told the Detroit Free Press.

But headaches from backlogged repair shops created incentives to come up with new ways to ease customer stress. After all, recent studies including one from Consumer Reports show that car owners aren't thrilled about going to dealerships for repairs because of long waits both to schedule repairs and to get vehicles back. At first, Ford decided to offer a pickup and delivery service for repairs. That seemed to impress customers but it didn't go far enough, dealers told the Free Press.

Mechanics making house calls

So now Ford has carved out a niche service where it runs a fleet two times bigger than what's offered by Tesla to fix vehicles at customer homes and work sites. (On a side note, Tesla uses the Ford Transit vans with the Tesla logo to provide mobile service.)

The response has been transformational not just for current Ford customers but also for non-Ford customers who bundle repairs when dealers allow it. While 2023 was a big push for this latest customer perk, Ford expects to ramp up what's viewed as a highly profitable plan that makes people happy. An estimated 50% of recall repairs may be done remotely.

From 2022 to 2023, Ford saw a surge from 274,000 to 1.2 million pickup and delivery runs, while mobile repairs grew from 309,000 to 1.1 million visits, company spokesman Said Deep told the Free Press.

"I had a customer in Montgomery, Alabama, with an F-150. That was the husband's truck. They called back and asked if we could service the GMC Denali, as well. They were thrilled with the fact that we would do that; they decided to trade the Denali for a 2023 Ford Expedition," said Eddie Stivers III, who co-owns Ford dealerships with his brother in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Arizona. Their father, Ed Stivers Jr., runs a Ford dealership in Des Moines, Iowa.

"We were one of Ford's early adopters with mobile service," Stivers said. And the Birmingham, Alabama, dealership is one of the top 10 for Ford in the country using the innovative system. The dealership group has 15 mobile vans in service now and they'll perform more than 1,500 repair calls in March — more than all the in-shop repairs for March 2019.

'You blow the customers away, it's so convenient'

"Mobile repair has become a very big part of our business," Stivers said. "This is a long time coming. Demand accelerated during COVID for obvious reasons. Folks were working from home, and they got great service like what you'd expect from a luxury brand. We've conquested fleets."

By that, he means that companies will buy all Ford vehicles just so repairs are done on-site and no one needs to take vehicles out of service or spend company time delivering vehicles to the repair shop.

"I think this is the future," Stivers said. "Mobile service is the epitome of quick, convenient service for the automobile owner. It relieves congestion at the dealership. Service is done more quickly. Many consumers find backlogs at dealerships. This is an innovative way to do light repair with certified techs."

Jeff King, vice president and general manager at Bozard Ford Lincoln in St. Augustine, Florida, said his store has 17 mobile vans running. "You blow the customers away, it's so convenient. Oil changes, light service, recalls. Why stick a car in a bay where I can do a transmission repair when I can go to your house, download a computer program and just address that check engine light?"

After doing mobile service for three to four years, in early 2024, the Florida dealership separated remote service from fixed operations on-site because there's so much demand for both, King said. "If one of our customers needs service, we don't think it's reasonable to tell them they need to wait three or four weeks."

And even though he has built a wildly successful Ford's Garage restaurant next to his dealership that sold 100,000 pints of craft beer last year, people still don't want to go to the dealership if it's not essential. "It takes up time."

Growing your own people

As successful as the Florida dealership is, and it continues to grow every year in sales and profits, it is using less than half the 46 service vans it owns. They need technicians to fill those vans. "It's a challenge," King said.

Dealerships no longer try to steal each other's repair techs and started to invest in growing their own. King said his store has more than 100 techs in the stable, two-thirds younger than 30.

In Michigan, Wilson said he can't imagine anybody in the car business for whom recruiting and retaining repair techs isn't a "critical challenge." One of his master certified technicians left for nearly double the pay to work for an elevator company.

More: Ford aims to tackle auto technician shortage with $2M scholarship investment

"I mean, an elevator company? I didn't even know there was one around here," Wilson said. "It's a skill set and interest that people don't have anymore. When I was growing up, we all worked on our cars. My brother and I work together in this business, and he was always wrenching on something. That's how we grew up. But my kids have no interest. It's a generational thing. Kids wait until their 20s to get a driver's license today. Even kids who grew up on farms, working on equipment, they don't do that anymore, either."

So Wilson works with high schools and community colleges and trade schools, consulting and training and recruiting. Then they're put to work beside senior master technicians. He and other dealers said there's so much work to go around that most dealerships appreciate the independent shops that work on older cars. Also, those shops often reach out to dealerships for help in diagnosing problems and then buy the parts they'll use.

"But mobile repair is a growing area of business," Wilson said. "It's just working really well."

Trades are tight everywhere and work is there waiting, Stivers said. "Ford also has a recruiting program that reaches into the U.S. military for folks leaving the service."

Now dealerships need to hire for the brick and mortar shop and the mobile repair business.

By late March, Ford said it had delivered 2.4 million remote service calls, including pickup and delivery service as well as remote repair. Ford averaged 375,000 remote services every month.

Technicians are a very valuable part of our business, said Colleen Arbour Chapleski, owner of Dean Arbour Ford Tawas and Dean Arbour Ford Lincoln in Alpena and Dean Arbour Chevrolet in East Tawas. "Everything is so technical."

Preventing tech turnover has been key, she said. The Tawas store has been recognized by Ford as among the top President's Award performers during 29 of the past 33 years. "Having trained technicians with me a long time, if you can keep your people, it goes a long way toward customer satisfaction."

Dealers say they've had to invest big in techs and make sure they feel the love financially. An issue a while back involved a major recall on engines. That's one of the most labor-intensive assignments. If a vehicle goes in for an engine or transmission repair, it can mean two or three days' work on one vehicle. And recall work payment is capped. If that repair tech becomes unhappy and they decide to leave, the dealer is left in the lurch. If techs go to independent repair shops, they can avoid warranty work altogether.

Capped payments on recall and warranty work are a source of friction between Ford and its dealerships and dealership technicians, hampering morale, the Free Press reported in investigating a whistleblower complaint related to replacement of dangerous Takata air bags.

Ford issued an alert via email from regional zone managers to dealers on March 1 that only 46% of its dealership shop technicians had completed required training, including a newly required course on supplemental restraints that includes air bags. Ford had threatened to withhold payments for certain repairs. The online training, which is typical in corporate workplaces, is usually easily tracked with every computer sign-in.

Ford declined to provide a precise figure on updated training. Spokesman Said Deep told the Free Press, “As of March 28, the vast majority of technicians have completed the current coursework requirements. Those who have not are encouraged to complete the coursework promptly if they intend to perform repairs related to field service actions. Not all technicians work on these types of repairs. As always, dealerships are responsible for dispatching work to technicians that meet Ford’s certification and training standards.”

Ford is offering its dealers incentives and working to subsidize the mobile repair effort, dealers said. Customers love it and the company wants more of it.

The big mystery

Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst for transportation and mobility at Guidehouse Insights in Detroit, said he can't figure out why automakers aren't using mobile service techs more extensively.

"It's the kind of thing that can really help attract and retain customers," he said. "It's a hassle to get take your car to the dealer. If you have to go to work, take the kids. If you talk to Tesla customers, they will tell you they really like the mobile service."

Vehicles don't seem to be so different from each other anymore, so it's services such as mobile repair that will persuade buyers, Abuelsamid predicted. "Ford is looking at the long game here."

More: Ford E-Series brake, steering assist repairs not done correctly, investigation finds

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on X at @phoebesaid

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford slashes customer wait times with mobile repair service